PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — On a shockingly scorable Saturday at TPC Sawgrass, the best golfers in the world went lower than ever before.
Moving day was not an option during the third round of the Players Championship. Those who did not make a move were left in the dust. When it settled, a familiar face was once again in the mix at another marquee event: Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler stood out on a leaderboard lacking big names with a realistic chance to win Sunday.
A 72nd-hole bogey cost Scheffler a shot to defend his title last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 26-year-old Texan moved quickly past the disappointment to position himself to win the PGA Tour’s showcase event.
“I feel very comfortable,” he said. “Put in a lot of hard work over the years, and it’s been a blessing to see so many results. It’s been a lot of fun.
“Hoping to continue that.”
Scheffler’s 7-under-par 65 put him at 14-under-par 202 and 2 shots clear of Min Woo Lee, who is seeking his first victory on Tour.
Playing a group ahead, Lee missed a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 66. Scheffler then buried a 10-footer for birdie.
Lee, a 24-year-old from Australia, is eager for another chance on one of golf’s biggest stages.
“It was an amazing, amazing day,” he said. “Just coming on 17 and 18 and hearing the crowd chant, and that’s all I’m asking for. Just had a lot of fun. Did a lot of the right things, and hopefully I can do it again tomorrow.”
Saturday’s conditions paved the way for a shootout.
Golfers were a cumulative 182-under par during the third round, or 55 strokes lower than the previous record (-127 in 1996). The scoring average of 69.673 was 3.3 strokes better than during the second round.
Tom Hoge, a 33-year-old journeyman with one win on Tour, made the 2-over cut on the number and then broke the course record with a bogey-free 62 to move to 8-under and 6 shots back.
“Today was going to be the day to do it if you were going to out here,” he said. “It was soft with little wind, so you felt like you could make birdies and keep trying to make birdies.”
Designer Pete Dye’s tricky course turned toothless as a light breeze and mild temperatures, coupled with Friday night rains, created ideal scoring conditions on a layout playing just 7,028 yards.
Few failed to capitalize. Many like Hoge experienced dramatic turnarounds to give them a puncher’s chance Sunday.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood recorded four bogeys and a double-bogey during five-hole stretch Friday but found something on the back nine and rode it into Saturday to shoot 65. He will play in the penultimate pairing with Australian Cam Davis, who shot a back-nine 31 for a 67 to get to 10-under.
“I was making an absolute hash of it early yesterday in the round,” Fleetwood said. “But it was a scorable day, so if you were going to have a chance to contend, you had to do that today.”
After he completed seven holes of his second round Saturday morning, Scheffler pounced on a defenseless golf course, going 4-under through five holes. Poised to run and hide, he missed a birdie putt just outside 5 feet that lipped out on No. 6, and then followed with a bogey on difficult par-4 7th.
The hiccup didn’t linger. He sank a putt inside 15 to birdie the long par-3 8th, the second most-difficult hole through three rounds, and then made 4 on the par-5 9th.
Birdies on two of his final three holes after seven straight pars left Scheffler the man to beat yet again. A tie for fifth or better also will return him to No. 1 in the world ranking in place of Jon Rahm, who withdrew Friday with a stomach illness.
“At the end of the day for me, it’s just an algorithm,” Scheffler said of the ranking. “I’m going to go out there and try and win the golf tournament.”
While Scheffler’s presence atop leaderboards is a constant, Saturday’s scoring conditions will be fleeting.
Afternoon winds are expected to turn TPC Sawgrass back into a stern test.
Of the 75 players to reach the weekend, 11 players recorded second-rounds scores in the 60s. During the third round, 41 players carded 60s.
During just his third round in the Players, Lee’s day began with an eagle 2 on the par-4 1st after his wedge from 112 yards found the hole. The rest of the day was a stroll until his final-hole stumble.
“Tomorrow could be the biggest day of my life, but I’m going to go out there and have fun again,” he said. “It’s been the motto for the last three months: Not taking it too seriously. I just crept into this tournament and making the most of it and soaking it all in.”
Meanwhile, Scheffler — a five-time winner during the past 13 months — looks to continue a remarkable run that began last season. Another chance is all he wants.
“I prepare to be in these moments,” he said. “I’ve been on a lot of leaderboards, and I’ve said it a few times, it’s a lot of more fun being in the lead. It’s a lot more fun being in the arena and being in the moment.”
