The Players Championship: JJ Spaun leads Bud Cauley as Rory McIlroy stays in contention at TPC Sawgrass

JJ Spaun takes a one-shot lead into the final round of The Players, as Rory McIlroy’s late birdie kept him in contention after a day where conditions caused chaos at TPC Sawgrass.

Spaun holed a dramatic 25-foot putt to save par on the final hole of his third-round 70, putting him at 12 under ahead of compatriot Bud Cauley, with Lucas Glover three back in tied-third alongside Alex Smalley and overnight co-leader Akshay Bhatia.

McIlroy was playing alongside Spaun and briefly within one of the lead until three bogeys in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, where strong winds left players struggling, before a closing birdie salvaged a one-over 73 and put him within four of the lead.

The world No 2 – chasing a second Players Championship victory – is tied-fifth with Bhatia and Corey Conners on eight, while Scottie Scheffler heads into the final day seven behind as he chases a historic three-peat at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

The threat of thunderstorms has seen tee times brought forward for Sunday’s final round, with players going out in threeballs and under a two-tee start from 8am local time (midday GMT).

How Spaun moved ahead at windy Sawgrass

Overnight co-leader Bhatia fired his approach to tap-in range at the first but missed a close-range opportunity to double his lead at the next, then carded back-to-back bogeys to allow Spaun – who started one back – to pull level with successive birdies from the second.

McIlroy also birdied the par-five second and cancelled out a three-putt bogey at the fifth by birdieing the sixth to stay within one the leaders, with Spaun part of that group despite dropping a shot of the fourth.

A two-putt birdie at the par-five ninth saw Spaun reach the turn one ahead, as McIlroy recovered from finding water off that tee to save par and stay within two, with players beginning to slip down the leaderboard in strengthening winds.

Spaun never relinquished the solo lead on the back nine and went two clear with a six-foot birdie at the 12th, where McIlroy carded the first of successive bogeys, with Will Zalatoris – who briefly co-led – seeing his hopes fade after dropping nine shots over the closing five holes.

Cauley had set the clubhouse target at 11 under after a stunning third-round 66 and Glover moved to the same total after cancelling out a double-bogey at the 15th by chipping in for eagle at the par-five next, as Spaun bogeyed the 15th to halve his advantage.

Spaun recovered to hole a putt from off the green to restore his two-shot cushion at the par-five 16th, as McIlroy took three putts from a similar distance for par, before both players carded three-putt bogeys at the par-three 17th.

Glover double-bogeyed the same iconic par-three and Smalley dropped a shot at the last, leaving the pair on nine under, as Spaun looked in danger of losing his outright lead until holing from off the green to scramble a closing par.

McIlroy’s eight-foot birdie at the last ensured he will be part of the penultimate group on the final day, with Danny Walker – a late entry after Jason Day’s withdrawal – firing a six-under 66 to share eighth with Stephan Jaeger, Max McGreevy, Patrick Cantlay, Sepp Straka and Jake Knapp.

Scheffler bogeyed two of his last three holes to slip back into the group on five under containing Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and overnight co-leader Min Woo Lee, who struggled to a six-over 78.

Positives for McIlroy? ‘I felt like I left a lot out there’

McIlroy, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “I felt like I played better than I scored. Every dropped shot I felt like was soft. I three-putted the fifth, 13th and the 17th. I also took four to get down from not very far away on 12.

“I controlled my ball well apart from that. It’s just unfortunate that I had a couple of sloppy mistakes from around the greens – I feel like I left a lot out there. At the same time, I’m not too far away and it was nice to birdie the last at least.”

Spaun, looking for his first PGA Tour title since 2022, said: “I tried my best to hit solid shots, that’s all you can do with this amount of wind. The majority of time I hit the fairway and, if not, I scrambled really well and made some putts which was key.”

“I’ve just got to address it as another round. I know what is at stake – I’ve won on tour before – and I’ve had the attitude that I’ve got nothing to lose, which has been working out so far this week. I’ve just got to keep that rolling into tomorrow.”

Who will win The Players? Watch the final round live on Sunday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf, with eight extra feeds – including Featured Holes, Featured Groups and bonus coverage – on Sky Sports+. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.

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