JJ Spaun (-12) is the solo leader at the THE PLAYERS Championship with 18 holes to go. He is neither a newcomer nor can he be classified as a complete unknown, but anyone who said on Thursday that he would be leading the most important tournament of the PGA Tour a day before the end is a visionary. Take a look at it. Spaun is 34 years old, has been on the PGA Tour for several seasons, and won the Valero Texas in 2023, but this Sunday he will face the most important day of his professional career.
His leadership was not in the predictions, especially after seeing how the day started. The forecasts were met, and the wind began to blow strongly throughout the day, with gusts reaching 45 kilometres per hour. Very tough conditions. A day of survival golf. On the 17th hole, for example, it was blowing in favour, and the players’ faces were a picture, imploring that it was the right club after each shot.
Under these tough conditions, it was expected that only the best could stay on top, but it has been almost the opposite. Spaun is not the only outsider who has suddenly found himself in the top area of the tournament. In second place is Bud Cauley (-11), who did not have a spot in the tournament until Tuesday afternoon, and tied for third are Lucas Glover and Alex Smalley with -9. You cannot deny that it is an unusual leaderboard.
The golf of almost all of them has been cut from the same cloth this Saturday. They have been sublime in short game and putting. Spaun has made six out of eight recoveries, Cauley has been the best putter, Glover has holed three from off the green, and Smalley has been number one around the green.
In fifth place finally appears the first strong name. It is Rory McIlroy (-8), author of a more than notable round of 73 strokes. Two of his three bogeys came due to three-putts. Unforced errors. But also extraordinary things, like the birdie on the 18th after playing a perfect hole. Alongside McIlroy is Akshay Bhatia (-8), leader after the second round. He went crazy with the wind. 75 strokes.
Of the last ten matches of the day this Saturday, only Spaun, Straka, and Glover were able to play under par. Get an idea of how difficult the day was. And there were real disasters like Fowler’s 85, who said yesterday that he is playing golf better than when he won this tournament a few years ago, or Grillo’s 85. Five golfers have scored 80 strokes or more in the third round, including Cameron Young.
If the conditions were difficult this Saturday, the forecast now says that Sunday will be even more challenging. The wind will blow even stronger. In fact, it has been decided to bring forward the tee times and send the players out from two tees to prevent the storm forecast for the afternoon from ruining the outcome. In principle, if there are no suspensions, the leader will tee off shortly after three in the afternoon, Spanish peninsular time, and finish around eight and something.
If the forecast is met and the wind blows hard, with the greens even firmer, the list of candidates for victory becomes very wide. Really significant comebacks can happen this Sunday. Even today, with a very difficult day, there are players like Corey Conners (-8), tied with McIlroy, or Danny Walker (-7), who have entered the fight for victory coming from far behind with two crazy rounds of 66 strokes.
This means that Scheffler (-5) should not be ruled out yet, as he is in sixteenth position with an even score today. However, once again, he has left himself a lot of work for Sunday if he wants to win. He is frustrated and somewhat anxious on the course. It is very difficult to make a comeback attacking in this tournament at TPC Sawgrass. On Sunday, he will need his best mental version to try to give himself a chance.
