Xander Schauffele seizes Players lead after Clark’s gaffe

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Wyndham Clark had just regained a share of the lead in the third round of the 50th Players Championship on Saturday when Xander Schauffele missed a long birdie putt at the par-5 16th, the start of one of the most famous courses golf finishing.

After taking his swing, Clark walked to the tee box on the par-3 17th hole and looked out at the thousands of fans surrounding the island's iconic green. The hole was only 123 yards away, but it might as well have been a mile away with tension building before his white-handed shot.

Just before Clark put his ball on a tee, his caddy, John Ellis, told him not to hit hard with a sand wedge. Ellis was afraid that if the reigning U.S. Open champion shot the wedge, his ball might end up at the top of the green, leaving him with a tricky putt down the hill and toward the water.

Clark took a few practice swings and pulled back his wedge. He made his shot and his ball never had a chance to reach the green, landing 15 to 20 yards from the water.

“As I was on top of the ball, I kind of got to the top and was like, 'Take a little off,' and then I kind of [decelerated] and I fragmented it,” Clark said. “It wasn't really a lack of concentration or anything. Honestly, it was a bad swing. »

The mistake helped Schauffele erase Clark's 4-shot advantage after 36 holes and take a one-shot lead over him heading into Sunday's final round. Schauffele shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65. He caught Clark at No. 12, then took a one-shot lead with a 58-foot birdie at the par-4 14th.

Defending Open Championship winner Brian Harman is 2 shots behind at 15 under after posting an 8-under 64 on Saturday. After making his only bogey on the par-5 ninth hole – which forced the left-hander to hit a right-handed shot – Harman was 5-under 31 on the back nine. Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick are 4 shots behind at 13 under.

World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler, trying to become the first back-to-back winner in Players Championship history, stayed in contention by making birdies on four of his last five holes. He is 5 shots behind at 12 under, with Sahith Theegala.

“I wouldn’t say I’m out of the tournament,” Scheffler said. “I’m definitely on the outside looking in, but a warm day tomorrow could help a lot.”

Schauffele, ranked sixth in the world, is one of the most talented golfers in the world without a major championship victory. He won't be able to win one at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, but he can win the “fifth major” and the $4.5 million winner's purse, the richest in men's professional golf.

This is the seventh time in Schauffele's career that he has led or co-led a tournament after 54 holes. He has won twice in the previous six tries, at the Genesis Scottish Open and the Travelers Championship in 2022. Schauffele said he knew it might take another low number on Sunday to win again.

“Probably pretty similar, to be honest,” Schauffele said. “I'm going to go to the range now and try to clean up some of the missed fairways on the back nine. When you hit a lot of fairways here, you can have goal clubs in hand, and with the greens being receptive, you can hit shots on a few pins. It might be low tomorrow, but for the most part I'll try to have fun and stay in my lane.

After shooting back-to-back 65s to start the tournament, Clark knows he will have to clean up the final round, including his indecision on the 17th hole.

As mediocre as Clark's first swing was on the 17th on Saturday, his second was almost perfect. Instead of hitting his third shot from the drop zone, he hit again from the tees. Clark asked his caddy if he should hit from the drop zone, but Ellis told him he didn't like the angle and that the shot was too close.

“It was a no-brainer to hit from there,” Ellis said. “He asked me, and I said, ‘No, we’ll go from there,’ such an easy choice.”

Clark sent his ball 6½ feet. He made the putt for bogey. Schauffele and Clark both reached par on the difficult 18th, giving Schauffele the lead heading into Sunday.

“It’s unfortunate on a hole that’s so iconic and struggling to have sort of your worst swing of the day,” Clark said. “But yeah, I followed it with a good swing and a great putt. I'm in the final group tomorrow, which is huge.

“I hope this is an important point in the tournament and we look after tomorrow, look at this hole and say, 'Hey, maybe that was the shot and the putt that meant everything.'”