A blustery, brutal day at TPC Sawgrass saw stars fall out of the sky and relatively unacclaimed names rise to the occasion. With the golf course playing just about two strokes over par on average, it was J.J. Spaun who stood tall in the face of adversity and took control of the 2025 Players Championship. Spaun sits at 12 under after a solid third-round 70, one stroke clear of Bud Cauley.
Spaun's 70 was the lowest round among those players who teed off in the final 10 pairings of the third round. Only Sepp Straka and Lucas Glover were able to join him in shooting among the red figures as the last 20 competitors took the golf course.
Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia, who co-led after 36 holes, endured a brutal beginning to their third rounds, and while Lee exited stage left, Bhatia battled tough to a 75. The lengthy left hander remains in the thick of it at 8 under alongside Rory McIlroy and Corey Conners.
Lee was far from the only big name to trip up at TPC Sawgrass. Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa carded eight bogeys en route to a 77, dropping to 4 under for the tournament. Tommy Fleetwood signed for a 75, and Will Zalatoris went from a share of the lead to full-on ejection.
The wiry right hander played his first 13 holes in 3 under to reach 11 under for the championship. He played his final five holes in 9 over low lighted by a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 14th that did not include a single penalty stroke or lost ball. Zalatoris added two more double bogeys to his card coming home.
Meanwhile, Spaun's playing partner, McIlroy, was middling for most of the day. However, Rory made his move on the par-4 18th. The 2019 champion arrived at the finisher at 2 over for the afternoon thanks to three bogeys in his last six holes but threw his approach in tight to enter the final round just four behind Spaun at 8 under.
Let's take a look at all the action that took place on a wild Saturday at TPC Sawgrass.
1. J.J. Spaun (-12): The finish cannot go overlooked. After making a bogey on the par-4 15th, Spaun was loose across his final three holes and still managed to play them in even par. He rolled in a birdie look from off the green on the par-5 16th, found the surface and three putted on No. 17 and then made a 28-foot par putt on the last to secure the solo lead. It has given him not only some breathing room over the immediate chasing pack but also those who loom large a bit further back.
JJ Spaun parred from here to take the 54-hole lead at the Players pic.twitter.com/t0qvMB9y3C
— Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) March 15, 2025
2. Bud Cauley (-11): A late addition to the field, Cauley is making the most of his opportunity, especially when one considers he is still playing on a major medical after a 2018 car accident. Cauley made just four pars in his final 13 holes thanks to a closing string of birdies on Nos. 15-17 that shot his name onto the first page of the leaderboard.
"I was out for a long time, and it's funny, when I first came back and started playing again, I really felt ready," Cauley said. "Then I kind of reflected -- my first tournament was Phoenix last year, and I kind of reflected on that this year playing Phoenix again. I wasn't quite as ready as I thought I was, just having a year under my belt again and playing. I've tried to just really practice with a purpose and just make little changes and just get a little bit better. I feel like some things are starting to come together that I've been working on for a while now."
T3. Lucas Glover, Alex Smalley (-9): What a wild day -- or should we say finish -- for Glover. The former U.S. Open champion was going along nicely as he tacked on four birdies after an opening birdie and stood at 3 under through his first 14 holes. He then made a sloppy double on No. 15 before he immediately grabbed those two strokes back on No. 16 with a chip-in eagle. Glover was gleaming until he dumped his tee shot into the water on the island green for another double. It all added up to a 71.
3 (!) chip-ins and 3 shots back!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2025
Lucas Glover lurks @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/PPxNAgEOD0
T6. Rory McIlroy, Akshay Bhatia, Corey Conners (-8): There was some good and some bad from McIlroy on Saturday. He was strolling along at 1 under through his first six holes but then hit some turbulence in the middle of his round. Partially due to course management and partially due to poor golf shots, McIlroy made a mess of both par 5s around the turn and dropped shots on the short par-4 12th and par-3 13th. After a 3-putt bogey on No. 17, McIlroy mustered up his best approach of the afternoon into the par-4 18th to give him a good look at his second Players title.
T8. Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay, Stephan Jaeger, Danny Walker, Jake Knapp, Max McGreevy (-7): The FedEx Cup No. 1 didn't get off to the best of starts, but he finished like a champion. Straka played his final 11 holes in bogey-free fashion and tacked on a couple birdies along the way — both on par 5s. After some so-so short game performances in Rounds 1 and 2, the Austrian leaned heavily on that part of his game and enters Sunday with an outside chance to make his presence known.
T16. Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Davis Thompson, Chris Kirk, Sam Ryder (-5): The three-peat is officially on life support. Scheffler got within four strokes of the lead at various points, but a poor finish will make it so the world No. 1 requires a minor miracle on Sunday to secure his third straight tournament title. Scheffler was cruising along and bogey-free until he hit his second into the water on No. 12 and misplayed both Nos. 16 and 17.
"It was a tough finish for me," Scheffler said. "I felt like I did some good things there towards the end and just the shots weren't going exactly where I thought they were going to. Hit some really nice shots that didn't end up where I thought they should have, and frustrating finish, but we'll see. You never know. Maybe do something crazy tomorrow. You've got guys shooting some pretty low numbers this week. So going into tomorrow, just try and get off to a good start and go from there."
This is a crucial closing stretch for the leader and he pounces on one on No. 16. Spaun rolls in a putt from off the green on the par 5 to get back that stroke he lost on the previous hole and return to 13 under. Spaun is now two clear of Bud Cauley and continues to separate from big names like his playing partner, Rory McIlroy, who just missed a 7 footer for birdie and remains at 8 under.
That is his third chip in of the afternoon and it comes with the big bird attached to it. Lucas Glover makes eagle on the par-5 16th and makes up three strokes on J.J. Spaun who just made bogey on the par-4 15th behind him. Glover gets within one stroke of the lead as there is some separation forming among the top four.
OUCH! That is absolutely brutal for Zalatoris who makes the first quadruple bogey of his career at the worst time. Without losing a golf ball, Zalatoris needs eight strokes up the 14th after getting caught up in the moguls. He goes from 11 under to 7 under and six off the pace.
That was sloppy, sloppy, sloppy from Rory McIlroy on No. 12. He hits a poor tee shot, handcuffs himself on his second and is unable to make a 15 footer to save his par on the short par 4. He drops to even par on the day and 9 under for the tournament — four behind J.J. Spaun who is absolutely stunting on them today. It has been near flawless for the man at 13 under and two clear of the field.
It's been an up-and-down few holes for Scottie Scheffler. He birdies No. 11, dumps his second into the water on No. 12 and makes bogey and then makes the second birdie of the day on the tough par-3 13th. The world No. 1 is officially lurking at 7 under.
Both Bhatia and Lee make double bogey on the par-4 5th. They drop to 8 and 9 under respectively, but they are going to need to start finding fairways. They have combined to hit just one between them through five holes, and to make matters worse they are well behind after needing 25 minutes to play that hole.
Both Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia are taking unplayables on the par-4 5th. Blasting their tee shots left, they are forced to take relief and keep the point between them and the hole. Looks like they are going to be playing from the back of the driving range and they will more than likely fall out of the lead.
The world No. 1 just missed a 5 footer to get within four of the leaders who are struggling. Scheffler turns in 1 under and 6 under for the tournament while the leaders — Akshay Bhatia, Min Woo Lee and J.J. Spaun — all battle the elements. Bhatia had a chance from 2 feet to get to 13 under on No. 2 but missed it and then made bogey on his next.
The lengthy left hander takes a peek with his approach into the par-4 opener. Wielding sand wedge from 123 yards, Bhatia will kick in his birdie to take the outright lead at 12 under.
The world No. 1 has gotten off to a solid start with one birdie and three pars across his first four holes. Now, he'll face four of the most difficult holes on the golf course and if he can get through them unscathed, then he will be off and running. Nos. 9-12 present realistic birdie opportunities on a day when there are not many. He's 6 under and five behind.
That is a BIG birdie on the last for the Canadian. Corey Conners rolls in an 8-footer on the par-4 18th to fire a 6-under 66 — currently eight strokes better than the course average — and get to 8 under for the tournament. He is only three strokes behind the leaders who will not tee off for another hour.
The world No. 3 misses a tap-in on his last hole and will settle for a triple bogey and a 77. Schauffele hit only a handful of fairways and not many more greens as he continues knock the rust off his rib injury hiatus.
The second to last player in the field — Danny Walker — has made the most of his Moving Day. The PGA Tour rookie signs for a 6-under 66 to get to 7 under for the tournament just as the wind is beginning to pick up. Walker moves inside the top 10 and could be sitting even prettier by day's end.
After hitting two off the tee on Friday, Spieth rides the cart path maybe 100 yards with his drive on No. 5. It settles in the pine straw and he somehow musters one out of there in front of the green and gets up-and-down for par. He remains at 4 under.
That is now two birdies in his last three holes dating back to yesterday for Spieth. He reaches 4 under for the tournament and seven strokes behind the leaders. There is going to be someone from the early pack to shoot 65 before the wind rolls into town and perhaps it will be Spieth who is now in a share of 31st.
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