Emergency 9: THE PLAYERS Championship, Round 3

Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the THE PLAYERS Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. THE PLAYERS Stadium Course TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, has been the host since 1982 and plays 7,189 yards to a Par-72.   PAIN OR GAIN These were the top-10 picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: The good news about playing for second place in an event of this magnitude is that it pays well. The check for second is worth $1.188 million, the first place check for a “normal” TOUR event.  ALONE Webb Simpson rolled in a par putt from just over 17 feet on his final hole to sign for 68 (-4) as he will take a seven-shot lead into the final round. Simpson’s last victory was in the fall of 2013, where he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children’s Open on 24-under-par. He’s 19-under after three rounds, matching Greg Norman’s 54-hole record from 1994.  With only three bogeys (one double) on the week and all three rounds in the 60’s, it’s going to take something special to knock him off Sunday as his seven-shot lead is largest in history entering the final round. RIDING SHOTGUN Danny Lee began the day in the penultimate group behind Simpson and Charl Schwartzel. Paired with Patrick Cantlay, Lee fired 70 to post 12-under and earn a spot in the final pairing.  Lee’s bogey-free round should give him confidence heading into tomorrow but he’ll be the first to remember that he hasn’t posted a top-10 paycheck since T7 at the CIMB Classic last October. In 2018, Lee hasn’t appeared in this column once as he’s MC nine times in 13 attempts. His best finish in 2018 is T51 (Valero Texas Open) and he will have some heavy hitters breathing down his neck. NO. 1  Using the Aim Point System must be growing on the OWGR No. 1 player as Dustin Johnson was second in SG: putting in Round 3. He holed almost 143 feet of putts and got up-and-down six times in eight tries. He’s looking to improve on his best finish, T12, as he’ll begin tomorrow nine shots off Simpson’s lead in third place. He’ll be looking for a big finish to hang on to his spot at No. 1 in the world. LOST IN THE SHUFFLE While the golfing world was hanging on every shot from Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth on Saturday morning, Jason Dufner, as usual, was quietly going about his business. After an uneventful 35 that didn’t cause any gamers to take notice, Dufner screamed home in a bogey-free 31 to post 66 and move up 42 spots to T4. His playing partner Johnson has closed the last two years 68 and 68. Dufner’s best Sunday in seven previous tries is 72 twice.  MOVING DAY Gamers have been waiting patiently for a monster on the weekend from Tiger Woods and they finally got their wish with his 65 in Round 3. Unfortunately he began the round 14 shots off the lead and will begin Sunday 11 off the pace. Imagine shooting 65 on Saturday and only gaining three shots!  Jordan Spieth, who also started Saturday 14 shots off the lead, matched Woods’ 65 with one more birdie (9 to 8) and one more bogey (2 to 1). Spieth only hit six fairways, but birdied the last three to see him land T8 heading into the final round. MOVING DAY: WRONG WAY Alex Noren opened 66-69 and was primed to improve on his 10th-place finish in his maiden voyage last year. As great as his bogey-free opening round was his 77 in Round 3 was the opposite. He circled one birdie against four bogeys and a double and dropped from T5 to T42. Jon Rahm shot 82 here on Saturday last year. He made one birdie and shot 77 on Saturday this year. He was six-over thru 11 holes before making his first birdie. He made the secondary cut and will have another chance to crack the TPC Sawgrass code. MDF With 80 players making the 36-hole cut, the field will be cut again for Round 4 to the top 70 and ties. Thursday’s rabble rousers Keith Mitchell (67), Lucas Glover (68) and Ollie Schniederjans (68) joined Zach Johnson in packing up a day early. Johnson still managed to run his record to 10 consecutive paydays and 13 of 14 in his career. STUDY HALL Round 3 played 71.800, up from 71.273 in Round 2. The morning wave handled the lowest scores of the day as there was barely any wind, overcast skies and soft greens. Thank you Charl Schwartzel for your AMAZING birdie on the last hole that assured Woods and Spieth would be paired on Sunday. It’s true, not all heroes wear capes! The South African played in the final group and shot 73 and ended the day T4. Johnny Miller said no player in the history of the PGA TOUR has ever blown a seven-shot lead.  The biggest comeback in this event is seven shots by Tim Clark in 2010.  

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