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 on the par-5 16th hole, the start of one of the most famous matches final stretches in golf.
After gaining momentum, Clark walked to the tee box of 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 with tension building before his white-knuckle shot.
Just before Clark put his ball on a tee, his caddy, John Ellis, told him not to take a full swing with a sand wedge. Ellis feared that if the reigning US Open champion hit his wedge, his ball might end up on top of the green, leaving him with a tough putt downhill and into the water.
Clark took a couple of practice swings and removed his wedge. He fragmented the shot and his ball never had a chance to reach the green, landing 15 to 20 yards in the water.
“When I was on the ball, I got to the top and thought, 'Take a little off,' and then I just [decelerated] and I fragmented it,” Clark said. “It wasn't really a lack of concentration or anything like that. Honestly, it was a bad swing.”
That mistake helped Schauffele erase Clark's 4-stroke lead after 36 holes and take a 1-stroke lead over him heading into Sunday's final round. Schauffele shot a 7-under 65 with no bogeys. He caught Clark on the 12th hole and then took a 1-stroke lead with a 58-foot birdie on the par-4 14th.
Reigning 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 required the left-hander to hit a right-handed shot, Harman shot a 5-under 31 on the back nine. Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick are 4 shots behind and 13 under par.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, trying to become the first back-to-back winner in Players Championship history, stayed in the hunt by making birdies on four of his last five holes. He is 5 shots behind at 12 under par, along 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 hot day tomorrow could be a big help.”
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 clinch the “fifth major” and the $4.5 million winner's purse, the richest in men's professional golf.
It is the seventh time in Schauffele's career that he has led or co-led a tournament after 54 holes. He won twice in the previous six attempts, at the Genesis Scottish Open and Travelers Championship in 2022. Schauffele said he knows it might take another low number on Sunday to win again.
“To be honest, probably pretty similar,” Schauffele said. “I'm going to go out to the course right now and try to clean up some of those missed fairways on the back nine. When you hit a lot of fairways here, you can have some scoring clubs in your hand, and with the greens being receptive, you can shoot “Some bowling. I might be down tomorrow, but for the most part I'm just going to try to enjoy it and stay in my lane.”
After shooting back-to-back 65s to start the tournament, Clark knows he'll have to clean things up in the final round, including his indecision on the 17th hole.
As poor as Clark's first swing was on the 17th on Saturday, his second was nearly perfect. Instead of hitting his third shot from the drop zone, he hit again off the tees. Clark asked his caddy if he should hit from the drop area, but Ellis told him that 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're going to attack from right here,' so the choice was easy.”
Clark threw his ball 6½ feet. He made the putt for bogey. Schauffele and Clark made par on the difficult 18th, leaving Schauffele with the lead heading into Sunday.
“It's unfortunate on a hole that is so iconic and has a lot of issues to have the worst swing of the day,” Clark said. “But yeah, I followed it up with a great swing and a great putt. I'll be in the final group tomorrow, which is huge.”
“I hope it's a big point in the tournament and that tomorrow we look back and look at that hole and say, 'Hey, that was maybe the shot and the putt that meant everything.'”
