The Players Championship: J.J. Spaun takes 1-shot lead over Bud Cauley into final round; Rory McIlroy 4 shots back

J.J. Spaun leads The Players Championship after Day 3 at 12-under. He shot a 70 for the day in tough, windy conditions at TPC Sawgrass.

Spaun goes into the final round with a one-shot lead over Bud Cauley, who's begins on Sunday at 11-under. He maintained his lead by sinking a 25-foot putt for par on the 18th hole.

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Winning only one Tour event during his career, Spaun says he'll go into Sunday feeling like he has nothing to lose.

"Just address it as another round," he said to Sky Sports afterwards. "I know what's at stake - I've won on Tour before. We have had the atmosphere of having nothing to lose and it's worked out really well so far. We're going to keep that going tomorrow."

J.J. Spaun curls it in for par on 18 to retain his lead! 🔥

📺 NBC & Peacock | #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/GaVrgIMb4z
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 15, 2025

Lucas Glover and Alex Smalley are tied for third at -9 after shooting a 71 and 72 in the third round, respectively. Rory McIlroy finished Saturday in a three-way tie for fifth place at -8 along with Corey Connors and Akshay Bhatia. Despite struggling to a 73, McIlroy is still in contention for his second Players Championship title.

Windy conditions flustered several players. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler struggled against the breeze blowing across the green, showing his frustration by throwing a ball in the water and his club at his bag at various points. He shot even at 72, bogeying two of his last three holes and finishing the day tied for 16th at -5.

Another player flustered by his play and the conditions was Will Zalatoris. He quadruple bogeyed on No. 14 and fell from 11-under, where he began the day. Zalatoris is tied for 33rd with 11 others, including Jordan Spieth, at 2-under.

A costly quad for Will Zalatoris at the treacherous new 14th hole.

T2 to T9 in an instant. pic.twitter.com/zzH6nYS7mm
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2025

Besides Scheffler and Zalatoris expressing their exasperation, the definitive portrait in aggravation probably came from Billy Horschel.

"I have no god-honest control of my golf swing," he said on NBC. "I don't know where the golf ball is going, so I'm trying to get into the house as fast as I can."

Some real honesty from @BillyHo_Golf mid-round 😅 pic.twitter.com/pFUlj2mBPP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2025

And that was before Horschel hit a ball into the water off the famous island green at No. 17. He finished tied for 44th with Matt Kuchar at -1.

One more who had a tough day was Collin Morikawa, who carded eight bogeys in the third round on his way to a 77. That left him tied for 22nd with eight other competitors at 4-under.

The PGA Tour announced that Sunday's tee times for the final round have been pushed up to begin at 8 a.m. ET due to expected severe weather. Threesomes will tee off from the No. 1 and No. 10 holes. The final group will tee off at 10 a.m. ET and that's when live TV coverage will begin on Golf Channel and Peacock.

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