Rory McIlroy to return on fifth day for playoff against JJ Spaun

Players Championship to be settled over three holes
Leading pair back on Monday after weather delay

Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship will rumble into a fifth day. He may well be grateful for that; in the final meaningful act of day four, the little-known JJ Spaun came within a couple of ball rotations of snatching the PGA Tour’s marquee event from McIlroy’s grasp. How that would have stung the Northern Irishman. The pair will instead return on Monday morning for a three hole playoff. McIlroy is the clear favourite but Spaun, with nothing to lose, carries menace.

As with so much involving McIlroy, this proved dramatic stuff. He was four shots adrift of the lead before a shot was struck on Sunday. Inside five holes, he was tied at the top. A four-hour weather delay ensued; when McIlroy birdied the 12th upon return, he led by three. McIlroy played the closing six in one over as Spaun birdied the 14th and 16th to force extra time.

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