JJ Spaun takes a one-shot lead into the ultimate spherical of The Gamers, as Rory McIlroy’s late birdie stored him in competition after a day the place situations brought about chaos at TPC Sawgrass.
Spaun holed a dramatic 25-foot putt to save lots of par on the ultimate gap of his third-round 70, placing him at 12 underneath forward of compatriot Bud Cauley, with Lucas Glover three again in tied-third alongside Alex Smalley and in a single day co-leader Akshay Bhatia.
McIlroy was enjoying alongside Spaun and briefly inside one of many lead till three bogeys in a six-hole stretch on the again 9, the place robust winds left gamers struggling, earlier than a closing birdie salvaged a one-over 73 and put him inside 4 of the lead.
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The very best of the motion from Rory McIlroy’s third-round 73 at The Gamers, the place he clung onto competition for a second profession win at TPC Sawgrass
The world No 2 – chasing a second Gamers Championship victory – is tied-fifth with Bhatia and Corey Conners on eight, whereas Scottie Scheffler heads into the ultimate day seven behind as he chases a historic three-peat on the PGA Tour’s flagship occasion.
The specter of thunderstorms has seen tee occasions introduced ahead for Sunday’s closing spherical, with gamers going out in threeballs and underneath a two-tee begin from 8am native time (noon GMT).
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How Spaun moved forward at windy Sawgrass
In a single day co-leader Bhatia fired his method to tap-in vary on the first however missed a close-range alternative to double his lead on the subsequent, then carded back-to-back bogeys to permit Spaun – who began one again – to drag degree with successive birdies from the second.
McIlroy additionally birdied the par-five second and cancelled out a three-putt bogey on the fifth by birdieing the sixth to remain inside one the leaders, with Spaun a part of that group regardless of dropping a shot of the fourth.
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Rory McIlroy is 4 off the lead heading into the ultimate spherical of The Gamers
A two-putt birdie on the par-five ninth noticed Spaun attain the flip one forward, as McIlroy recovered from discovering water off that tee to save lots of par and keep inside two, with gamers starting to slide down the leaderboard in strengthening winds.
Spaun by no means relinquished the solo lead on the again 9 and went two clear with a six-foot birdie on the twelfth, the place McIlroy carded the primary of successive bogeys, with Will Zalatoris – who briefly co-led – seeing his hopes fade after dropping 9 photographs over the closing 5 holes.
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Will Zalatoris noticed his hopes of Gamers Championship victory endure a significant setback after a nightmare quadruple-bogey throughout his third spherical
Cauley had set the clubhouse goal at 11 underneath after a shocking third-round 66 and Glover moved to the identical whole after cancelling out a double-bogey on the fifteenth by chipping in for eagle on the par-five subsequent, as Spaun bogeyed the fifteenth to halve his benefit.
Spaun recovered to gap a putt from off the inexperienced to revive his two-shot cushion on the par-five sixteenth, as McIlroy took three putts from the same distance for par, earlier than each gamers carded three-putt bogeys on the par-three seventeenth.
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Rory McIlroy struggled on the greens throughout his third spherical, lacking 4 putts from inside ten ft in windy situations
Glover double-bogeyed the identical iconic par-three and Smalley dropped a shot on the final, leaving the pair on 9 underneath, as Spaun regarded in peril of dropping his outright lead till holing from off the inexperienced to scramble a closing par.
McIlroy’s eight-foot birdie on the final ensured he might be a part of the penultimate group on the ultimate day, with Danny Walker – a late entry after Jason Day’s withdrawal – firing a six-under 66 to share eighth with Stephan Jaeger, Max McGreevy, Patrick Cantlay, Sepp Straka and Jake Knapp.
Scheffler bogeyed two of his final three holes to slide again into the group on 5 underneath containing Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and in a single day co-leader Min Woo Lee, who struggled to a six-over 78.
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Scottie Scheffler is seeking to change into the primary participant since 2011 to win the identical PGA Tour occasion three years operating
Positives for McIlroy? ‘I felt like I left so much on the market’
McIlroy, chatting with Sky Sports activities, mentioned: “I felt like I played better than I scored. Every dropped shot I felt like was soft. I three-putted the fifth, 13th and the 17th. I also took four to get down from not very far away on 12.
“I managed my ball properly aside from that. It is simply unlucky that I had a few sloppy errors from across the greens – I really feel like I left so much on the market. On the similar time, I am not too distant and it was good to birdie the final at the least.”
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Rory McIlroy admitted struggling at occasions throughout his third spherical at TPC Sawgrass, however insists he stays assured going into the ultimate day of The Gamers
Spaun, in search of his first PGA Tour title since 2022, mentioned: “I tried my best to hit solid shots, that’s all you can do with this amount of wind. The majority of time I hit the fairway and, if not, I scrambled really well and made some putts which was key.”
“I’ve just got to address it as another round. I know what is at stake – I’ve won on tour before – and I’ve had the attitude that I’ve got nothing to lose, which has been working out so far this week. I’ve just got to keep that rolling into tomorrow.”
Who will win The Gamers? Watch the ultimate spherical stay on Sunday from 1pm on Sky Sports activities Golf, with eight further feeds – together with Featured Holes, Featured Teams and bonus protection – on Sky Sports activities+. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.
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