2023 Players Championship leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler takes control with Saturday 65 at TPC Sawgrass

Scores, analysis and highlights from Round 3 at The Players Championship

A clustered leaderboard filled with rookies, former loan officers, relative unknowns, journeymen and major champions had the looks of turning into a two-man race before Scottie Scheffler took control at the 2023 Players Championship. Emerging from the crowd towards the end of the third round, the Texan became the only player in the field to card three consecutive rounds in the 60s and will head into Sunday with the solo lead at 14 under.

Scheffler will begin the final round two strokes clear of world No. 50 Min Woo Lee. The Australian appeared primed to share the 54-hole lead with Scheffler before dropping his lone shot of the day on 18. Past Lee, the leaderboard begins to thin as the world No. 2 finds himself four clear of another Aussie, Cameron Davis, in third.

On a day that featured record low scoring, the second ace of the week on the par-3 17th and the tumbling of the course record, Scheffler rose above the rest. His 65 clipped Lee's 66 by a single stroke when it looked as if Lee could do no wrong. Scheffler remained patient when he found trouble, he took advantage of his opportunities, and he played the style of golf conducive for success on Pete Dye's masterpiece. 

Others will need to do the same on Sunday if they are to stop Scheffler from running away. Looking to sneak in the side door are several outsiders including Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai at 9 under. The two signed for 65s in Round 3 and positioned themselves nicely should Scheffler falter. Sungjae Im sits one stroke worse at 8 under and is joined by Tom Hoge, who claimed the course record at TPC Sawgrass with his 62 in Round 3.

2023 Players Championship leaderboard

1. Scottie Scheffler (-14): There are just not enough nice things to say about Scheffler. He began his third round in ideal fashion when he kicked in a birdie on No. 1 and chipped in for eagle on No. 2. He went on to turn in 31 (with a water ball). His back nine was much more mundane with seven pars and two birdies, but that will be exactly what he needs on Sunday as the course continues to firm up and competitors fire at him. With a victory, he would reclaim the world No. 1 ranking from Jon Rahm while joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only men to hold the Players Championship and the Masters at the same time.

2. Min Woo Lee (-12): Lee's lone missed putt from inside 10 feet came at the 18th, and it will surely sour his dinner. Despite the disappointment on the final hole, Lee should be proud of his 66. Once he grabbed a hold of the lead, the young Aussie looked extremely comfortable in the position and continued to apply pressure on Scheffler behind him. He took down Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff in his last victory at the 2021 Scottish Open and will have no fear trying to do the same to Scheffler.

3. Cam Davis (-10): The other young Aussie exploded onto the scene at the 2022 Presidents Cup alongside his fellow countryman Adam Scott. The big leap forward in his career felt inevitable in 2023, but Davis admitted to facing some health struggles in the early parts of the year. He hovered around for most of the third round and began his day with nine straight pars on the front side. A back-nine 31, including birdies on Nos. 17-18, positioned him directly behind the two at the top.

"I've been unwell for the first couple months of the year," Davis said Thursday. "Haven't really been able to practice much. I let a few things get to me. … This is the first week where I'm really feeling like I'm starting to get the hang of it again. Yeah, hopefully this is just the beginning for me again."

T4. Aaron Rai, Tommy Fleetwood, Chad Ramey, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-9): Rai moved to Ponte Vedra Beach just two weeks ago and now has a chance to win the biggest title of his career just down the street from his home. He had one of the best three-hole finishes in Players Championship when he played Nos. 16-18 at 4-1-3. The Englishman went from 5 under to 9 under in less than an hour, catapulting his name into contention.

T8. Sungjae Im, Tom Hoge, David Lingmerth (-8): Hoge began his week with a 78, battled back with a 68 and then broke the course record at TPC Sawgrass with a 62 on Saturday. He surpassed a number of players to have previously shot 63, including major champions such as Freddie Couples, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Greg Norman. Hoge gained nearly eight strokes on the field through a well-rounded effort consisting of +1.06 strokes gained off the tee, +3.89 strokes gained approach, +0.19 strokes gained around the green and +2.44 strokes gained putting. 

T11. Justin Rose, Taylor Montgomery, Denny McCarthy (-7): McCarthy pokes his head around TPC Sawgrass every couple years. A serious charge was in the making on his front nine when he made five birdies in his opening seven holes to reach 9 under. He played his next 11 holes in 2 over lowlighted by a double bogey on the par-5 11th (the easiest hole on the course). 

T14. Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, VIktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Jason Day and six others (-6): After nearly missing the cut, Spieth made the most of his Moving Day with a bogey free 66. If not for that middle stretch of his second round, the three-time major champion would be much better positioned, but he still believes he has a chance. He ranked third in strokes gained tee to green and outside the top 50 in strokes gained putting on Saturday, so if the putter comes alive, maybe he'll be proven correct.

"I want the hardest conditions when you're behind because you have very little to lose and a lot to gain," said Spieth. "So, I'll still kind of keep that attitude going into tomorrow, regardless of where I stand, because I imagine I'll be at least six or seven back."

T26. Max Homa, Hideki Matsuyama, Tyrrell Hatton, Tony Finau and five others (-5): Matsuyama has been dealing with some injuries to begin 2023, and perhaps his bogey free 67 in Round 3 will prove to be a turning point in his year. He's driven the ball quite nicely the first three days but has yet to figure out the approach play. That has been Matsuyama's bread and butter throughout his career, so you would think it would bounce back eventually and hopefully before the Masters where he always seems to thrive.

T35. Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Taylor Pendrith and five others (-4): Young turned in 30 and felt as if he left strokes out there. He failed to convert any of his three eagle opportunities -- including one from 6 feet on No. 12 -- and lost strokes to the field on the greens. It appeared as if he was off and running and even more so when he reached as low as 7 under with a birdie on the par-5 2nd (his 11th hole). He stumbled coming home with three bogeys in his last seven holes and carded the high score in his three-ball between himself, Spieth and Homa.

[Mar 11, 2023 at 5:27 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Hoge snags the course record at TPC Sawgrass with 62

Hoge began his week with a 6-over 78, battled back with a 4-under 68 and then broke the course record at TPC Sawgrass with a 10-under 62 on Saturday. Hoge surpassed a number of players to have previously shot 63 including major champions such as Freddie Couples, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Greg Norman. Hoge gained nearly eight strokes on the field through a well-rounded effort consisting of +1.06 strokes gained off the tee, +3.89 strokes gained approach, +0.19 strokes gained around the green and +2.44 strokes gained putting.

[Mar 11, 2023 at 5:11 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Two-man race?

It has been pretty steady the last hour, but many of the contenders are fading. Adam Svensson carded a triple bogey to ruin his tournament chances and has left Min Woo Lee and Scottie Scheffler with some margin at the top. Lee still leads by one at 13 under but is four strokes clear of those in third.