Xander Schauffele seizes Sawgrass lead from Wyndham Clark with superb display

Xander Schauffele produced a superb display to overtake Wyndham Clark for the outright lead after the third round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

US Open champion Clark – who was four ahead of Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor overnight at 14-under par – started his round by digging out of the rough to make a birdie.

However, Olympic champion Schauffele continued to chase him down, sinking a 14-foot birdie on the sixth to close within two shots which was down to just one stroke at the turn.

Clark finds the water on No. 17. #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/2w168OY5aA https://t.co/J1VnG5MELX

— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERS) March 16, 2024

After Clark found the water off the 12th tee before saving par, Schauffele capitalised with yet another birdie and then made a 58-foot putt at the 14th which saw him take a one-shot lead.

Clark, though, landed a 30-foot birdie on the par-five 16th to level things up again before finding the water at the 17th and opting to take another off the tee rather than a drop, which saw him make a four and so give Schauffele a one-shot lead heading to the 18th.

Schauffele tapped in his par for a superb 65, while Schauffele was two under for the day with his 70 for a 17-under total.

Open champion Brian Harman built on a solid start to sign for a 64, the best score of the week so far, as he put himself in contention at 15 under.

Harman found the trees at the par-five ninth, which resulted in him making a six, but he then picked up successive birdies with another from 17 feet on the 14th closing the gap on the lead.

Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship victory received a late rally with birdies on the final three holes to sign for a 69 and sit at nine-under overall.

The Northern