THE PLAYERS Championship Round 3: Brian Harman’s Record, Wyndham Clark’s Mishap and More

THE PLAYERS Championship never fails to amaze the community. What else can be said about the first two days of the event known as ‘The Fifth Major’ of golf? However, although a total of 144 players tried their best to make the cut, only 73 of them managed to move on to the weekend. But never fear, there hasn’t been any shortage of memorable instances on the course during the third round as well.

Meanwhile, there was a visible shuffle on the scoreboard, allowing Xander Schauffele to propel past Wyndham Clark to take the top spot with an amazing display of golf. Regardless, his climb up the positions could only closely miss out on making it to the top moments that turned the heads of the fans. Thus, curiosity naturally arises: what else could have managed to beat the American Pro’s rise to the top spot and dominate the headlines for the day?

Top moments of the third round at THE PLAYERS Championship

5. Wyndham Clark’s water shot: It appears it wasn’t such a lucky day for Clark, especially at the iconic 17th hole. Unfortunately, back when the 30-year-old was leading the scorecard with Schauffele on the third day, he went ahead to hit a ball into the water, scoring a bogey for the same. Just 20 more yards, and it could have landed on the greens.

Sadly for the golfer, this proved to be nothing short of crucial, as he was forced to go one down to take up the T2 place at the end of round three. What’s more, he could only put up a figure of 2 under 70, all the while totaling figures of 16 under over the three days of play.

4. Rory McIlroy, the father: Although McIlroy couldn’t replicate his first-round feats, he’d have been a truly happy person nevertheless. The reason was none other than his daughter Poppy, who ran to her daddy’s arms after he finished the third round with three birdies. An undoubtedly spectacular gameplay by the golfer. However, all of his attention was on the little girl.

Meanwhile, at the end of the day, he scored a total of six birdies along with a bogey and a double bogey, the last two of which came on the 3rd and the 14th holes, respectively. Consequently, the Northern Irishman finished at T12 after the third day with a total of 9-under owing to his numbers of 65, 73, and 69 over the three rounds.

3. A family affair for fans: The love one has for the game of golf would be hard to not express. Similar was the case with the family who came to watch THE PLAYERS Championship. And, honestly, by family, we mean a big one consisting of four generations, the eldest of whom is 107 years old while the youngest is just 4.

This is but one of the instances that THE PLAYERS witnessed over the three days. The second day of play saw McIlroy spending some time with Kyler Aubrey, a disabled fan of the golfer. Their interaction was indubitably a beautiful sight to behold, just like the 107-year-old fan bringing his son, grandson, and two of his great-grandsons to watch the iconic tournament.

2. The Nate Lashley putt: Surprisingly, Min Woo Lee made the longest putt at the 17th hole on Friday. However, he was soon overshadowed by Lashley, who made a similar feat but at the 12th hole from a distance of a remarkable 79 feet on the greens. However, this helped him rake in his one and only eagle of the day and the event as well.

In the meantime, his feat, along with the five birdies he dished out on Saturday, helped him jump six places from the 14th place to the 8th place on the leaderboard. Besides, it helped him register a score of 5-under 67 increasing his figures to a total of 11-under over the three days of play, with 68-70 coming off on the first two rounds.

1. The rise of Brian Harman: The 37-year-old topped the headlines on Saturday as he jumped up seven places to the 3rd spot on the leaderboard. However, his climb wasn’t just a normal one. He was able to card an 8-under 64, which was the lowest he had ever gone in a total of 41 rounds he played at THE PLAYERS Championship. Moreover, he has finished a total of three times in the top 10 for the 11 times he has appeared at the appeared at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Truly a scintillating display of golf by the 2023 Open Championship winner. What’s more, he was able to card a total of nine birdies on Saturday, which led to him scoring his lowest ever in the tournament. Besides, the record numbers helped him total a figure of 15 under, thereby pushing him to become a strong contender for the title.

Although these moments topped the headlines for the day, they were but some of the many that managed to catch the eyes of the fans. Well, there will undoubtedly be many more in the finale that is set to thrill the golfing world on Sunday, March 17. Keep your eyes open!

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