TPC Sawgrass was in a giving mood on Saturday, as Pete Dye’s often-diabolical Stadium Course played under par for the first time all week and nearly a shot easier than it had in either of the previous two rounds.
Not that many of Ludvig Åberg’s challengers took advantage.
The 26-year-old Åberg, searching for what would be his third – and easily most consequential – title of his young PGA Tour career, leads The Players Championship by three shots over Michael Thorbjornsen, who climbed into solo second with a 5-under 67.
But the others?
Xander Schauffele began the third round two back of the leading Åberg, whose Friday 63 almost matched the tournament record, before hitting just eight greens, carding only one birdie and slipping to T-4, five behind, with a 74.
Justin Thomas notched two bogeys and a triple on his first six holes, and he could only claw back to an even-par 72, same as Corey Conners, whom Thomas still shares fourth with at 8 under.
Jacob Bridgeman was six shy of Åberg when he teed off Saturday, and though he quickly moved within striking distance with an outward 32, he was 3 over coming in and remains six back.
Cameron Young gave two shots away at the par-4 18th hole, hooking his tee ball into the water and later chipping through the green and into a bunker from a gnarly lie. He had to hole a 9-footer just to make double, which left him with a third-round 72 and solo third at 9 under.
“Honestly, the tee shot wasn’t bad,” Young said of No. 18. “I almost bent over to pick up the tee when I hit it. There’s a bunch of wind up there, and it just kept turning and turning and was a foot too much.”
Åberg, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly receptive, shooting 71 with one eagle, one birdie and two bogeys. He hooped a 17-footer for his eagle at the par-5 11th, looking at that moment like he was about to hit the gas and speed away from the field. But then he squandered some opportunities down the stretch, parring the par-5 16th after a poor chip, missing an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th and then three-putting from 25 feet at the last, his second miss on that green coming from 8 feet as well. The bogey dropped him to 13 under, when he could’ve easily been a few better.
“I definitely would have loved to come out of 16-17 with at least one birdie, and then obviously the three-putt on 18 kind of stings, annoys me a little bit,” Åberg said. “But yeah, overall I started the day with a two-shot lead and ended with a three, so that’s a positive for sure.”
Åberg is only the seventh player since The Players moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982 to lead by three or more strokes after 54 holes. Of those previous six 54-hole leaders, half of them failed to convert.
The biggest Sunday comeback at TPC Sawgrass was orchestrated by Henrik Stenson, the only Swede to win The Players after he rallied from five back of leader Alex Cjeka in 2009. Cjeka shot 79 that day, and Stenson won by four shots.
“I’ll definitely be nervous,” Åberg added. “I’ve been nervous the last three days. I’ve been nervous every time I step on 17 tee box as well. So I think it’s a part of it. I think whoever says they don’t get nervous is not really true to themselves. But yeah, it will be a challenge for sure, sleeping on a lead at a place that I really like, with a lot of friends, a lot of family, a lot of people that I know in the crowd. So there’s all those things to it, but that’s also what’s so fun about this place and about these tournaments is to have these opportunities and is why we play golf.”
Joining Schauffele, Thomas and Conners at 8 under are Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland. Robert MacIntyre is part of a large group at 7 under after he fired the round of the day, a 7-under 65.
Thorbjornsen earned himself a spot in the final pairing with Åberg, who earned his PGA Tour card as the No. 1 player in PGA Tour University in 2023, the year before Thorbjornsen did the same. The two now live near TPC Sawgrass, where they’ve played several casual rounds together in the past couple years.
“I love playing golf with him,” Thorbjornsen said of Åberg. “He was one of the guys in college that I looked up to, even though he’s only one year older than me.”
Thorbjornsen is again looking up at TPC Sawgrass, though this time the Players’ gold-man trophy is up for grabs.