McIlroy, Fleetwood set to chase leader Rahm on St. Patrick’s Day

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Say this for whoever wins THE PLAYERS Championship: He’s going to have to earn it.

Some of the game’s biggest names have fought their way to the top of the leaderboard with one round remaining, none bigger than Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (70, 14-under), the 2016 FedExCup champion and former world No. 1. He’s just one behind Jon Rahm (64) and will be looking for a breakthrough victory on St. Patrick’s Day after five consecutive top-6 finishes on the PGA TOUR.

“I haven’t played the par 5s that good the last couple weeks,” McIlroy, 29, said after playing them in even par, including a frustrating bogey at the second. “…It’s definitely an area tomorrow that I need to really concentrate on and try to make the most of those holes, because it’s getting difficult out there."

“Definitely with the conditions the way they might be tomorrow,” he added, “you’ve got to take advantage of the easier holes.”

Forecasters are predicting steady rain with temperatures in the 50s on Sunday.

Rahm is arguably the hottest player at TPC Sawgrass and takes a one-stroke lead over not just McIlroy but also Tommy Fleetwood (70, 14-under) into the final round.

Jason Day (68, 12-under) won THE PLAYERS in 2016 and is only three back.

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“Just focus on myself,” the fiery Rahm, 24, said of his game plan for Sunday, when he will play for his third PGA TOUR victory and first since the Desert Classic last season. “Keep focusing on me and my emotions and what I'm feeling and what I have to do at each moment.”

This is the first Rahm has ever held the 54-hole lead on TOUR, and as always he’ll have to work to channel his emotions. He’s been open about his journey to do so, and some days are better than others. Saturday, with seven birdies and an eagle, was one of the better ones.

Asked if he could recall a tournament in which he got this hot and just kept going and ran away with it, Rahm didn’t have to think too hard: the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December.

“It was very similar to this,” Rahm said. “Both the Friday round and the Sunday round. It was two days where I hit it really, really well, tee to green.”

How far back is too far? Anyone within five of the lead would seem to be well in the mix, and especially given that challenging conditions plus nerves are a volatile combination.

“I’m still right there in it,” said world No. 1 Dustin Johnson (69, 10-under).

Fleetwood overcame a 28-inch missed putt, and waved at a five-foot eagle try at the driveable 12th hole. Still, despite looking shaky on the greens he limited the damage and is well within reach of his first PGA TOUR victory. No one questions whether he has the talent to hoist a trophy; he just has to get out of his own way and get it done after some recent close calls.

Ditto for McIlroy, who is poised to pick up his 15th TOUR win and first since the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. This, despite the fact that he hit only four of 14 fairways Saturday.

Mexico’s Abraham Ancer (70, 11-under) is only four back and, like Fleetwood, in search of his first TOUR win. He’ll have to do it at one of the most harrowing courses, against one of the strongest fields in golf, and most likely in bad weather.

“I think we’re going to be hitting drivers and 5-irons, possibly, into that 18th hole,” Day said.

Much of the pre-tournament buzz at this PLAYERS centered around the move to March. The conventional wisdom was that the new date would bring cooler weather, different winds, softer fairways and greens. That didn’t happen so much over the first two days, but it’s happening this weekend, and it’s bringing bad-weather specialists and/or bombers to the top of the leaderboard.

“I was surprised it was so soft,” said Brandt Snedeker (65, 10-under, five back), who played one of the all-time great bad-weather rounds to win the Farmers Insurance Open in 2016. “…It’s hard, different (north) wind, you have to adjust your lines off tees and we hadn’t seen it this way all week. It was a little colder, too. Ball’s not quite going as far.”

Johnson and Snedeker are part of a huge logjam of six players at 10-under that also includes Ollie Schniederjans (65), Keegan Bradley (68), Brian Harman (71) and 48-year-old Jim Furyk (71), who achieved a moral victory by not falling in the lake as he hit his second shot on 18.

“It was a good solid round,” Furyk said, “and still leaves me in striking distance tomorrow. I haven’t seen the weather forecast since this morning, but it looks like we have a tough day ahead of us.”