Players Championship 2016 Leaderboard: Live Look at Sunday Scores, Predictions

Jason Day continues to be the heavy favorite heading into the final round Sunday of the 2016 Players Championship.

The 28-year-old Australian will begin his day with a strong lead, as he is four shots up on second-place sharers Alex Cejka, Ken Duke and Hideki Matsuyama. 

Course conditions were difficult at TPC Sawgrass Saturday as high winds and humidity made for fast greens. While perennial contenders Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth faltered, Day was able to hold steady at just one over for the day. Sinking shots like this certainly helped Day, courtesy of the PGA Tour:

With much of the field shooting higher scores Saturday compared to earlier in the competition, Duke and Matsuyama turned in remarkable performances to surge to second place on the leaderboard.

Day and McIlroy both marveled at Duke and Matsuyama's play through treacherous conditions, per ESPN's Jason Sobel and PGATour.com's Mike McAllister:

Fellow pro Ian Poulter had particularly high praise for Duke: 

Matsuyama is ranked 14th in the world, per the Official World Golf Ranking, and is a legitimate contender in this tournament. He already won the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year and, at only 24 years old, he is appears primed to join Day, Rickie Fowler, McIlroy and Spieth as golf's next top golfers for the next decade.

Putting is key to winning golf tournaments, and Matsuyama is doing that better than anyone at this year's Players, according to GolfChannel.com's Will Gray:

This should ensure that Matsuyama stays within contention Sunday as he is unlikely to miss consecutive puts.

Duke does not have the track record to garner any significant faith at the moment. While he was phenomenal Saturday, expecting a 47-year-old player with one career win to replicate a performance that even slightly resembles his Round 3 is asking too much. 

Cejka has been steady all tournament, but he has failed to move from 10 under in the last 18 holes. Unless he can finally make a real push, he will not be much of a threat to win.

Matsuyama will challenge Day, but a four-shot deficit will be too much to overcome. With his focus shifted toward finishing strong and gaining momentum before June's U.S. Open, Day will hold on and win the Players.