Players Championship 2017: Tee Times, Pairings and Predictions for Sunday

It has gotten crowded at the top of the Players Championship leaderboard, and that means a heart-stopping finish is quite likely Sunday in the final round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

J.B. Holmes will sleep on the lead Saturday night, as he fired a two-under-par 70 that allowed him to get to nine under par through three rounds at this challenging golf course.

Kyle Stanley, who had a share of the lead after 36 holes, joined Holmes at nine under with a score of 72 in the third round. Stanley was one stroke behind Holmes when he reached the 17th hole, and he fired his tee shot within 18 inches of the hole and tapped it in for an easy birdie on the famous island-green hole.

Louis Oosthuizen had a share of the lead going into Saturday's moving day round, but he had to settle for a one-over round of 73. While Oosthuizen struck the ball fairly well most of the round, he was unable to come through with his putter the way he had in the first two rounds. Still, he is just a stroke back heading into the final 18.

Pairing	Tee Time (ET)
William McGirt, Adam Scott	1:30 p.m.
Francesco Molinari, Rafa Cabrera Bello	1:40 p.m.
Alex Noren, Pat Perez	1:50 p.m.
Sergio Garcia, Patrick Cantlay	2 p.m.
Emiliano Grillo, Ian Poulter	2:10 p.m.
Louis Oosthuizen, Si Woo Kim	2:20 p.m.
J.B. Holmes, Kyle Stanley	2:30 p.m.

Si Woo Kim, the 21-year-old Korean upstart, fired one of the best rounds of the day and moved within one stroke of the lead Saturday. His 68 included a birdie on the challenging 17th hole. That came right after he bogeyed the par-five 16th hole, and Kim's power of recovery should give him an excellent opportunity to stand up to the pressure in Sunday's final round.

Emiliano Grillo had an excellent round of 67, and he moved to six under par and is just three strokes off the lead. Grillo found his game on the back nine when he fired four birdies and shot a 32. He eliminated some of the problems he had on the front nine when his three birdies were offset by two bogeys.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Masters champion Sergio Garcia played himself into contention with a razor-sharp 67 that left him at five under par for the tournament. Garcia is just four strokes off the lead and has clearly gained tremendous confidence since earning the green jacket, and he should have a legitimate chance to make a run at the contenders.

Garcia rolled in a 17-foot putt on the 16th for an eagle, and that was the key hole in his round. He seems quite happy with his game, and coming through in the Masters has increased his belief in himself.

"I've always been confident with myself and always believed in the ability that I have," Garcia said, per James Corrigan of the Telegraph. "But I'm not going to lie, it does help to win a major and to win the Masters the way I did it."

While Garcia played himself back into contention, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson were unable to make positive moves.

McIlroy, who has had issues with his back throughout the tournament, shot a one-under 71 and is one under par for the tournament. It has largely been three rounds of near-misses for McIlroy.

Day has not had his best form this year, but it looked like he might make a move at the Players after getting to two under after 36 holes. However, instead of playing himself back among the leaders, Day struggled to a one-over 73 in the third round.

Fowler and Stenson are both even par after difficult rounds Saturday. Fowler, one of the pre-tournament favorites, struggled to an even-par 72, while Stenson came home with a two-over-par 74.

Holmes and Stanley are in the final pairing of the day, and those two will tee off at 2:30 p.m. ET. Oosthuizen and Kim will tee off 10 minutes earlier, while Ian Poulter (-6) and Grillo will start their round at 2:10. 

Garcia and Patrick Cantlay will start their round at 2 p.m., and here's a look at tee-off times for the full field, courtesy of PGATour.com.

Predictions

After his big move on Saturday, it's hard not to like Sergio Garcia's position going into the final round. He is within reach of the lead, and a sharp start on the front nine could allow him to challenge Holmes, Stanley and Oosthuizen. Look for that to happen.

Holmes is playing at a very high level, and he has shown the ability to recover when he hits an ordinary shot. He struggled to find the fairway during Saturday's round, but he still found a way to hold the lead and dictate the pace.

Holmes should remain at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the round. The pressure of playing the final pairing in a huge tournament like the Players could be too much for Stanley.

On the other hand, Oosthuizen has the swing to consistently hit excellent shots and give himself birdie possibilities.

Look for Holmes, Garcia and Oosthuizen to engage in a final-round battle at TPC Sawgrass, with Oosthuizen making the key putts on the final three holes to emerge as the victor.