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Players Championship 2019 Leaderboard: Live Updates, Top Storylines for Saturday
March 16, 2019
The third round of the 2019 Players Championship is under way on Saturday with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood sharing the overnight lead into the weekend.
The pair sat on 12-under par after Friday's play, three shots ahead of Jim Furyk, Ian Poulter, Brian Harman and Abraham Ancer at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
One shot behind that quartet are Jason Day, Kevin Kisner and Keith Mitchell, but it could be all change on moving day.
Here's how the top of the leaderboard is shaping up ahead of Saturday, and read on for a look at some of the major storylines to watch out for:
Tommy Fleetwood (-12)
Rory McIlroy (-12)
Jim Furyk (-9)
Ian Poulter (-9)
Brian Harman (-9)
Abraham Ancer (-9)
Jason Day (-8)
Kevin Kisner (-8)
Keith Mitchell (-8)
Full leaderboard can be found on PGATour.com.
Rory McIlroy Bidding to End 12-Month Winless Run
For a player of his calibre, McIlroy has endured a barren run in terms of winning tournaments in recent years.
The Northern Irishman has not won since he topped the leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March last year, and that was 18 months after his previous win at the Tour Championship in 2016.
He's got off to a strong start in Florida. After shooting a five-under 67 on Thursday, he improved with a 65 on Friday.
After an inauspicious start to the second round with a bogey, McIlroy produced six birdies and an eagle at the 17th:
TSN's Bob Weeks put his round in perspective, while Fox Sports' Shane Bacon thoroughly enjoyed watching him in action:
Although he may not have been winning tournaments, it's clear the 29-year-old has been playing well.
The Players Championship will be won on Sunday, but another strong round on Saturday can set him up for a run at the trophy and an end to his surprising dry spell.
Can Furyk Build on Incredible 2nd Round?
After a quiet opening round from Tour veteran Jim Furyk saw him card 71 on Thursday, few would have predicted that he would be near the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend.
The American produced the round of the day on Friday, though, grabbing eight birdies:
The PGA Tour's Mike McAllister offered some impressive insight into the American's effort:
Furyk has come close to winning the Players Championship on several occasions, per Golf Channel's Will Gray:
What Furyk must now do, if he's to have a chance of winning golf's unofficial "fifth major," is to maintain his momentum and build on it with another solid round.
Shooting another eight-under 64 is unlikely, but he can put some pressure on McIlroy and Fleetwood if he can make up the three-shot gap and perhaps get beyond 12-under par ahead of the final round.