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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Author
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Wyndham Clark had simply regained a share of the third-round lead on the fiftieth Gamers Championship on Saturday when Xander Schauffele missed a protracted birdie putt on the par-5 sixteenth, the beginning of some of the well-known ending stretches in golf.
After seizing momentum, Clark walked to the tee field on the par-3 seventeenth gap and gazed on the 1000’s of followers surrounding the long-lasting island inexperienced. The opening was solely 123 yards away, nevertheless it would possibly as effectively have been a mile with stress constructing earlier than his white-knuckled shot.
Simply earlier than Clark put his ball on a tee, his caddie, John Ellis, informed him to not take a full swing with a sand wedge. Ellis was afraid that if the reigning U.S. Open champion nuked the wedge, his ball would possibly find yourself on prime of the inexperienced, leaving him a difficult putt again down the hill and towards the water.
Clark took a few apply swings and pulled his wedge again. He chunked the shot, and his ball by no means had an opportunity to succeed in the inexperienced, touchdown 15 to twenty yards quick within the water.
“As I used to be over the ball, I sort of received to the highest and I used to be like, ‘Take a bit off,’ after which I simply sort of [decelerated] and chunked it,” Clark stated. “It wasn’t actually an absence of focus or something. It simply was truthfully a poor swing.”
That mistake helped Schauffele erase Clark’s 4-stroke benefit after 36 holes and take a 1-stroke lead over him heading into Sunday’s remaining spherical. Schauffele carded a bogey-free, 7-under 65. He caught Clark on No. 12 after which took a 1-stroke lead with a 58-foot birdie on the par-4 14th.
Reigning Open Championship winner Brian Harman is 2 strokes behind at 15 beneath after posting an 8-under 64 on Saturday. After carding his solely bogey on the par-5 ninth gap — which required the lefty to hit a right-handed shot — Harman had a 5-under 31 on the again 9. Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick are 4 strokes again at 13 beneath.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, who’s trying to change into the primary back-to-back winner in Gamers Championship historical past, stayed within the hunt by posting birdies on 4 of his final 5 holes. He’s 5 strokes behind at 12 beneath, together with Sahith Theegala.
“I would not say I am out of the event,” Scheffler stated. “I am undoubtedly on the surface trying in, however a scorching day tomorrow might go a good distance.”
Schauffele, ranked sixth on the planet, is likely one of the most proficient golfers on the planet and not using a main championship victory. He will not be capable of win one at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, however he can seize the “fifth main” and the $4.5 million winner’s purse, the richest in males’s skilled golf.
It is the seventh time in Schauffele’s profession that he has led or co-led a event after 54 holes. He received twice within the earlier six tries, on the Genesis Scottish Open and Vacationers Championship in 2022. Schauffele stated he is aware of it would take one other low quantity on Sunday to win once more.
“In all probability fairly related, to be sincere,” Schauffele stated. “I will go to the vary proper now and try to clear up a few of these missed fairways on the again 9. Whenever you hit a whole lot of fairways out right here, you may get some scoring golf equipment in your hand, and with the greens being receptive, you’ll be able to hearth at some pins. It may very well be low tomorrow, however for probably the most half I will try to take pleasure in myself and keep in my lane.”
After posting consecutive 65s to begin the event, Clark is aware of he’ll have to scrub issues up within the remaining spherical, together with his indecisiveness on the seventeenth gap.
As poor as Clark’s first swing on the seventeenth was on Saturday, his second one was almost excellent. As a substitute of taking his third shot from the drop space, he hit once more from the tees. Clark requested his caddie if he ought to hit from the drop space, however Ellis informed him he did not just like the angle and the shot was too shut.
“It was sort of a no brainer to hit from there,” Ellis stated. “He requested me, and I stated, ‘No, we’ll hit it from proper right here,’ really easy selection.”
Clark knocked his ball to 6½ ft. He made the putt for bogey. Schauffele and Clark each made par on the tough 18th, leaving Schauffele with the benefit heading into Sunday.
“It is unlucky on a gap that is so iconic and has a bunch of hassle to have sort of your worst swing of the day,” Clark stated. “However yeah, I adopted it with a fantastic swing and a fantastic putt. I am within the remaining group tomorrow, which is large.
“I am hoping that is an enormous level within the event and we glance again after tomorrow and take a look at that gap and say, ‘Hey, that was possibly the shot and the putt that meant all of it.'”
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