PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — On a day when TPC Sawgrass was at its most perplexing, it was Canadian Corey Conners who, quite simply, golfed his ball better than anyone. His 6-under 66 tied for the low round of the day.
As Conners hung out through the afternoon with his daughter and newborn son, he climbed 44 sports on the leaderboard as carnage unfolded back at the course and tied for fifth heading into Sunday’s finale alongside Rory McIlroy and Akshay Bhatia.
Conners signed his card before the leaders even teed off in the third round, and his 66 matched his career low at TPC Sawgrass. It was tied for the low effort of the day with Bud Cauley and Danny Walker.
The Canadian had as impressive a statistical performance as any so far this week at TPC Sawgrass — gaining more than two shots on the field off the tee and almost four shots with the putter on Saturday.
And Conners has certainly given himself a chance. He’s just four back of the lead, and every winner of The Players at TPC Sawgrass has been T11 or better after 54 holes.
“I did a lot of things really well today,” Conners told Sportsnet. “I stayed patient throughout the round and was really committed to the shots that caddie Danny (Sahl) and I thought up. Just did a really good job staying in the moment and trusting what we felt the wind was going to do to the golf ball.”
The tee times will be moved up through the morning for the finale, as inclement weather is set to descend on northeast Florida Sunday afternoon. Conners will be in the penultimate threesome alongside McIlroy and Alex Smalley, who sits at 9 under, teeing off at 9:50 a.m. ET.
Conners, who came into the week after a tidy third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, opened with birdies on three of his first six holes. He bogeyed the long par-3 8th after his tee shot left him short-sided in a greenside bunker and he couldn’t convert a 16-foot par saver.
The Canadian bounced back with a birdie on the next hole, after hitting a nifty running chip from behind the green to just four feet. He added three more birdies on the back nine, including a closing circle on the par-4 18th after a 341-yard drive and a wedge to just seven feet with the wind absolutely pumping.
“There’s a lot of weird feelings you get with the wind swirling around a bit, but having trust and commitment on a day like today is key,” Conners said.
Conners said he was able to take some inspiration from Justin Thomas through Saturday after Thomas, a past Players Champion, made an incredible 11 birdies on Friday en route to matching the course record at TPC Sawgrass with a 10-under 62. Thomas said he had a fairly basic gameplan Friday, with an overarching strategy of just trying to give himself chances to make birdies and then move on to the next hole and try again.
Conners said he is looking forward to the tricky conditions again on Sunday, where another good round will certainly go a long way as he aims to find the winners’ circle on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2023.
The challenging wind made for a mentally taxing day, but Conners (who added a “Go Leafs Go” at the end of his conversation with Sportsnet for good measure) couldn’t help but feel chuffed with his third-round effort.
“A lot of positives from the round, but mentally it’s tough on a day like today because you can’t lose your focus for any shot out there,” Conners said. “It’s very demanding, but I was having fun, which made it a little nicer.
“Just tried to keep my foot on the gas pedal.”
Taylor Pendrith, the other Canadian to find the weekend at The Players, shot a 1-over 73 after an untimely bogey on the 18th hole. Despite his over-par score on Saturday, Pendrith is tied for 22nd heading into the final round. He will be grouped with Tom Hoge and Taylor Moore on Sunday, teeing off at 8:33 a.m.
J.J. Spaun leads the way after 54 holes at The Players at 13 under, while Cauley sits second at 11 under. Lucas Glover, who is also at 9 under and tied for third, is the last member of Sunday’s final threesome.
This effort by Spaun has seemingly come out of nowhere at TPC Sawgrass. While he’s won once on the PGA Tour and has had two top-three finishes so far in 2025, Spaun has only one made-cut in his career at The Players. It came last year, and he finished T64 — essentially last out of the golfers who made the cut.
Alas, Spaun is tuning out the noise heading into Sunday.
“I'm sure people have their opinions or doubts,” Spaun said. “But I'm playing good, and as long as I believe that I can win this thing, that's all I really care about. I don't really care what other people are thinking or predicting how the outcome will be tomorrow.”
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