On a course where no lead is safe, Chris Kirk (-10) holds a narrow one-shot advantage heading into Sunday's final round of the Players Championship.
A tournament-record 30 golfers are within five shots of the lead, including past winners Sergio Garcia (-8) and Adam Scott (-6), despite both players fighting through some serious putting issues.
Garcia started the week with a conventional grip with his putter, but quickly changed to the claw grip we've become accustomed to seeing him with on shorter putts. The combo grips may look odd, but they seem to be doing the trick. Scott, on the other hand, continues to use the anchored putter that will soon be outlawed, even though his results haven't been stellar.
Both players could use a high finish in what's been a relatively slow start to the season.
Kirk was very steady en route to a second-consecutive 68 on Saturday. He holds a one-shot lead over Bill Haas, Ben Martin and Kevin Kisner, who lost in a playoff to Jim Furyk at Harbour Town, another Pete Dye design.
Pete Dye must be pleased this week. His famed TPC Sawgrass has harassed the game's best players all week, and save Justin Thomas's tournament-record 10 birdies on Saturday, hasn't seen a lot of low scores.
With so many players in contention, it's hard to locate the handful that can raise the crystal, but here are what some of the top players need to do Sunday:
Chris Kirk (-10) — By the time Kirk tees off, he'll likely be coming from behind. The same thing almost happened Saturday as Justin Thomas had already caught Kevin Na and Jerry Kelly before they even started their third rounds. That's something Kirk will be aware of, and shouldn't let affect his game plan. His strength is his accuracy, and if he can continue to hit the ball in play, he should be right there on the 18th hole.
Ben Martin (-9) — Martin is a quiet assassin. A lot of fans and players probably aren't looking at his name on this crowded leaderboard, but this course suits his game perfectly. It wouldn't be at all surprising if he separated from the pack and won the tournament.
Sergio Garcia (-8) — Garcia has more demons in his head than a tragic hero in a pre-teen novel. He's easily one of the best ball strikers on tour, but often talks himself out of winning big events. His putting has improved significantly in recent seasons, and he's always liked the way TPC Sawgrass sets up, so if Garcia can wrestle those demons, he might win the tournament again.
Kevin Na (-8) — Talk about demons, Na knows all about them. It wasn't long ago that Na couldn't even bring himself to swing the club. He stood over his ball on the par-4 18th hole and screamed at himself to "pull the trigger", as the world watched a meltdown they didn't understand. Na has since admitted to having the yips, and that they aren't completely gone. Lets hope they don't come back on Sunday.
Billy Horschel (-7) — Horschel was disappointed to lose to Rory McIlroy in the match play last week, and wanted to come out and win the Players. He's moved up and down the leaderboard quite a bit over the first three rounds, and will need to be more consistent if he's going to break out of the pack.
Rickie Fowler (-7) — For those just tuning into the golf scene, Fowler was recently voted most overrated on tour by his peers. Needless to say, this has sparked a bit of fire in the 26-year-old's ambition. He did a nice job battling back from a rocky start on Saturday, and his droves of fans are hoping he can breakt hrough and silence the critics.
Adam Scott (-6) — Scott may seem on the outside looking in, but four shots is not a very large deficit on this course. His problem is his putting, and not so much what anyone above him is doing. Scott needs to settle into the season, and a low score on Sunday could be the kick-start he needs.
Bubba Watson (-6) — To be blunt, Watson has been terrible at this event, never recording a top 25. He has the ability to shape the ball and can overpower the par 5s, so it seemed only a matter of time before he figured it out.