Sunday 10 May 2015 10:43, UK
Chris Kirk will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass as 25 players were separated by just four shots after day three.
On a day of excellent scoring in perfect conditions in Florida, Kirk birdied three of the last four holes to return a 68 which earned him the outright lead on 10 under after overnight-joint leader Kevin Na double-bogeyed the last hole.
Kirk's fellow Americans Ben Martin, Kevin Kisner and Bill Haas are his closest challengers, while former champion Sergio Garcia is among a share of fifth place on eight under par.
Rory McIlroy again struggled to get to grips with the greens as he stuttered to a 70 to lie four shots off the pace alongside the likes of Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Ian Poulter, but it was a day to forget for Tiger Woods as he crashed out of contention after a 75.
Kirk cruised to the turn in 33 to join the day-long scramble for the outright lead, but his form deserted him after the turn and he dropped back into the chasing pack with bogeys at 13 and 14.
But he re-grouped and almost holed his second shot to the par-four 15th, and he rolled in a 15-foot putt for birdie at the next before converting an excellent tee-shot to seven feet at the 17th.
A par at the last set the target in the clubhouse, and 10 under proved enough for the overall lead when Martin, Kisner and Na all made mistakes late in their rounds.
"I was really happy with the way I played today. I definitely hit my driver a lot better than I have the last couple days, and then the rest of my game was still pretty sharp," Kirk said.
Kisner stormed to the turn in 31 and picked up another shot at 11, but his momentum stalled with a bogey at 14 and he parred in to post a 67 and close on nine under, while Martin joined him on the same score when he took the gloss of a six-birdie card with a bogey at 18.
Martin's 68 was matched by Haas, while young challenger Justin Thomas was first into the clubhouse on eight under after making a tournament-record 10 birdies in a sparkling 65 that equalled the low round of the week.
Garcia, who snapped his putter in two after a frustrating second-round 72, reverted to a claw grip with his new flat-stick and fired an encouraging 69 which lifted him within two shots of the lead alongside Na and fellow halfway leader Jerry Kelly as the final pair both shot 72.
Rickie Fowler is in a six-way share of 11th place on seven under after a mixed-bag of a 71 that featured six birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey at the seventh, while McIlroy heads the all-star cast a shot further back.
The world No 1 was one over for the day after a disappointing front nine, but he lifted himself with a birdie at 11 before getting further putts to drop at the 13th and 16th.
Poulter did well to escape with a bogey-five at the last after pulling his drive into water as he also fired a 70, while Masters champions Watson and Scott both carded 69s to give themselves every chance on Sunday.
But Woods will not be in the mix over the final round after he double-bogeyed both par-fives on the front nine in an error-strewn outward 40, and he refused to speak to reporters after signing for a 75 which left him on three over par.
Live coverage of the final round from TPC Sawgrass starts Sunday at 7pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
