Welcome to moving day at the 2026 Players Championship. A beautiful day at TPC Sawgrass led to some excellent rounds, and today could bring more of the same.
Ludvig Åberg eyed the course record before slowing down and finishing the day at 12 under, leading Xander Schauffele by two strokes with Cameron Young, Corey Conners and Sepp Straka among those close behind. Russell Henley, Justin Thomas and Jacob Bridgeman also set themselves up in great position for Round 3, while Michael Thorbjornsen jetted into contention alongside Maverick McNealy and Austin Smotherman.
Officials delayed the opening of the gates after two people were shot and killed near TPC Sawgrass on Friday night. Defending champion Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, the man who won the previous two Players, narrowly avoided the cut line. Could either former champion make a late push at a third title? Keep scrolling for the latest updates and highlights from Round 3.
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Top leaders after Round 3.
- 1. Ludvig Åberg: -13 (F)
- 2. Michael Thorbjornsen: -10 (F)
- 3. Cameron Young: -9 (F)
- T4. Matt Fitzpatrick: -8 (F)
- T4. Brian Harman: -8 (F)
- T4. Viktor Hovland: -8 (F)
- T4. Justin Thomas: -8 (F)
- T4. Corey Conners: -8 (F)
- T4. Xander Schauffele: -8 (F)
- T10. 5 tied at -7
Keep up with all the scores on our live leaderboard.
Cameron Young reached second place all by himself thanks to a birdie putt of more than 36 feet on the par-3 13th. The 28-year-old from just off the Hudson River in New York has one PGA Tour win to his name, the 2025 Wyndham Championship, and he’s never finished higher than 51st in four previous trips to The Players.
Ponte Vedra Beach resident Ludvig Åberg keeps making himself at home at The Players Championship. The leader entering the day had been content with holding par while others failed to make up ground … that is until the par-5 11th, when Åberg nailed his approach to land an eagle and extend his lead to four strokes at 14 under par.
In his Players Championship debut, Michael Thorbjornsen is following up his second-round 65 with another doozy, sinking three straight birdies in the front nine before eagling the par-5 11th. The 24-year-old Cleveland native is three off the lead of Ludvig Åberg through 13 holes, tied with Jacob Bridgeman, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young. Thorbjornsen finished third at the Phoenix Open in February.
In his first year back on the PGA Tour after years with LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka’s return to the spotlight has been a bit slow. But Saturday’s Round 3 at the Players Championship may have been his formal announcement back. He shot a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday, rising to 5 under for the tournament.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has two wins on the PGA Tour in 2026 and is looking for a third after a 7-under 65 in Round 3. MacIntyre saddled himself with two bogeys but ran off three straight birdies from the 15th through the treacherous No. 17 to climb from 42nd into the top 10. He missed the cut in his first two tries at TPC Sawgrass before finishing ninth in 2025.
He barely avoided the cut in Round 2, but two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler is looking better in Round 3, going 4 under through his first 13 holes. He hasn’t bogeyed yet and nailed two straight birds on Nos. 6 and 7 before notching another on the 12th. He’s still got a ways to go to contend for the lead, but he has shot up from 51st into a tie for 25th.
Scheffler played the back nine at 2 under and carded a 5-under 67 to reach 4 under for the tournament.
Ever wonder just how long of a trip the PGA Tour stars must make just to get through one round at the Players Championship? Florida Times-Union sports editor Tim Walters got out his calculator to tally up every step for all 18 holes. The results may surprise you, or just make you feel a bit tired.
The hottest start in the morning at The Players goes to Canadian rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who drained birdies on holes 3-6 to get to 3 under par to rise from 51st into a tie for 23rd before his front nine was done. He finished with a 6-under 66 on the day, putting him at 5 under for the tournament.
The 24-year-old born in India is playing at TPC Sawgrass for the first time and has two top-20 finishes this season, including a T17 at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches a few weeks ago.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office reported that a man shot and killed two people at a Walgreens parking lot less than a mile from a main parking area for TPC Sawgrass, site of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach. It happened about 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 13.
The suspect was identified, tracked down and taken into custody by 8 a.m. Saturday, March 14 in Nassau County, according to the Sheriff’s Office there. The incident also delayed spectator entry for the golf tournament until 9 a.m., although scheduled tee times remained unaffected. – Clayton Freeman and Scott Butler, Florida Times-Union
Round 3: Saturday, March 14
- First tee: 8:15 a.m. ET
- TV coverage: 2-7 p.m. ET
- TV channel: NBC
- Streaming: ESPN app (Select plan) | Peacock
Round 3 of The Players Championship 2026 will broadcast nationally on NBC starting at 2 p.m. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available on the ESPN app (with a subscription to the Select plan) starting at 8 a.m.
All times Eastern:
- 8:15 a.m.: Seamus Power
- 8:20 a.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Michael Brennan
- 8:30 a.m.: Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan
- 8:40 a.m.: Rico Hoey, Daniel Berger
- 8:50 a.m.: Zach Bauchou, Eric Cole
- 9 a.m.: Stephan Jaeger, Steven Fisk
- 9:10 a.m.: J.T. Poston, Kevin Roy
- 9:25 a.m.: Si Woo Kim, Scottie Scheffler
- 9:35 a.m.: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Ricky Castiilo
- 9:45 a.m.: Nico Echavarria, Takumi Kanaya
- 9:55 a.m.: Joe Highsmith, Rory McIlroy
- 10:05 a.m.: Nicolai Højgaard, Chris Kirk
- 10:15 a.m.: Tony Finau, Robert MacIntyre
- 10:25 a.m.: Max McGreevy, Bud Cauley
- 10:40 a.m.: Sam Burns, Chris Gotterup
- 10:50 a.m.: Adam Scott, Nick Taylor
- 11 a.m.: Taylor Pendrith, Sam Stevens
- 11:10 a.m.: Matti Schmid, Max Homa
- 11:20 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Wyndham Clark
- 11:30 a.m.: Taylor Moore, Keegan Bradley
- 11:45 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka
- 11:55 a.m.: Min Woo Lee, Alex Noren
- 12:05 p.m.: Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama
- 12:15 p.m.: Ryan Gerard, Andrew Putnam
- 12:25 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, William Mouw
- 12:35 p.m.: Chad Ramey, Sahith Theegala
- 12:50 p.m.: Justin Rose, Jason Day
- 1 p.m.: Alex Smalley, Ryo Hisatsune
- 1:10 p.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Keith Mitchell
- 1:20 p.m.: Russell Henley, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 1:30 p.m.: Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland
- 1:40 p.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Tommy Fleetwood
- 1:55 p.m.: Maverick McNeely, Austin Smotherman
- 2:05 p.m.: Lee Hodges, Jacob Bridgeman
- 2:15 p.m.: Justin Thomas, Sepp Straka
- 2:25 p.m.: Cameron Young, Corey Conners
- 2:35 p.m.: Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele
Players Championship weather: Day 3 Saturday
AccuWeather predicts a high of 72 degrees with sunny skies and low clouds in the forecast today in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Winds are expected to blow out of the northeast at 10 mph. There is a 25% chance of rain.
