[PHOTO: Getty Images]
It was a brutal day at TPC Sawgrass for everyone, but none more than Min Woo Lee. The Australian star started the third round sharing the lead and playing in the final group to watching his Players Championship hopes get blown away.
Strong winds and a series of errors combined as Lee went out in 40 and came back into the clubhouse in 38. His 78, the highest score by a player who finished day three in the top 20, plummeted from 11-under-par to five-under and T-16. JJ Spaun shot 70 to finish three rounds at 12-under and one shot ahead of Bud Cauley. Lucas Glover was nine-under and Rory McIlroy was among those at eight-under
Afterwards, Perth native Lee spoke to Australian Golf Digest about how mentally tough it was. After failing to birdie the par-5 second and recording four straight pars to begin the round, Lee totally lost his swing for six holes when a double-bogey 6 at the par-4 fifth hole unravelled his charge at TPC Sawgrass. He then bogeyed the sixth and the par-5 ninth before dropping further shots at 11, 13, and 17. There was a consolation birdie at 18 for a 78.
“Yeah, it was brutal,” Lee said. “There are some holes where you’re just not feeling it off the tee and you hit poor shots and the wind takes the ball and I was a victim to that. It felt pretty embarrassing. You’re trying your best, but when you don’t feel that great over the ball and [it’s windy], golf becomes every tough. I probably beat myself up too much out there, but I played great for two days and then can’t hit it within 10 feet once, it’s tough.”
Safe to say, Lee, the only Australian to have made the cut – Adam Scott, Cam Davis and Karl Vilips missed the weekend while Jason Day withdrew sick – wants to come out swinging in the final round. Although from seven shots back it would take a record come-from-behind victory. The largest deficit overcame by a champion in the final round was Ray Floyd in 1981.
Last year, Scottie Scheffler came from five shots back to win a second Players title. With strong winds forecasted for a second consecutive round, anything could happen.
“This round today was motivation enough to play good tomorrow,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, in a move that’s horrible for Australian TV viewers, Sunday’s (Monday AEDT) final round of the Players Championship has been moved forward significantly to finish before severe weather. “Due to forecasted inclement weather on Sunday afternoon, final-round tee-times for THE PLAYERS Championship will run from 8-10:01 a.m. ET in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10.” That means the final group will be teeing off at 1am on Monday (AEDT) and finishing about 5:30am.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler (USA)
PRIZEMONEY: US$25 million ($A40 million)
LIVE SCORES: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
TV COVERAGE: THE PLAYERS Championship is live on Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
*All times AEDT.
Round 1: Thursday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 2: Friday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Round 3: Saturday 10:30pm-10am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
Final Round: Sunday 10:30pm-9am (Fox Sports 503/Kayo)
