It appears THE PLAYERS will be a contest on Sunday between two big hitters — Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy — and a guy with a wiry frame and a lot of hair, Tommy Fleetwood. It should be interesting. The mojo of all three was different after the third round.
Jon Rahm blistered the course with a 64. He finished birdie, birdie, par. He birdied three of the par fives and eagled the 11th. He even made birdie at the Island Green 17th. He credited maturing in his game and not losing his temper when shots go astray, particularly on a golf course as tough as TPC Sawgrass.
“I definitely feel a difference in myself,” he said after round three. “It's been great to feel that pride of all the work that I've done to get to this point, so hopefully I can keep doing it tomorrow.”
He compared the ease of shooting the 64 to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where he beat Tony Finau by four strokes.
“Every time I stepped up I thought I was going to have — I felt like I was going to hit a good shot,” he said. “I think the one key that me and Adam did well today is just being decisive.”
In addition, the conditions in March, he thinks, are better suited to his game.
“It makes a difference, just because I think the fairways hold up a little bit more,” Rahm said. “The greens are not as bouncy even though they're getting firm. It's just a little bit easier for me to read the grain on the chips and understand what it's going to do, so I'm just a little bit more comfortable.”
One shot behind of Rahm, McIlroy did not play his best golf on Saturday. In fact, he bogeyed his first two holes. He was a bit down.
“I don't mind bogeying the first, that's fine,” McIlroy said after his round. “But then the bogey at the second hole was a little disappointing.
“Not the best position I could be in, but I thought after the start today that to play the last 16 holes in 4-under par with no bogeys was a good effort,” McIlroy also said on Saturday.
McIlroy hit only four of 14 fairways on Saturday compared to 10 of 14 and 11 of 14 the first two rounds.
“I hit it really good the first couple days,” he said. “Just maybe getting ahead of it a little bit. I missed a few to the right, so maybe just getting a little quick from the top, probably something very simple.”
After speaking to media, McIlroy went immediately to the range to hit balls.
Tommy Fleetwood had a round of two nines. He doubled the first hole and made two bogeys before finally getting a birdie at the eighth.
“I had a right miss a lot today, and I struggled with my rhythm,” he admitted after play. “But you have to dig deep, and you have to try and get it round. I'll always revert to trying to draw the ball, I guess, because that's mostly all I've got.”
He said during the long walk from the ninth green to the 10th tee, he pushed the reset button. He was right about that. On the back nine, he had four birdies and no bogeys. He even birdied both the 16th and 17th holes.
“Didn't have my swing today like I've had for the first two days, and really struggled with that early on,” he said “It was a poor start basically, but I think — yeah, I think the good thing about it was how good I was mentally, the character showed.”
Who will win it? Well, my original prediction (Tiger Woods) is too far down to do me any good, but any one of the top three has a chance. They are being chased by several with credentials and firepower, such as Jason Day and Dustin Johnson to name but two. Even Jim Furyk has a great chance. What a victory it would be for him.
