2024 Players Championship leaderboard breakdown: Xander Schauffele takes 54-hole lead, besting Wyndham Clark

Schauffele usurped the 36-hole leader and sits in pole position with The Players entering its final round Sunday

Moving Day at the 2024 Players Championship was filled with fireworks from start to finish with Xander Schauffele emerging late to take the solo lead entering the final round at 17 under. Schauffele was flawless around TPC Sawgrass en route to a third-round 65 as he more than erased the four-stroke advantage that Wyndham Clark held at the beginning of the day.

Schauffele has made just one mistake across his first 54 holes at TPC Sawgrass: a double bogey Friday on the par-5 11th hole. Ever since, the Olympic gold medalist has played his last 25 holes in 10 under and will take a one-stroke lead over Clark into the deciding final day.

Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champion, pushed his lead out to five after an opening birdie but struggled with his ball striking for the majority of his round. He did well to keep his head above water, but Schauffele kept coming, and thanks to four front-nine birdies, the lead was trimmed to just one by the time the two made the turn.

Schauffele pressed his foot on the gas on the inward half and finally took the solo lead once a birdie from outside 50 feet dropped on the difficult par-4 14th. Clark climbed back into a share of the lead with a birdie on 16, but his presence atop the leaderboard would be short lived as he chunked his tee shot on the par-3 17th. 

Electing to retee, Clark did well to make bogey on the island green and walked off just one adrift. The margin remained the same after one last exchange of pars on the 18th. 

Clark and Schauffele have made a habit over the last year to play well at the same tournaments, such as the Wells Fargo Championship and U.S. Open. Clark got the better of Schauffele in both instances, but the Californian hopes to flip the script on Sunday.

To say this tournament is down to those two golfers would be doing an injustice to a litany of major champions still in contention. Brian Harman has caught fire the last two days and is only two off Schauffele's lead at 15 under. Meanwhile, both Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler are still in the mix at 13 under and 12 under, respectively, thanks to fast finishes to their third rounds.

Let's take a look at the rest of the leaderboard and what else happened in Round 3. 

2024 Players Championship leaderboard

1. Xander Schauffele (-17): Schauffele opened his third round by missing a 5-foot birdie bid on No. 1, but he brushed it off like a champ. Seven birdies across his next 13 holes without a single mistake sprinkled in was enough to overtake Clark by one heading into Sunday. Schauffele has been both rightly and wrongly criticized for his ability to close, but his last two 54-hole leads did result in victories in 2022 at the Scottish Open and Travelers Championship. This is undeniably a larger stage than those two events and will be a good barometer to see whether Schauffele is one of those players who can make the leap to becoming a major champion in the future.

2. Wyndham Clark (-16): As easy as the first two rounds were for Clark, the third was just as difficult. He fought his swing for most of the day ranking outside the top 50 in terms of strokes gained off the tee and approach. Clark was 2 under through his first seven holes and then played his final 11 in even par, but he did well just to do accomplish that uch. He found the water off the tee on the drivable par-4 12th and made a sensational par to keep pace with Schauffele. His second water ball of the back nine on 17 dropped him out of the lead but still he has a great chance for win No. 4 in less than a year.

3. Brian Harman (-15): Harman revealed Friday that he experienced some of the best tournament preparation of his career ahead of this week's event. Frustrated with an opening 72, the Champion Golfer of the Year has come back with rounds of 65 and 64 to catapult himself into contention. His 129 total is a tournament record across any two rounds. Over those last 36 holes, the Georgia Bulldog has carded 17 birdies and an eagle, but it was a bogey on Saturday that he may make him smile the most. Making bogey on the par-5 9th, Harman took an unplayable, played a couple shots right-handed and somehow came off the green have dropped only one shot. It could prove large Sunday.

T4. Matt Fitzpatrick, Maverick McNealy (-13): The fight from Fitzpatrick on Saturday was that of a major champion. Alongside Nick Taylor, who endured a horrible third round, the former U.S. Open winner was in jeopardy of following suit. For the second straight round, the Englishman made double bogey on the short par-4 4th and found himself 2 over through his first eight holes and as many as seven off the lead. Six birdies across his final 10 holes, including four in his final five (and a nice par save after finding the water on the par-5 16th), pushed Fitzpatrick back inside the top five and back into this tournament.

T6. Scottie Scheffler, Sahith Theegala (-12): It was obvious the world No.1 was not 100% as the neck still posed a problem. Scheffler's swing was noticeably slower, reducing to his usual speed on the front nine, and he struggled with distance control at times. Still, the best player in the world battled and was 1 under through his first six holes. Nine straight pars in the middle of his round dampened any thought of a massive Moving Day, but Scheffler finished strong with three straight birdies to give himself a chance to become the first man ever to go back-to-back at the Players Championship. With his 68, Scheffler has now shot under par in 26 straight rounds.

"It was tough," Scheffler said. "I was battling my swing a little bit today, but overall, I'm pleased being able to get in the house in a few under par. I wouldn't say I'm out of the tournament. I'm definitely on the outside looking in, but a hot day tomorrow could go a long way."

T9. Hideki Matsuyama, J.T. Poston, Taylor Montgomery (-10): Matsuyama has been solid with rounds of 69-69-68; he has positioned himself to play spoiler yet again if he is able to catch the same type of heater that led him to victory last month at the Genesis Invitational. Matsuyama entered the final round six adrift at Riviera and will need to be one better from seven back.

T12. Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Doug Ghim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, C.T. Pan (-9): McIlroy added to his tournament total of 21 birdies in his third-round 69. Unfortunately, he also added a double bogey for the third straight day. Outside of the blemish on the par-4 14th, the 2019 champion was near flawless as he took advantage of accessible holes like 11 and 12 and finished with a flurry of three consecutive birdies to end. He will have a chance to take down the tournament record in terms of birdies (26) but is probably too far back to be a factor on Sunday. 

Better than most?

A blast from the past occurred on the par-3 17th when Ghim's tee shot found the upper shelf of the putting surface with the pin on the lower front portion. Electing to chip from the rough bordering the green, the 27-year-old plopped his ball in the air, watching it traverse across the green, down the slope and into the bottom of the cup. Exerting an uppercut fist pump like Tiger Woods in 2001, Ghim gave the TPC Sawgrass faithful something to cheer and a reason for golf fans everywhere to reminiscence.

"It was actually funny that you asked that because Shane [Ghim's caddie] told me that -- it seems like you have the 'better-than-most' shot coming up," said Ghim. "It seemed like ours was a little harder because it was in the rough and it was a chip and it was not a great lie. But man, it looked better on TV than it did in person."

[Mar 16, 2024 at 6:41 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Clark finds the drink on 17!

Wow, that was horrible! Wyndham Clark hit about a foot behind the golf ball and ended up 20 feet short of the green and in the water on the par-3 17th island hole. Talk about unexpected! Clark would end up re-teeing and hit a beauty inside 10 feet to try to save bogey, but that first shot…wow.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 6:40 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Wyndham and Xander battling

It's been a good third round duel between Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele so far. After Xander's 58-footer for birdie on the par-4 14th, Wyndham had a nice eagle look on 16, which he missed but left himself an easy birdie. Xander got in trouble off the tee and could only muster a par at the easiest hole on the course. They're both 17 under and on the 17th tee box right now.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 6:38 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Clark ties the lead

A birdie on No. 16 has Wyndham Clark back in a share of the lead with Xander Schauffele at 17 under. They are now two clear of Brian Harman and four clear of Maverick McNealy somehow got in the clubhouse at 13 under (his short game was flat out stupid on this back nine). The final group heads to the par-3 17th.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 6:21 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Three straight to finish for Scottie

It wasn't pretty, but Scottie Scheffler signs for a 4-under 68 to stand at 12 under for the tournament. Scheffler birdied 16, 17 and 18 to get within five of our leader Xander Schauffele who is on the 16th tee.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 6:03 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Brian Harman signs for round of the week

The Champion Golfer of the Year is in the house with a 64 to stand at 15 under. Over his last 36 holes, Harman has carded 17 birdies and an eagle to catapult himself into contention. He stands one back of Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele and will hope they don't get too far out in front.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 5:47 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Wyndham saves par at 12

Xander tied him up with a birdie, but after hitting it in the water, Wyndham got up and down for par on No. 12 to retain a share of the lead. It came on a 10-foot par putt. Big boy stuff from somebody who has proven himself to be a killer.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 5:41 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Things are happening

Wyndham Clark finds the water off the tee on No. 12 and makes a fantastic par to stay at 16 under while Xander Schauffele connects for yet another birdie to join him atop the leaderboard. Up ahead, Brian Harman makes birdie on the par-5 16th to get to 15 under and Maverick McNealy holes a 40-yard pitch for birdie to get within three of our leaders.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 5:28 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Clark and Schauffele exchange birdies on 11

This is the part of the golf course where the final group will be able to separate. They do so on 11 with a pair of birdies to get to 16 under and 15 under respectively and now head to the short par-4 12th that is playing as the easiest hole on the round. Brian Harman is up ahead at 14 under but then it is only Maverick McNealy at 12 under in solo fourth.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 5:07 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Harman is ROLLING

Another birdie for the Champion Golfer of the Year arrives on the par-4 14th. He is 7 under for the day and 14 under for the championship (He is 14 under over his last 32 holes after opening this tournament with an even-par 72). He's only one back of Wyndham Clark.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

How about Mav McNealy?

He just did the walk and talk with NBC. He's currently solo 4th. No top 40s in his Players history, but he's finished in the top 15 in two of his last three events, including the Phoenix Open. This after five months out with an injury toward the end of 2023. He's been awesome so far this week, although he's doing a lot of it with short game, which seems mildly unsustainable.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 4:47 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Xander gets within one at the turn

Wyndham Clark has missed two straight putts inside 7 feet as he made bogey on No. 8 and par on the 9th. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele tacks on his fourth birdie across his opening nine to get to 14 under and only one behind Clark. Brian Harman is lurking at 12 under and Maverick McNealy is in this conversation at 11 under.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 4:19 pm ET · Kyle Porter]

Harman is nasty

He talked on Friday about how he was so disappointed with how poorly he played on Thursday because he had some of the best prep he's ever had. He rectified that with a 65 on Friday, and he's back at it again today. Now 11 under, solo third and five back of the leader Clark.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 4:14 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Clarks gets to 16 under

It has been methodical for the leader so far on Saturday. Wyndham Clark adds his second birdie of the day on the par-4 7th to get to 16 under and get his lead back to three over Xander Schauffele. He is five clear of Brian Harman in third.

[Mar 16, 2024 at 3:54 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Scheffler's speed a topic of conversation

The world No. 1 has come up short on a number of approach shots on his front nine. It is clear he is not quite swinging it as fluid as he normally does which makes club selection even more difficult at TPC Sawgrass. He is still under par for his round, but half a dozen back.