2025 Players Championship, recap: Wild, chaotic Saturday concludes with J.J. Spaun in the lead

With inclement weather looming Sunday afternoon, here’s the adjusted TV window:

TV times pushed up Sunday at The Players Championship because of weather threat

With inclement weather in the afternoon forecast Sunday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, PGA Tour and NBC officials have adjusted TV times.

• Golf Channel Staff,

• Golf Channel Staff,

Min Woo Lee makes a 30-footer from off the green for his first birdie of the day. The overnight co-leader, Lee shoots 78 to drop seven back of J.J. Spaun.

Fellow 36-hole co-leader Akshay Bhatia shoots a roller-coaster 75, with a three-putt bogey at the last, to fall four back.

Spaun rolls in a 25-foot par putt on the 18th hole to shoot 70 and take a one-shot lead over Bud Cauley, who finished several hours earlier.

He drops into a tie for 22nd, eight off the lead.

After three birdies in his first six holes to tie for the lead, Zalatoris plays his final five holes in 9 over par.

He shoots 78 to drop outside the top 30.

J.J. Spaun, trying to avoid back-to-back bogeys, makes birdie from off the green at the 16th. He leads by two at 13 under.

The worst of which was Emiliano Grillo’s no-birdie, 13-over 85.

He makes double bogey at the 15th and then chips in for eagle at the par-5 16th. Within one of the lead — again — he finds water off the tee at 17.

No one. For the first time ever, no one birdied the 14th hole in a round at The Players.

The world No. 1 was befuddled and frustrated Saturday on the Stadium Course, his even-par 72 anything but even-keeled.

Scheffler bogeyed two of his last three holes, tossing clubs and complaining to caddie Ted Scott along the way. The two-time defending champion finished his day eight shots off the lead.

Trouble after trouble after trouble for Zalatoris at the par-4 14th. He cards an 8 and drops from 11 under to 7 under, six off the pace.

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With a birdie at the short par-4 12th, Spaun gets to 13 under. Three players are at 11 under and another at 10 under. Rory McIlroy bogeyed the 12th to drop to minus-9.

A chip-in at the 13th gets Lucas Glover to 11 under and one back of leader J.J. Spaun.

Bud Cauley, who grew up attending The Players as a kid, shot 66 Saturday to reach 11 under par.

The final groups still have the back nine to play, in a howling wind.

After playing Nos. 3-5 in 4 over, Bhatia makes back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8, the latter with a greenside bunker hole-out.

Unhappy (to say the least) with his game after just making it to the weekend, Schauffele said he was going to spend extra time on the range Friday.

The struggles continued Saturday, however, as he shot 77 with a triple-bogey 7 at the last.

Bunker hole-out at No., 7 ties him at the top with J.J. Spaun and Will Zalatoris.

Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia, the 36-hole co-leaders, made a mess of a fifth hole that took them about half an hour to complete.

Both tee shots resulted in penalties, giving them blind third shots. They each made double bogey.

Lee dropped to T-6 at 9 under; Bhatia to T-8 at 8 under. New leaders: Spaun, Zalatoris, Alex Smalley.

Will Zalatoris went 6 under in Round 2, and he’s picked up right where he left off. He birdies three of the first six holes to move into the co-lead with Min Woo Lee and J.J. Spaun.

Akshay Bhatia has fallen out of that top spot via some struggles with the putter. He’s at 10 under with Lucas Glover and Stephan Jaeger — and not Rory McIlroy, who missed a short par putt on the 5th.

No one told J.J. Spaun about the wind. He starts par, birdie, birdie in Round 3, surpassing Min Woo Lee.

Spaun tied Bhatia, who missed a four-footer a couple minutes later with a chance to go to 13 under.

Akshay Bhatia and Min Woo Lee are in action in Round 3, with the former nearly holing out for eagle but tapping in for birdie and the outright lead.

Lee made par on the 1st.

Corey Conners fired off a stellar 6-under 66 in Round 3, climbing to three strokes back of the lead, before those above him tee off.

Earlier tee times, before the winds pick up, presented an opportunity for those on the fringes of contention to make their move on Saturday. He seized it.

Walker got in after Jason Day withdrew before the opening round. He then finished bogey-bogey in Round 2 to make the cut on the number.

Saturday, Walker shot a bogey-free 66 to move up 56 spots and into the top 10 when he concluded his round — nearly two hours before the leaders will tee off (in very windy conditions).

Following his course-record-tying 62 Friday, Thomas nearly holes out for eagle on his first hole Saturday.