Holmes, Stanley tied for lead as many struggle

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The only bogey J.B. Holmes made Saturday could have been a lot worse, and he pieced together a 2-under 70 in strong wind on a punishing course to share the lead with Kyle Stanley going into the final round of The Players Championship.

Holmes hit his tee shot so far to the right on the 14th hole that it went into the water on the 12th hole. He hit a blind shot from 230 yards into the wind to a bunker and managed to get up-anddown, which is what Saturday at the TPC Sawgrass was all about.

“I usually can make a bunch of birdies, so if I can just narrow it down to one bogey, then I’m usually in good shape,” Holmes said.

Stanley got his trouble out of the way

early with three bogeys in four holes, and then was bogey-free the rest of the way. He saved par from the back bunker on the 18th hole for a 72.

“You just kind of have to remind yourself that even though you’re a little bit over par, on the leader board I was still in a pretty good spot,” Stanley said.

They were at 9-under 207, one shot clear of Louis Oosthuizen (73).

The TPC Sawgrass has trouble at every turn even in calm conditions. Throw in a relentless wind that the final half of the field faced all afternoon, and it was as much about staying in neutral without losing ground — or crashing.

Jon Rahm of Spain, the best newcomer on the PGA Tour, was five shots behind when he started and missed the 54-hole cut with an 82. Matt Kuchar took a 9 on the 14th hole and shot 81, his highest score ever on this course. Phil Mickelson shot a 78.

Of the 82 players in the field, 49 made a double bogey or worse. That what’s made Ian Poulter’s round remarkable in so many ways.

Two weeks ago, Poulter wasn’t even in the field and no longer had full status until the PGA Tour realized it made a clerical error related to his return from a foot injury. The Ryder Cup stalwart made the most of the opportunity with the only bogey-free round of the day, and even though he had just one birdie, that 71 was enough to give him a serious chance.