Schauffele takes lead into final day of Players
X an der Sch auf fe le erase da four-shot deficit Saturday with another bogey-free round on a course where trouble is trouble is around every corner, cap ping off a 7- under 65 with a superb chip to save par and take a one-shot lead into the final round final round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had a four-shot lead at the start and stretched it to five with a birdie on the opening hole, did well to make sure the deficit wasn’ t greater.
They were tied going to the island green on the par-317th. Clark hit it so clunky that his wedge shot came up some 15 yards short of land. But he hit the next one to 7 feet and escaped with bogey, and then saved par on the 18 th for a 70.
Schauffele was at 17-under 199.
British Open champion Brian Harman is in third, two shots back.
Golf
John Catlin holed a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 18 for an 11under 59 in the International Series Macau, becoming the first player in Asian Tour history with a sub-60 round. Catlin, a 33-year-old Californian with seven worldwide victories, became the fourth player this year to break 60 following Joaquin Niemann at LIV Golf Mayakoba, and Cristobal Del Solar and Aldrich Potgieter on consecutive days in the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Auto racing
Ryan B laney won the pole for Sunday’ s NASCAR race at Bristol—his 10 th career pole, but first since the spring race at Richmond in 2022. It will bear ace that returns to the old, concrete Bristol track after several years in which the series raced series raced on dirt. Reviews were mixed, and as the novelty wore novelty wore off, sub-par racing inside the 0.533- mile bull ring overshadowed any excitement that excitement that came with the Cup Series running on dirt for the first time since 1970.
Winter sports
Mikaela Shiffrin capped a season marred by a six-week injury lay off with a win in the slalom at the World Cup final sin S all bach-Hint erg le mm, Austria. It washer record-extending 60 th extending 60 th win in slalom and 97 th overall in World Cup competition. She won by 0.54 seconds over MinaFu er st Holt mann.
•Marco O der matt came up short in his attempt to complete a complete a perfect men’ s World Cup giant slalom season. He skied out in his second run, opening the door for Loic Meil lard to win the event at the World Cup finals. Oder matt had O der matt had won each of the previous 12 previous 12 giant slaloms, including nine including nine this season A victory for O der matt would have matched the record set by Ingemar St en mark, who won all 10 giant slaloms in the 1978-79 season.
Tennis
Men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic will skip the Miami Open, saying less than a week aftera surprise loss at Indian
Wells that he needs to balance his “private and professional schedule.”
Baseball
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole won’t throw for threeto four weeks because of nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow. Figuring to need time to ramp up once cleared, it’s likely the earliest hewould pitch for the Yankees is
Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
late May.
•Kole Calhoun, a Gold Glove-winning out fielder in a 12-year career, is retiring. Calhoun,36, was a lifetime .242 hitter with 179 homers and 582 RBIs.