They were few and far between

Players Championship third-round highlights from the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass:

Shot of the day

Lucas Glover blasted out of bunker to the left of the 16th green for eagle, one of three balls he holed from off the green in the third round. It came between two double bogeys, at Nos. 15 and 17.

Glover chipped in at No. 2 and No. 13 for birdie.

Hole of the day

No. 14, par-4, 485 yards

Brutal. Absolutely brutal. Water and sand down the left. Deep rough and high banks down the right. The 14th hole was unyielding, average 4.611, the most difficult on the course in the third round.

There were no birdies there in the round, the only hole on the course this week in any round in which there has not been a score under par. It also was the hardest green to hit in regulation (37.5 percent, 27 of 72). Will Zalatoris’ bid for spot among the leaders ended when he made a quadruple-bogey 8 when it took five shots to reach the green and three putts.

Stat of the day

5: Number of players who failed to break 80 in the third round, Trey Mullinax, Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler, Sami Valimaki and Emiliano Grillo. They combined for three birdies, 23 bogeys, 10 double bogeys and three triples and shot a cumulative 50-over par.

Quote of the day

“I’d say if you play well here and you’re in control of your game, you can play well anywhere. For 72 holes around this place, you certainly can’t fake it. If you do well around here, I feel like you’re ready for anything coming up for the rest of the year.”

— Rory McIlroy on the Stadium Course

Island time: How No. 17 played

The par-3 17th hole was tougher, without more water balls. Only 10 players hit into the drink in the third round, perhaps a low number considering the wind, but the hole averaged 3.361, tying for third most-difficult on the course. There were only five birdies, and the only two players to make birdie among the top-21 were Bud Cauley and Davis Thompson.

However, the 10 balls in the water were the most for a third round since 2016, when 17 players missed their Island connection. There were 11 balls in the water in the first round and nine in the second.

There were 44 pars, 15 bogeys and eight double bogeys. No one had a triple.