Scottie Scheffler Wins The Players Championship At A Canter At TPC Sawgrass

The round four coverage has begun at TPC Sawgrass as Scottie Scheffler looks to win his first Players Championship and reclaim the World No. 1 spot from Jon Rahm, who withdrew with a stomach bug.

EARLY BIRDIE FOR HATTON

Tyrrell Hatton has had an interesting day so far, eagled 16 and found the water on 17 which led to a double bogey. But he has birdied the 1st and is now at two under (up to 20th)

ROUND THREE TEE TIMES

Check out all the round three tee times.

The leaders are off at 12.31pm EST or 5.30pm GMT 

ANOTHER BIRDIE FOR HATTON

Someone will shoot low, and it could just be the Englishman, he is now up to three under par, just six back, after he birdies the 3rd.

ENGLISH ON THE CHARGE

Hatton is joined by Justin Rose and Danny Willett at three under par. Lots of birdies for the Brits over the opening holes of their third rounds. 

OLDEST PLAYER TO MAKE THE CUT

Congratulations to Jerry Kelly, who becomes the oldest player to ever make the cut at The Players Championship. Rather good timing - as this tournament has a record prizepool.

MISSED CHANCES

Both Hatton and Willett miss birdie putts to move to 4 under, but both seem to be playing well. Who will come out of the pack and move into the top 10 first?

HIGGO IN TOP 10

The answer is Garrick Higgo, the South African has birdied three of his first four holes and is up to four under par and within the top 10.

HATTON ALSO IN TOP 10

Tyrrell Hatton is on fire, he birdies the 6th and is up to four under par. Could he be the player who post the target?

Rickie Fowler with a long one to get to -4 -C'mon, Rickie 

Rose on the move

Justin Rose also gets it to -4 with a birdie at 4

Green Day underway 

Jason Day and Viktor Hovland are off - both looking the part in the green. Talking of green, Day looks to be coming back into form at just the right time. Can the Aussie post a low one today to put him in the mix on Sunday? 

ICYMI YOUNG'S AMAZING TEE SHOT 

Final few groups heading out

Big cheers for Morikawa as he gets his round underway - but he's in the pine straw down 1 

Rose to -5

JR looking good, moves to -5 (through 6), 4 shots off the lead 

Too little too late for billy

Don't you just hate chipping in for eagle when it's too late to mean anything... We've all been there, Billy. 

Min Woo Lee holes out

... with a 2 down the first to get to -8 - he leapfrogs Scheffler and goes into second. Talking of Scottie, he tees off moments later and smashes one down the fairway. 

BEZ HITS -7

Perfect start for South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout with a tap in birdie on 1 to get to -7

Scheffler with a dart on 1

Scheffler fires one close on the 1st, as does leader Svensson. They're all out now... time to settle down for moving day - shaping up to be a good one 

MIN WOO LEE WITH PERFECT START

Not a bad way to start your round.

svensson to -10

Birdies for Svensson and Scheffler at the 1st - -10 and -8 respectively 

IM charging

-5 through 8 and the South Korean is making a big move

Birdie Fest

Dame Laura Davies informs us that 15/18 holes are playing under par. We could see someone go very low today...

Tommy On The Move

Tommy fans will be pleased to see their man going along nicely at -5 (-3 for day through 7)

Scheffler Eagle 

"Daylight robbery" says Coltart - an unbelievable chip from the rough to join Svensson at -10, for the time being at least....

All change at the top

That eagle from Scheffler was pure class. With Svensson making bogey, it's all change at the top. Too early to start engraving the trophy? 

Spieth update 

-4, going along nicely. Sporting a bold pink/black stripe today is the American 

Scheffler's outrageous chip

Not bad, eh? 

Min Woo Lee to -9

A long one drops, quite a start for the Aussie 

TWO-GLOVES RAI AT -4

Aaron Rai is at -4. Good to see the man from Wolverhampton going along nicely. What do we make of the double black gloves? 

NOTABLE OTHERS LEADERBOARD

-6 Morikawa

-5 Rose, Fleetwood, Day 

-4 Hatton, Spieth, Fowler 

-2 Homa

Scheffler sets up birdie on 5

Another quality iron shot sets up a very good look at birdie for the American.

Scheffler to -11

Scheffler is all smiles. Why not? He's making this game look ridiculously easy at the moment.  

McCarthy joins group at -9

Tap in for the Palm Beach resident. He joins MW. Lee and Svensson at -9, two back of Scottie. 

M.W. Lee in the zone

Nice roll, very nice roll. 

M.W. TO -10

The Aussie rolls in another one to get to -10, just one back. Justin Rose, meanwhile, continues his move and gets to -6 with a birdie at 11. 

Spieth looking to make history

No player has ever come from more than seven shots behind after two rounds to win at Sawgrass. Spieth on the march, gets to -5. Could he? 

Svensson going backwards 

Despite the perfect start with a birdie on his opening hole, the Canadian is +1 for his round and going the wrong way. He's T4 at -8 after bogeys at 2 and 5. 

TROUBLE FOR LEADER SCOTTIE

Scheffler is wet. He's in the water after pulling his tee shot on 7. 

SCHEFFLER FIGHTING TO LIMIT DAMAGE

Sky Sports' Wayne Riley is on the scene and fears Scottie won't be able to get to the green in three. Scheffler may have other ideas... The American, not one to fret too much, takes a drop (a nice one) and sticks it to 15 feet. Decent.  

LOWRY TAMES 17

Nice one, Shane (+1). 5ft. No clubs over the knee; no clubs in the drink. That's a beauty. Justin Thomas matches the Irishman. 

IAN POULTER MAKES AN APPEARANCE 

Last year's highlights, sadly. A look back at Lowry's ace on the 17th. High fives. Happy times. 

Birdies Flying In

They're bunching up behind the leaders: Rose and Fleetwood at -7, just three shots back now of M.W. Lee and Scheffler, who drops his first shot of the day after finding water on the 7th. In fairness, it's a good bogey. 

Thomas Angry

Misses a short one on 17, so just a par. He cuts a frustrated figure. Lobs his putter to his caddie, not sure where his ball has gone. Not Thomas' week. 

Fleetwood hot 

Another dart from the Englishman on 13. He should convert that putt to get to -8, just two shots back. It feels likes it's been a while since we've seen Tommy play this well - and we like it. 

Response of a champ

238-yard, par-3 8th. Scheffler stripes one pin high... good look at birdie coming up. 

Thomas Happy

Now he's smiling, a 2 on 18. Golf, it's mad... back to even par for the American. 

Scheffler converts to hit front

Of course he does. Follows bogey with a very good birdie 2. 

Scheffler has company 

... and it comes in the form of M.W. Lee. These two have lit up Sawgrass today, but no one is running away with it. 

Scheffler to -12?

I'm going to give him that one on nine... bit of work to do but should be close enough to retake lead. Meanwhile, co-leader M.W. is a fraction wide off the tee ahead on 10. 

tommy highlights 

That's some of his best shots, nothing to do with his hair. Here we go...

Scheffler turns in 31

In it goes. The world number two is one ahead again, but it feels like more. He could start to stretch them out a bit on this back nine... 

A DAY OF BIRDIES 

Sorry. One for the bird lovers. Andrew Coltart and Dame Laura Davies were arguing over this earlier. Coltart is saying osprey. Davies says she'd like confirmation from well-known twitcher and fellow Sky Sports' commentator Tony Johnstone. 

Huge save

Back to the real action. M.W. Lee with a lovely curly one on 10 to save par. Stays at -11, one shot back. 

taylor swiftly in to top 10

A shout out to Taylor Montgomery who carded a lovely 66 to get it to -7. 

TOMMY CHARGING 

Fleetwood to -9, sits fourth on his own. He's playing the 16th. Can he finish off a very encouraging round? 

AN AUSSIE WIDE 

A few drives going left and right at the minute - and we're starting to hear a few groans. M.W. Lee is wide on 11. "Nooooooo..." says the Aussie. Meanwhile, Scheffler continues to show his fine touch around the greens with another beauty at 10. 

mccarthy drops back

Bit of a horror hole for the American. He makes a seven on the par-5 11th after duffing one from the bunker into the hazard. Undoes some of the good work up to that point - back to -6. 

CLOSE!

This was Scheffler's birdie effort back on 6. It's not all gone his way. He's currently at -12 and leads by one. 

leaders into back nine 

Grab another cuppa, or something stronger. The leaders are into the back nine. Two more hours of golf coming up. Who will be atop the leaderboard come the end of round three. Meanwhile, more highlights from the par-3 17th. It's tiresome. Show us an ace, otherwise leave it until the leaders come through... you can see too much. It's just a flick with a wedge, anyway. Easy hole. Why the fuss? 

M.W. LEE JOINS SCHEFFLER AT -12

The Aussie doesn't care for reputations. He comes back at Scottie with a birdie on 11. We have two at the top and they have a bit of a cushion over the chasing pack at -9, which is currently comprised of four players. 

Back to the 17th

Cantlay. -6. Hits it long but it stays on the green. Nothing to see there. It's where we see Fleetwood (-9), though, and he's safely aboard and a touch unlucky not to roll back close to the pin. 

RAMEY INTO CONTENTION 

I must confess, I don't know too much about Chad Ramey, other than the fact he's at -10 and looking very good. Go, Chad. 

Clutch from rose

As bogeys go, that's a good one on 18. Holes a breaking 12 footer for a 67. Gives him a glimmer on Sunday, maybe. -7 overall and a fine day's work. 

Ace!!! 

We told you earlier how Aaron Rai was going along nicely at -4. He's now in dreamland. An ace on 17. The Englishman is bang in it at -8. 

Is the 17th too easy? 

Surely golf's next big debate... right? 

solo leader

M.W. Lee is -7 for his round, goes back-to-back with gains at 11 and 12. -13. Scottie is chatting away... is he ruffled?  

take a bow

Over to you, Aaron. 

65 for Fleetwood 

Fleetwood taps in on 18 to card a super 65. That's the Tommy we all know and love. An iron play masterclass from the Englishman and he's finished at -9. Eight birdies and one bogey on moving day. Nicely positioned.  

Leader on 14

M.W. Lee is into the final third of his round and pumps one down 14. What can Scheffler find? I must apologise for earlier suggesting that he may be ruffled. Ridiculous. He's never ruffled. The world number two is on 13 and chatting away like he's enjoying a Sunday fourball with his buddies. 9-iron, 160 yards. Just clings on to dry land. Is he ruffled? 

RAI ON FIRE 

After his heroics on 17, he's only gone and stiffed one on 18. The Me & My Golf boys are happy with their man... 

RAI TO -9

Just the eight shots for the last three holes and Rai gets it to -9. What a day for the Wolverhampton man. A fine birdie on the 18th to cap off a day he'll never forget. 

SPIETH CHECK

A 66 for Jordan. Another look at that shirt of his. Trying to work out if it goes with a certain green (Green Jacket, keep up). Yes, yes it does. 

Adam Svensson appreciation post 

A quick word on overnight leader Adam Svensson. He's hanging in there well. T4 at -9 after seeing a lot of drama around him. Still right in the mix just four shots back.

MULTI NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• 13 M.W. Lee (AUS)
• -12 Scheffler (USA)
• -10 Lingmerth (SWE)
• -9 Fleetwood (ENG), Rai (ENG), Ramey (USA), Bezuidenhout (RSA), Svensson (CAN)

66 FOR FINAU

He's a long way back, but a good round for the popular American. 

It's all gone quiet

M.W. has silenced the crowd for the time being. A couple of hours ago it seemed as though Scheffler might put his foot down, but he's boring us all right now with a run of pars. That's five straight after the turn. 

MORIKAWA STRUGGLING 

+2 for the former Open champion. Thought we'd see a low one from Collin today. He's played himself out of it, unfortunately. 

final groups enter finishing straight 

To use a cricketing reference, it's got that final session after tea feel. A few spectators looking like they've enjoyed a cold one or two, thoughts turning to tomorrow. We're far from done, though, as Scheffler burns the edge on 15. It's still M.W. Lee by one at the top, as does Ramey on 16. 

man of the moment 

Ace king Aaron Rai is all smiles after his hole-in-one on 17. He's finished for the day and currently sits at -9 along with fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, Chad Ramey of American and South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout. 

Course record! 

Take a bow Tom Hoge. A 62. The sole course record holder at Sawgrass. 10 birdies. 0 bogeys and into the history books he goes. 

HOGE MAKES HISTORY 

Here's the moment Tom Hoge made history. A 62 and he's the course record holder at TPC Sawgrass. Not a bad achievement to have on your CV. 

Scheffler looking to join lead

He's bailed out to the right, understandably, on 16 - but you'd back him to get up and down to join M.W. Lee at the top. Lee is on 17 having a long discussion with his caddie, also understandable, and he finds the green. A long putt coming up - that was a bit of an edgy one. Three-putt country, for sure. 

Tied at the top

Scheffler does indeed get up and down for birdie at 16 to join M.W. Lee at -13, who only just misses out on birdie from long range on the 17th. It would have been some putt, but it misses by a fraction. He thought it was in. We all did. Now Scheffler's turn on 17... my money is on a birdie. 

Birdie putt coming up for Scheffler 

Yep, sticks in in close - maybe 8ft. Chance to take the lead shortly. This is just what great players do. 

Davis at -9

Cam Davis... our apologies for not giving you a mention. He's four back in the group at -9 and playing the last. 

Missed

Chance gone. Good-looking putt misses right and Scheffler has to settle for a par on 17. No bad thing. 

Co leaders? 

Almost there and it's looking like M.W. Lee and Scottie Scheffler will head into the final round of the 2023 Players Championship tied at -13...

Miss

A bit of work to do for Lee - it's 3ft for par - and it lips out. Shame.  

Scheffler sets up final chance

It's very good from the world number two. Very goof. A 9-iron spins in to about 10ft on 18. Can he grab himself a two-shot lead heading into the final round? 

Scheffler birdies last

It was a beautiful approach shot from Scheffler at the last - and he takes advantage. It was never in doubt. -14. 

join us tomorrow

Will Scheffler get the job done? You'd have to make the world number one a huge favourite. He's relentless. Join us again tomorrow for what promises to be another cracking day of golf. 

TEE TIMES NEWS

The good news is that The Players Championship is back on schedule, and for the final round the players will be in twoballs and all starting from the 1st tee. Scheffler and Lee will be off at 1.45pm EST or 5.45pm GMT.

Check out all The Players Championship round 4 tee times

BEST MOMENT FROM ROUND 3

Loads of great action yesterday, but nothing topped the hole in one from Aaron Rai. Epic!

NEVER BEEN AN ENGLISH WINNER OF THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Could this be the year? Lee Westwood, Nick Faldo, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald all have finished runner-up, while Paul Casey, Brian Davis and Eddie Pepperell have also had top-five finishes at the event. Aaron Rai and Tommy Fleetwood are well placed to strike if Scheffler fades in the final round.

WHO ARE FAVOURITES TO WIN?

• Scheffler 2/5
• Lee 21/20
• Davis 7/1
• Fleetwood 15/2
• Rai 12/1
• Ramey 30/1
• Bezuidenhout 12/1
• Im 12/1

WEATHER FORECAST

Best news of the day, the weather looks excellent today, no threats of rain or stoppages. 

WATCH AARON RAI'S 17th HOLE ACE

If you haven't seen the hole in one Aaron Rai had last night, check it out at this post.

WHAT CAN THE PLAYERS WIN TODAY?

There are some big bucks up for grabs today - career-changing, life-changing money for some of the players on the leaderboard.

 COURSE RECORD

Yesterday was a fantastic day for scoring, and that was proved by Tom Hoge, who fired 10 birdies and eight pars to shoot 62 and a new course record. Read the full story.

EARLY STARTERS ON COURSE

We are several hours away from the leaders starting their final rounds, but there are players already on course - Sahith Theegala two under for his round through four holes. No other players are under par for their rounds. But very early days.

COLT KNOST REACTS TO LOSING COURSE RECORD 

Prior to the 11th March 2023, nobody had bettered a round of 63 around TPC Sawgrass, with nine players holding the course record at the iconic venue, the most recent being Dustin Johnson in 2022. 

As one of those golfers who previously held the record, Colt Knost seemed to be happy for Hoge... sort of! Playing with some buddies, they watched on a mobile phone as Hoge holed the record-breaking putt. Watch his reaction here.

SCORING LOOKS MINIMAL SO FAR

With 20 people on the course - the best score for their round so far is two-under-par. May mean that a low score is going to be trickier than yesterday. 

AWAY FROM TPC SAWGRASS 

Away from The Players Championship for two seconds with news from Kenya, where Jorge Campillo has secured the Magical Kenya Open in commanding fashion. The Spaniard fired a final round 66 to claim a third DP World Tour title by two shots.

Players Championship Final-Round Odds and Live Picks

With the leaders not out for another four hours, why not take a look at our final round odds and live picks! Scottie Scheffler may be leading by three, but there are still plenty of betting options available for Sunday’s action. Here, Trent Pruit has narrowed in on the best bets.

EARLY SCORING

Looking at the leaderboard, it seems that there are scores to be had out there at TPC Sawgrass. Patton Kizzire is making the early headway, with the American -5 for his round through 11 holes. There are also a number of players at -3, but then there also a lot of players who are over-par for the day. Certainly a mixed bag from the early starters.

RECORD SCORING SATURDAY

There were some incredible scores at The Players Championship yesterday, with Tom Hoge setting a new course record. Not only was Hoge firing, but Saturday's scoring average of 69.57 was the lowest ever in a single round at Sawgrass in history!

BIGGEST MOVER ON DAY 4

Currently, Brendon Todd is the biggest mover on day four, with the American -3 through 8 holes. He has vaulted up the leaderboard 21 places, with four birdies and a bogey putting him at -5 for the tournament and in a share of 21st.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR MAKING A HOT START

Cameron Young has been dubbed to do big things in the game and, during his first three holes we can see why, with the current PGA Tour Rookie of the Year sat at -3 for his round! Parring the opening hole, he eagled the second and birdied the third. Great start from the 25-year-old.

UNREAL SHOT FROM JT

How has Justin Thomas holed this?!

JASON DAY & VIKTOR HOVLAND ON THE TEE

This could be an interesting two-ball to follow this afternoon, with both Day and Hovland firing under par rounds for each of the first three days. Could one make a move today? Certainly both are playing well enough!

Xander Schauffele going along nicely

Schauffele may have been +1 for his day after seven holes, but he has just gone birdie-birdie-par-eagle-birdie in a superb five hole stretch! The -5 run moves him just outside the top 10, with it also being the joint best score out on the course right now.

ANOTHER HOLE IN ONE AT 17!

Alex Smalley makes the third hole in one of the week at 17! The young American fires it at the flag, with the ball hopping once and landing straight in for yet another ace!

PIN PLACEMENTS

Much has been made of the pin positions on Sunday, with a lot of them tucked away making things difficult (unless you're Alex Smalley on the 17th). For the first time in 11 years, the pin placement on the 18th hole is back left. Will this make a difference at the end of play today? Only time will tell...

Good evening

Here we go then. It's the final round of the Players Championship and the leaderboard is shaping up nicely. Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele are making early moves but will it be enough to hunt down Scottie Scheffler?

We will find out very soon with the final twoball teeing off in less than 15 minutes.

Schauffele eagle

Here's how the American got to five-under for the day and seven-under for the tournament. He's going to come up a few shy but a terrific effort given his early struggles.

Penultimate group tee off

Fleetwood and Davis get what could be a massive round up and running. Fleetwood's ball looks to have picked up some mud, which could be an issue and a bod omen for what's to come.

Patty Ice!

From a tricky lie on the fifth, Patrick Cantlay hits a brilliant second to about 15ft for a birdie that would take him to -8.

Back on the first, Chad Ramey three-putts for an opening double-bogey to drop to -7.

Bezuidenhout to -10

The South African makes a great start to get within four of Scheffler with a birdie at the par-5 2nd.

Behind, the final group is off and running and Lee has an early chance to close the deficit.

Near ace for Molinari

It's not been a great day for Francesco Molinari but it nearly gets a whole lot better on the par-3 13th, with his tee shot shaving the hole for what would have been the third ace of the tournament.

Smalley's big moment

Here's how Alex Smalley made the third hole-in-one of the tournament at the 17th.

Lee halves deficit

Min Woo Lee mops up from 5ft at the first  for an early birdie. Alongside, Scottie Scheffler can only manage a par, meaning the gap is down to one

Lee's early move

Matsuyama to -10

The former Masters champion is now five-under for the day after a birdie at the par-5 11th. He's -10 for the tournament and within four of the lead.

Fleetwood bogey

Following on from England's miserable Saturday (they got horsed by France in the Six Nations), Tommy Fleetwood gets off to a poor start with a bogey at the par-5 2nd to drop to -8.

Birdies for Im and Matsuyama

The leaderboard is bunching up. Matsuyama gets to six-under for his round with a 10ft birdie at the par-4 12th. The Japanese star is now -11 for the tournament and closing in on Scheffler's lead.

Behind, Sung Jae Im gets to -10 with a birdie at the fourth.

Homa eagles and then hits the pin!

Max Homa makes an eagle on the par-5 11th to get to -9 and then steps up on 12 and hits the flag after piping his tee shot. His ball ricochets and heads towards the water but pulls up just in time. Very unlucky not to end up closer but it could have been worse.

Could he pull off the impossible? 

Scheffler bogeys

It's not been the most assured of starts by Scheffler, who misses from 3ft on the third to drop back to -13 and into a tie with Min Woo Lee.

Ahead, Matsuyama birdies 13 to get to -12 and Homa gets up-and down on the 12th to get to -11. This is shaping up very nicely as the course firms up.

Im and Hoge double

Sung Jae Im and Tom Hoge both fall well down the leaderboard with respective double-bogeys to drop to -8 and five back. Really careless stuff from the challenging duo.

On the fourth, Scheffler does well to hit the green in two after a poor tee shot while Min Woo Lee is forced to pitch out and try get up-and-down from the fairway to salvage a par.

Matsuyama in trouble

The former Masters champion is in trouble on the 14th. He misses the green way right and duffs his first chip shot. His fourth leaves him around 20ft to salvage a bogey. 

Lee in the water

The Australian comes up way short with his third on the fourth and spins his ball back into the water. He drops and pitches on to around 20ft but he'll have that to drop just two shots.

All of a sudden, Scheffler could have a three-shot lead.

Lee makes triple

And just like that everything has changed. Lee can't convert for double and drops back to -10. Up ahead, Matsuyama taps in for a double-bogey at the 14th to join Lee on that mark and give Scheffler a three-shot lead.

Hovland to -9

Viktor Hovland is making a late charge. Birdies at 9, 11 and 12 take him to -9 and within four of Scheffler. He'll require a monster finish to challenge for the win but it's possible. 

Ahead, Tyrrell Hatton joins the group at -8. 

Lee and Matsuyama clutch up

After losing some serious ground, Lee and Matsuyama hole great par putts on the 5th and 15th respectively to stay at -10.

Scheffler has this under control at the moment, though. 

Im to -9

The South Korean gets one of the two shots back that he dropped to get to -9. He'll probably need some help from Scheffler if he wants to challenge for top honours. 

Birdie for Hovland

The Norwegian is flying today. He curls in a cracking 15-footer on the 13th for a third birdie in a row and to get to -10. He looks the most likely to mount a title challenge just now.

Wind picking up

If Matsuyama can pick up a couple shots and post -12, that could be a very tough target to match. The wind is picking up at TPC Sawgrass and the greens are continuing to firm up.

Final group save par

Scheffler and Lee hole from 4ft to save par at the 6th to maintain their positions.

Ahead, Matsuyama fails to birdie the 16th, which could end his hopes of winning the tournament.

Contrasting fortunes for English duo

It's more bad news for Tommy Fleetwood, who misses a short par putt on the 6th for a third bogey of the day. It promised so much but he's now well out of contention.

Tyrrell Hatton, meanwhile, has a chance to get to -10 having found the par-5 16th green in two.

Birdies for Lee and Hatton

Hatton converts to get to -10 and within three of Scheffler, while Min Woo Lee recovers after a poor second to the 7th to get to -11.

It's a little closer all of a sudden.

Hatton stiffs it on 17

Tyrrell Hatton is on a charge. After birdieing the 16th, he fires a pinpoint iron shot to about 4ft on the iconic 17th. He'll have that to get to -11.

Alongside the Englishman, Homa's challenge comes to an end as he finds the water long of the green.

Huge from Scheffler

Having done little to nothing all day, Scheffler comes to life with a chip-in on the par-3 8th to regain his three-shot lead. That was incredible!

Homa drops two, Hatton makes birdie

It's a very costly double-bogey for Max Homa at the 17th. He's now -8 and six behind.

Tyrrell Hatton tidies up for birdie to get to -11 as he heads to the treacherous 18th. Can he find one more and set the clubhouse target?

Hideki in the house at -9

What could have been for Hideki. A bogey at 18 drops the Japanese player to -9 having got to -12 early on in his back nine.

Still, the closing 68 provided some drama on a day that has lacked action so far.

What a shot from Hatton

From the pine straw on the left of 18, Hatton has produced a moment of magic, slicing his ball round the trees and onto the green, leaving himself a 10-footer to come home in 29 and set a -12 clubhouse target.

Griffin!!

It's not been the weekend he wanted, but Ben Griffin will have plenty of memories to take away from Sawgrass. Here's another one...

Five star Hatton

What a finish that is from Tyrrell Hatton. He sinks his putt on 18 to finish with five straight birdies and come home in seven-under 29. 

He sets the clubhouse target at -12 with a closing 65. With the wind picking up, you just never know.

Scheffler to -15

More breathing space for Scheffler, who holes from 5ft on the 9th to get to 15-under and regain his three shot lead.

Scottie too hottie

Scheffler is closing in on the Players Championship title and the World No. 1 spot after a third birdie in a row at the 10th. He's now four clear of his nearest challenger and it's hard to see him losing from here.

Ahead, Hovland is in the house at -10. Another disappointing near miss for the Norwegian. 

Birdie for Im

After a tremendous tee shot to the short par-4 12th, Im misses his 10-foot eagle putt and has to settle for birdie. That takes him to -11 but he's still five off the lead. He'll need a mammoth finish to hunt down Scheffler.

Im back to -10

The South Korean is back to -10 after a poor bogey at the 13th. At five behind, there really was no excuse to leave his par putt short.

Four in a row for Scheff

This is absolute one-way traffic. Scheffler extends his lead to five with a fourth birdie in a row at the 11th. Nothing but a nightmare on 17 can stop him now.

Ahead, it's better news for Fleetwood, who gets back to level for the day with a third successive birdie at the 12th.

Lee out of it

Min Woo Lee snipes his tee shot on the par-5 11th left into the pine straw. He takes two to get back to get back on the right planet and eventually racks up a double-bogey seven. He's back to -8, nine behind his playing partner, and completely out of it.

Scheffler out of sight

Try as Paul McGinely might, this is over. A fifth birdie in a row at the 12th takes Scottie Scheffler six clear of Tyrrell Hatton, who is already in the clubhouse.

Rose in the drink

A good day for Justin Rose is in danger of coming undone at 17 after his tee shot trickles over the green and into the water.

His third from the drop zone clambers onto the front of the green, leaving him a big-swinging 30-footer for bogey. He's not impressed.

Spieth in the house at -6

It was probably a week of what could have been for Jordan Spieth. At times he looked back to his best, while at others, he could barely keep his ball on the property.

Fittingly, after hitting his second in the water on 18, he holed a 20-footer for bogey after thinking he'd missed it off the blade.

Bogey for Scheffler, birdie for Hoge

A poor tee shot on the 14th ends up costing the leader a shot and drops him back to -17. His lead is still five so there's certainly no reason to panic.

Up ahead on 17, Tom Hoge takes solo third courtesy of a great putt from just off the green on the par-3.

Rose closes with par

After a disappointing double-bogey at 17, Rose brings his week to an end with a par for a round of 71 and an eight-under finish. A solid four days for the former World No. 1 who is showing good signs of form.

Another fairway for Scheffler 

Onto the 16th tee now and - with a five shot lead - Scheffler has put his ball into position A1 on the par 5. 

Rai Trebles

After his heroics at the 17th yesterday, Aaron Rai has just come crashing back down to earth with a triple bogey six at the famous par three. That also now drops him outside the top 20 on the leaderboard. 

Safe From Scottie

Scheffler is approaching the par-5 16th hole with the utmost caution. He's got a birdie putt of around 15ft after he found the greenside bunker from his approach shot.

Davis and Fleetwood in the water

Playing in the group ahead of Scheffler, both Tommy Fleetwood and Cam Davis have just found the water on the 17th. The wind seems to have picked up a touch - and we've seen a lot of balls in the water today - but Scheffler has plenty of shots to play with ahead of this hole. For now, he settles for a par on the 16th

Waiting patiently 

As Fleetwood and Davis negotiate the 17th, Scheffler only has two real tests left before he is crowned champion. Here, his tee shot at the 17th needs to find dry land...

And it's dry...

Scheffler is dry! He not only has found the green, but he's confidently popped it to around 20ft. Just the tee shot on 18 to face now... 

Min Woo Lee - who has had a tough day - has also stuck it close. 

Standing ovation

A standing ovation as the final group walk onto the green. The crowd knows it's looking at its new champion, and the new world number one. 

Five shot lead going down the last 

It's a comfortable two putt par for Scheffler, and he has a five shot lead heading down the last hole. Min Woo Lee holes his birdie putt to propel himself back into the top five. 

Safety first...

With a five-shot lead, Scheffler has sent his tee shot incredibly far right off the 18th tee. With all that water left, who can blame him? He's got plenty of room to work with to get back into play on this hole. 

A Family Affair

Moments from victory

A sensible recovery shot back onto the fairway and a pin high approach shot means Scheffler is just minutes from being crowned The Players Champion. 

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER WINS

Of course he holed the par putt to finish! Scheffler has been in a league of his own all day and a final round of 69 means he becomes Players Champion, winning by a sensational five strokes. Once again, we have a new world number one... 

THANKS FOR JOINING US

Make sure to check out the Golf Monthly website for all the analysis and fallout from Scheffler's win.