Canadians have a shot heading into delayed final round of The Players

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This article was published 13/03/2022 (1654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. After Corey Conners called in two rules officials on the 15th hole at TPC Sawgrass he hit a low, hooking 5-iron out of the trees to within 30 feet from 189 yards. It’s difficult to describe how easy Conners made this shot look — but then he hit an even better one, from a more difficult location, three holes later.

“My escape game was really nice,” the soft-spoken Conners said with a smile. “That kept me in it.”

Despite the uncertainty of the schedule and the impact of Mother Nature at The Players Championship, the Canadian duo of Conners, who finished seventh here last year, and Taylor Pendrith are firmly in the mix in the PGA Tour’s biggest event heading into the final day. It will be the first Monday finish at this event since 2005.

Play was suspended by darkness Sunday with Conners and Pendrith tied at 4 under par, in a pack of 30 golfers within five shots of the lead.

Anirban Lahiri, who was on a sizzling Sunday run before play was called, leads at 9 under. He was 5 under through 11 holes of his third round.

“I’m just happy,” Lahiri said in a quick interview Sunday night, “and when you are in that state of mind you play well, and that’s what happened.

“Who doesn’t want to win The Players Championship?”

Adam Hadwin was the other Canadian to make the cut, at 1 under. Hadwin nearly made an ace on the par-3 17th, his tee shot from 123 yards spinning just past the hole. His near-ace came just two groups after Shane Lowry made an actual ace — the 10th overall at the iconic island-green hole.

Even with all the starts and stops over the last four days, Hadwin said it’s easy to stay patient at The Players because of how much is at stake. The winner receives $3.6 million (U.S.) from a record purse of $20 million.

“It’s wild to think we’ve been playing golf over four days now,” said Hadwin, “but it’s one of our biggest events of the year.”

The cut came, finally, at mid-afternoon Sunday.

It had been two days since Conners and Pendrith played because of the weather, but both were happy to return — despite the weirdness of their schedule.

Pendrith said the mid-tournament break was beneficial, after playing more than originally scheduled early in the season. He made two birdies in his first three holes — and was the solo leader for a time — but finished with a 1-under 71 in his second round. Conners shot a 3-under 69, while Hadwin shot 72.

“I feel pretty comfortable,” Pendrith said after his second round. “The golf course, I think, really suits my game nicely.”

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Pendrith was 1 over for the third round and was set to resume play Monday morning in the fairway on No. 11. Conners was also 1 over for the third round and will start with a putt of just over five feet on No. 10.

On Sunday, golfers were finally greeted by blue skies after days of rain and high winds. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark through the morning, however, and golfers had a new challenge: deciding what to wear.

“Four layers, a tuque and hand warmers. It was cold,” Pendrith said.

The trio of Canadians who made the cut were all part of the original early-late wave. Sixty-two percent of the golfers who made the cut played in that wave, which played three strokes easier.

Adam Stanley is an Ottawa-based contributor to the Star’s Sports section and the host of golf podcast Next Round’s On Me. Follow him on Twitter: @adam_stanley