Jordan Spieth finishes with two pars but they've not enahnced his mood as he trudges off the 18th no doubt still thinking about that double bogey on 16.

Aside from that, Spieth had five birdies and four bogeys in a typical rollercoaster of a round that really could have been anything.

My that's a mighty fine effort from Tommy Fleetwood on the fifth.

He's out in some heavy no-man's land rough in front of the green but splashes his effort delightfully onto the putting surface and watches it bounces once, clunk the flag stick and trundle on.

That's some up and down form the Englishman.

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The iconic 17th at TPC Sawgrass will be a nervy one for even the best today thanks to the winds whipping around the Stadium Course.

We can see some huge numbers even from the top pros at the 17th - which claims around 100,000 golf balls every year with amateur golfers finding the lake with regularity when they come to play this little devil of a hole.

Akshay Bhatia has packed the right wedge today.

After a dime at the first earned a birdie, he's found another beautiful approach on the second and should tap in once again.

No! He's lipped his putt from two-and-a-half feet and stalks off to the third tee still at 12 under.

JJ Spaun rolls in a brilliant putt on the third green from almost 30 feet to land back-to-back birdies and grab a share of the lead.

Rory McIlroy can't follow him in so he stays on 10 under and two shots off the lead.

That visit to the water on 16 costs Jordan Spieth two shots as he adds insult to injury by finding the bunker with his fourth following a penalty drop.

He gets out of the sand and leaves six feet for a bogey, but as usually happens the putt fails to drop and he has to sign for a seven on the par five.

The second has been a pretty easy hole today (15th on the course) and both Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun take advantage of the par five with birdies.

McIlroy got a bit lucky with hie lies in the right rough that he visited twice on the hole, but it was a nice up and down in the end.

After missing from short range at the second for par, Collin Morikawa has his eye back in on the third green.

He's rolled in a terrific birdie putt from 18-and-a-half feet and hauls himself back up the leaderboard.

Scotland's Bob MacIntyre started the round six shots off the pace and got off to a great start with a birdie on the tricky par-three third but he gave that shot back at the seventh and is back where he started halfway through round three.

After missing those birdies putts on one and two, Tommy Fleetwood finds himself sliding his six-footer for par past the hole at the fourth.

He's back at six under, half a dozen off the leader.

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The Players is often referred to as 'the unofficial fifth major' as it has a stellar field, a bumper prize pot, an iconic golf course and bags of history.

Those are all the ingredients you usually associate with the big four events in men's professional golf, so should it just become a major championship now?

BBC Sport's Iain Carter explains why he thinks the fifth major talk is a moot point at the moment, but what do you think?

Vote with your thumbs....

Oh Jordan! Just after a stunning birdie on 15, Jordan Spieth then finds the drink with a fairway wood approach on 16.

And he's disgusted with that shot as he throws his club to the ground in frustration.

Oh boy, wizardry from Akshay Bhatia!

He's out on his own at the top of the leaderboard after a magnificent approach at the first sets up a birdie from tap-in range.

Nerves? No chance.

Playing partner Min Woo Lee polishes off with a par.

Solid enough start for Rory McIlroy with a par on the first.

Brilliant from Scottie Scheffler on six, as he has to dig out his second shot from the fairway bunker and then finds himself in some deep Sawgrass rough, but manages to bash it out of there to find the green barely six feet from the hole.

He rolls it in from a fine par.

Jordan Spieth produces a wonderful bunker shot from 158 yards out to send it to nine feet, before rolling it in for another birdie.

Classic Spieth.

Over the past 10 tournaments, the average winning score at TPC Sawgrass has been -15.

The final group have just teed off and currently stand at -11 so we'll see if they can master the wind to nudge closer to that type of number today.

Justin Thomas closed out his front nine with a birdie to turn in a level-par 36, before adding a par at the 10th.

Thomas started today's third round by almost holing his second shot and he's shown in the past just how good he can play in the wind - as an excellent iron player there aren't too many with his variety of shot shapes.

The penultimate group of Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun tee off down the first. McIlroy's nine-under 135 total after Friday is his second-lowest 36-hole score at this event.

The world number two only went better (with a 12-under 132) in 2019 when he won the Players.

Image source, Getty Images

Alongside Min Woo Lee is talented 23-year-old American Akshay Bhatia, winner of the Valero Texas Open in 2024.

According to golf guru Justin Ray, he's the youngest player to hold the 36-hole lead or co-lead in a Players Championship at this venue.

So far this season, he has got a couple of top-10 finishes but missed the cut at last week's signature event down the road at Bay Hill.

A surprise contender? Perhaps, so can he keep his foot on the pedal today?