The stage is set for a wild Sunday at The PLAYERS with a leaderboard so crowded it’s anyone’s guess who will claim this victory.
Chris Kirk has a one shot lead over the most tightly packed leaderboard of the season. There are thirty players within five shots of the lead and plenty more right behind them.
But this PLAYERS has a different look from previous years. Kirk, himself no household name leads a group of lesser known players with a few familiar faces sprinkled in to make sure it doesn’t look like a Web.com Tour event.
This is a new era where the winner can come not only from the group of experienced veterans but also from the group of new fresh youngsters or the solid journeyman.
Most golf fans wouldn’t know half of these golfers if they were next to them at Starbucks. But that is what may just make today exciting: new blood making their claim on a big stage. 
Kirk, 26th in the world, is playing solid golf and if things get tight down the stretch he has played the last three holes at Sawgrass better than any of the leaders. He is six under par for the first three rounds.
Three players are one stroke back. Kevin Kisner, an unknown has two Web.com wins and is 123rd in the world. Ben Martin won the Shriners this year and is 66th in the world. Bill Haas, a veteran with six PGA wins is 25th in the world and recently called the most underrated golfer on tour. Not if he wins today.
Six golfers are two shots behind Kirk. Scott Brown another unknown is 218th and has one PGA win, the ’13 Puerto Rico Open. Sergio Garcia is the highest ranked player near the top at 10 in the world but is still trying to decide on a putting grip. David Hearn ranks 153rd and the journeyman has one Web.com win. Justin Thomas another new face with a superb resume is 86th in the world and carded a record 10 birdies yesterday. He and Jordan Spieth are close and Thomas is trying to make like his buddy has the past two seasons. Forty eight year old Jerry Kelly, 127th, would be the second oldest PLAYERS Champion (Fred Funk) if he can find a way to show the kids he still has it. And Kevin Na (22) who plays so well at Sawgrass and is playing some of the best golf of his life would love to erase the memory of 2012 when he yipped away this tournament.
Anyone of these guys could win it and there are fifteen within four shots and that group includes Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy.
This is going to be fun.
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