The Players Championship 2014: Tee times, pairings for Saturday’s round at TPC Sawgrass

The Players Championship almost always has the strongest field of the year, but the 2014 edition started without the defending champ and the overwhelming headliner of the sport. Still, 46 of the top 50 in the world were in attendance at TPC Sawgrass this week and most of the big names managed to get through to the weekend.

The biggest cut casualty is obviously Phil Mickelson, who missed a putt on the 18th to fall on the wrong side of the cut line and head home early for the second straight year here. It’s also the second straight major event where Mickelson has missed the cut, coming on the heels of last month’s Masters MC, his first since 1997 at Augusta. It’s not a good trend for Phil with the U.S. Open, the only week that really matters this year, just over 30 days away at Pinehurst.

Losing Mickelson is definitely a blow, but the top of the leaderboard has a nice international mix and of course, there’s 20-year-old phenom Jordan Spieth. The final pairing could very well be a Ryder Cup preview, with the Euro clincher from 2012, Martin Kaymer, out with Spieth at 2:45 p.m. ET. Spieth has to be a lock for the American roster at this point, and if Kaymer continues to trend back towards his former-No. 1-in-the-world form, the lanky German should elbow his way onto another loaded Euro squad.

Right behind those two is a strong mix of Euros, including Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, and Sergio Garcia. They all tee off in the 2 o’clock hour as well, but they have a lot of ground to make up on that final pairing. Kaymer has doubled each of them up, sitting out ahead at 12-under. As we’ve seen through the first two days, however, a mid-to-low 60s round is available out there on a softer Stadium Course, so a chasedown is possible on “moving day” at The Players.

Two of the biggest names in the field, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott, will be out early in the morning after just sneaking past the cut line. McIlroy went out in 42, an astounding front nine that included a 7-over stretch in six holes. But the two-time major winner did rebound on the back nine, posting a 32 and canning a birdie putt on the last hole to make the cut right on the number. Scott’s chances appeared much more grim at the start of the day, as only four players had worse scores in the opening round. But much like McIlroy, Scott got hot at the last minute to get through on the number at even-par after posting a round 10 shots better than the previous day. They’re both out before 9 a.m., and should be wrapping up when Golf Channel comes on the air at 12:30 p.m.

Here’s the full tee sheet for Saturday’s third round: