Three takeaways from The Players Championship third round

1. Perfect weather, lights out scoring

Two weeks ago TPC Sawgrass director of agronomy Jeff Plotts said there was nothing anyone could do to control the best players in the world if there was no wind. Guess what? Saturday's third round had sunny skies, cool temperatures (but actually nice when you were in the sun) and little to no breeze.

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Accordingly, the third-round field chopped up the Stadium Course for a record scoring average of 69.573, the first time it had ever dipped below 70. There were six scores of 65 or lower (topped by Tom Hoge's course record 62) and 26 scores of 68 or lower.

Leader Scottie Scheffler fired his career-best score in The Players with a 65 and Min Woo Lee made only one bogey, at No. 18, for a 66 to finish two behind. Every player among the 13 tied for 11th or higher shot in the 60s.

Maybe the rules staff will toughen up on the pins for Sunday's fourth round. Maybe the wind will blow harder.

But for one day, the Stadium Course whimpered like a spanked puppy.

2. A nod to the DP World Tour

Lee, an Australian, got into The Players off the top-50 on the world golf rankings and both of his professional victories have come on the DP World Tour.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa has been a PGA Tour member since 2021 but three of his professional victories have come on the DP World Tour.

Aaron Rai, who had an ace at No. 17 and shot 65 to tie for fourth, also played most of his golf on the DP World Tour before earning his Tour status in 2021.

It might be a good time to note that the PGA Tour will award anyone among the top-10 on the DP World Tour Race to Dubai Tour cards, beginning this year.

3. Scheffler flexes his muscles

Scottie Scheffler, at No. 2 in the world, is the only top-10 player on the first page of the Players leaderboard. The next highest-ranked player is Sunjae Im at No. 18. True to the democratic nature of the course, that's the way it's supposed to work but in a sense, Scheffler is carrying the banner for the Tour's superstars.

Three shots come to mind from Saturday's round that might indicate the reigning PGA Tour player of the year and defending Masters champion will be tough to beat on Sunday: 1. He short-sided himself at the second green but flopped a shot from heavy rough into the hole for eagle. 2. He hit a stout tee shot at the par-3 eighth hole and his 13-foot birdie putt circled the drain before dropping in. 3. He shook off the miss of a 9-foot birdie attempt at No. 17 to split the 18th fairway with his drive, setting up a closing birdie.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Record scoring, perfect weather: Players Championship takeaways