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Australian Jason Day will start the final round at The Players Championship just three shots from the lead of the PGA Tour's richest event.
Jason Day is confident his world-class putter will heat up for the final round of the $US12.5 million ($A17.5m) Players Championship as he looks to become just the second Australian to win multiple titles at TPC Sawgrass.
Steve Elkington is the only Australian with two Players Championship wins (1991, 1997) but 2016 Players champion Day gave himself a red-hot chance at victory at the US PGA Tour's richest event with a solid third round on Saturday.
Day posted a four-under-par 68 to move to 12 under and three shots from 54-hole leader Jon Rahm - the Spanish world No.10 who soared to the top of the leaderboard with a 64.
Rahm, at 15 under, will play in the final group alongside England's Tommy Fleetwood (70), who shares second at 14 under with Rory McIlroy (70) while Day is outright fourth.
Day and fellow Australian Adam Scott (nine under) will enter the final round as the only two inside the top 15 who have won the Players.
Four-time major winner McIlroy, who has finished in the top six in all five PGA Tour events he's played this year, will partner Day in Sunday's second-last group.
While Day ranks a respectable 11th on the PGA Tour for strokes gained in putting, the Queenslander feels he has putted poorly this year relative to the No.1 putting rank he held in 2016.
It showed on moving day as Day missed birdie putts from within 10 feet on the par-5 second, par-5 11th and par-4 14th.
Day, whose ball-striking has been solid, feels his putting is the only thing he needs to turn around to join an elite club of multiple winners at TPC Sawgrass that includes Elkington, Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2013).
"I feel like I'm driving the ball well and I'm hitting a lot of quality iron shots but I need to putt a little bit better," Day said.
"There's a good opportunity there; if I can keep that level of play up with my driver and irons, and get back to my standard of putting, then I feel like I've got a really good chance of winning."
Day's countryman and 2004 Players winner Scott lifted himself into contention with a 68.
Six shots behind Rahm, Scott can also join the list of multiple champions at Sawgrass but would need to equal the largest final-round comeback (Raymond Floyd, 1981).
"If it actually plays tough here on Sunday then no (I'm not too far back); if it plays as easy as it did today then yes," Scott said.
Cameron Smith rounded out the Australian contingent and the world No.24 finished at one under after a 73.
Woods signed for an even-par 72 to remain at three under.
