McIlroy was emblematic of the difficulties, carding three birdies and four bogeys in a gritty 73 that left him four off the 12-under-par lead held by JJ Spaun.

The best thing Rory McIlroy can say about his Saturday 73 at the Players Championship, leaving him four shots off JJ Spaun's lead at eight under, is that he didn't lose the tournament. That's not insignificant—Will Zalatoris and Min Woo Lee were two of the Saturday Sawgrass victims,

Players Championship is in full swing, and it’s a tournament that has thrown up its fair share of fascinating incidents and controversies in years gone by