PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Xander Schauffele welcomed the chance to look Wyndham Clark in the eye and make him uncomfortable Saturday at The Players Championship.

Schauffele believed it was the only way to slow Clark’s roll at TPC Sawgrass, where he led by four shots after 36 holes and was positioned to turn the PGA Tour’s showcase event into a snooze.

It worked. Schauffele didn’t blink while Clark did.

A bogey-free 7-under 65 left Schauffele with a 17-under 199 total and Clark stood at 16-under after a lackluster 70 on a day when the scoring average was 70.29, the lowest of the week.

Schauffele’s approach was simple and understated.

“Just play good golf,” he said. “I don’t think I’m an intimidating person, sitting here at 5-9, 5-10. I’m pretty friendly with most of the guys out here. Sort of just kill them with my clubs.”

Schauffele made some routine birdies and unbelievable ones, including a 58-foot putt to give him the lead on the par-4 14th — the day’s second-toughest hole. A 254-yard 3-wood off the pine straw right of the fairway carried water and a large bunker at the par-5 11th, setting up an unexpected 4.

A 35-yard wedge shot from the deep right rough on the par-4 18th settled a foot from the hole for a tap-in par on the day’s toughest hole.

“It was a bit of a grind,” Schauffele said after hitting just two fairways on his incoming nine holes. “Wind was swirling a little bit. Just was happy to stay in it and move on moving day.”

Following a birdie on the opening hole, Clark lost momentum and needed a couple of clutch putts to avoid catastrophe on a day when he couldn’t make the easy ones. After leading the field through 36 holes in strokes gained on the greens, Clark missed putts in the 5-foot range for par and birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 for an opening 35, three more strokes than Schauffele.

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