Simpson extends huge Sawgrass lead

The early stages of round three were business as usual for Webb Simpson, who was still setting the pace at The Players Championship.

Webb Simpson extended his commanding lead to seven shots through nine holes in his third round at The Players Championship.

Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth were among the big movers early on Saturday's play, but Simpson was continuing the fine form he showed on Thursday and Friday.

And the five-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard he held overnight was stretched to seven shots after the frontrunner went two under through nine in the third round, taking his overall score to 17 under par.

Danny Lee was second and even par for the day, while Jason Dufner's six-under 66 saw him move into third alongside Jason Day, Patrick Cantlay and Charl Schwartzel, who were all still out on course.

Woods earlier predicted that the late-starters could top the seven under carded by both he and Spieth.

The duo were among the players at eight under for the tournament, including Dustin Johnson. Sergio Garcia, who was two over through 12, slipped down the leaderboard after making double-bogey at the seventh.