Xander Schauffele erased a four-shot deficit Saturday with another bogey-free round on a course where trouble is around every corner, capping a 7-under 65 with a superb chip to save par and take a one-shot lead into the final round of The Players Championship.

U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who had a four-shot lead at the start and stretched it to five with a birdie on the opening hole, did well to make sure the deficit wasn’t greater.

They were tied going to the island green on the par-3 17th. Clark hit it so clunky that his wedge shot came up some 15 yards short of land. But he hit the next one to 7 feet and escaped with bogey, and then saved par on the 18th for a 70.

For a short time on a balmy afternoon, it looked like The Players could turn into a two-man race between Clark and Schauffele. But there were enough birdies, bold shots and big rallies, to suddenly make today filled with possibilities.

Schauffele was at 17-under 199 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

British Open champ Brian Harman was slowed briefly by a bogey on the par-5 ninth that required him attempting a right-handed shot, and then the little lefty birdied four of his next five holes and finished with a 64. He was two shots behind.

Maverick McNealy and former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick each had a 68 and were four shots behind, each with a share of brilliance and blunders.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world coping with a neck pain this week, kept alive his chances of becoming the first back-to-back winner in 50 years of the PGA Tour’s premier championship. He birdied his last three holes for his 26th straight round under par this year, a 68, that left him in range at five shots behind. He was joined by Sahith Theegala (67).

Bristol’s Cup race back on concrete

Bristol Motor Speedway has ditched the dirt and is back to being a concrete coliseum for its annual spring race.

The famed short track added red clay each of the last three years for its first of two events. Reviews were mixed, and as the novelty wore off, sub-par racing inside the .0533-mile bullring overshadowed any excitement that came with the Cup Series running on dirt for the first time since 1970.

NASCAR responded with a return to normal, and several drivers welcomed the move.

“Even growing up on dirt, I prefer the high banks on the concrete,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson said. “It’s one of the coolest places to race at, and I have had a lot of success there. I’m hoping for another great result this weekend.”

Added teammate William Byron: “The dirt was cool, but I think it had its time. The concrete track always puts on a good race, and selfishly, we run better on the concrete.”

Officials hope the spring race today will harken to Bristol’s 1990s heyday, when the track was one of the toughest tickets in sports. Bristol boasted a 55-race sellout streak from 1982 through 2010, with the short-track racing providing plenty of heated exchanges and memorable moments.

Michigan assistant coach suspended

Michigan defensive line coach Greg Scruggs was suspended indefinitely while the football program and athletic department review details of his arrest for suspected drunk driving.

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said Scruggs made “an unfortunate mistake” in a statement Saturday, about 12 hours after the newly hired assistant was arrested.

“He made no excuses and has taken accountability for his actions,” Moore said.

Scruggs, 33, was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated at 3 a.m. Saturday, according to Ann Arbor police.

He was hired by Moore, who replaced Jim Harbaugh when he left to lead the Chargers two months ago.

Scruggs, a former NFL defensive end, coached Wisconsin’s defensive line last season. He was a New York Jets assistant defensive line coach in 2022 following two seasons as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Shiffrin wins her final slalom race of season

For Mikaela Shiffrin, the award for the best slalom skier this season is different from the 15 crystal globes the American star won earlier in her career.

This one, for a change, doesn’t feel like the end of a season.

Shiffrin capped her campaign that was marred by a recent six-week injury layoff with her record-extending 60th win in slalom and 97th overall at the World Cup finals in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.

She had already locked up her record-equaling eighth slalom season title last week by winning her first race back since hurting her knee in a downhill crash Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in January, but globes are handed over only after the last race.

“It was like a middle season for me. I’m probably the most excited one to be here. Everyone wants to be home and I’m like: ‘No! We’ve just started again,’ ” said Shiffrin, adding her feeling had “a lot to do with the crowd here cheering so much. It gives this emotion like what we want to feel at races, so I’m already excited to be back.”

Shiffrin, who turned 29 on Wednesday, said on Instagram the slalom would be her last race of the season, skipping today’s giant slalom and next week’s speed events.

• Marco Odermatt failed to complete a perfect giant slalom season at the World Cup finals, where the Swiss star skied out in the second run while holding a commanding lead over eventual winner Loic Meillard.

Odermatt had won each of the previous 12 giant slaloms since February 2023, including nine this season. With another victory, he would have matched the record set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, who won all 10 giant slaloms in the 1978-79 season.

Duran, 72, in hospital due to heart ailment

Boxing great Roberto Duran was receiving medical care for a heart problem, the family of the 72-year-old Panamanian said.

Duran, who was a champion in four different weight classes, “has suffered a health complication due to an atrioventricular blockade,” his family said in a statement on Duran’s Instagram account.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said on social media that Duran was being treated in Panama.