J.J. Spaun watched his 25-foot putt swirl 360 degrees around the cup and drop for par, a fitting end to a wild, windy, round-wrecking Saturday at The Players Championship that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the richest tournament in golf.

The par gave Spaun a 2-under 70, the lowest score among the final 10 groups that teed off in a strong, steady wind with gusts up to 25 mph on a course that can be intimidating even when the conditions are calm.

Bud Cauley teed off two hours earlier and still faced a bulk of the wind. He finished with three birdies on his last four holes for a 66 to be in the final group.

For so many others — even those very much in the mix — it was a matter of hanging on for dear life. Lucas Glover had a 71 and finished with a double bogey on the 15th, an eagle by chipping in on the par-5 16th, and a double bogey with a tee shot that didn’t reach the island on the notorious par-3 17th.

“It’s pretty razor thin around here anyway,” Glover said. “And then you add in 25, 30 miles an hour with some gusts, it shrinks things even more. I did a good job where I was missing for the majority of the day, and there was a couple holes where you just can’t miss.”

Spaun was at 12-under 204, a stroke ahead of Cauley and three ahead of Glover and Alex Smalley.

There was plenty of heartache, not including the five rounds in the 80s.

Will Zalatoris was briefly tied for the lead when he stepped on the 14th tee. He played the final five holes in 9-over par — a quadruple bogey on the 14th, a double bogey on the 15th, a ball in the water on the 17th for double bogey and a bogey at the last. It added to a 78.

He went from tied for the lead to 10 shots behind in the span of about an hour.

Rory McIlroy made birdie on the final hole to salvage a 73 and perhaps his chances, leaving him only four shots behind.

UNRIVALED LEAGUE

Reese out from semi with hand injury

Angel Reese will miss her team’s Unrivaled semifinal matchup on Sunday because of a hand injury, the league announced.

Reese, who has played for Rose BC during the inaugural season of the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, injured her hand against Vinyl in last week’s regular-season finale. It’s the same left hand that Reese had surgery on in September to repair a small crack in a bone in her wrist, which ended the star forward’s stellar rookie season with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky early.

Reese was one of Unrivaled biggest standouts during its eight-week regular season. She was named Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year on Saturday after leading the league with 12.1 rebounds per game and was named to the All-Unrivaled second-team earlier this week.

She led Rose with eight blocked shots this year and anchored Unrivaled’s best scoring defense, which held opponents to 65.2 points per game. Reese also had a 22-point, 21-rebound game on Feb. 21, when Rose handed Unrivaled Co-founder Napheesa Collier and the Lunar Owls their only loss of the season.

It’s not yet known if Reese would be available to play in Monday’s final if her team advances.

NBA

Nets’ Thomas out rest of season

Cam Thomas, the Brooklyn Nets’ leading scorer, is expected to miss the rest of the season with a strained left hamstring.

Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said Saturday that Thomas was injured while taking the last shot of the game during their loss at Chicago on Thursday. The guard had his first career double-double in the game, getting 24 points and a career-best 10 assists.

The Nets said it was unlikely he could appropriately recover with the amount of time left in the season. Brooklyn has less than a month left before the regular season ends April 13.

Former Sonic and coach Slick Watts dies

Donald “Slick” Watts, a fan favorite for the SuperSonics and later a beloved teacher and coach in Seattle, has died. He was 73.

Watts’ son Donald, who played for Washington, announced his father’s death Saturday on social media, writing: “You did so much for so many of us. It was an honor call you pops.” Watts had been in poor health following a stroke in 2021.

Watts was signed by coach Bill Russell to play for the Sonics in 1973 as an undrafted rookie. He was with Seattle for less that five years, but became a fixture known for his broad smile, bald head and crooked headbands. He led the league in steals in the 1975-76 season.

He later played for the New Orleans Jazz and the Houston Rockets but made Seattle his home following his career and frequently attended Sonics events, as well as Washington and Seattle Storm games.

SOCCER

Mbappé beats Ronaldo’s debut season tally

After a slow start to his Real Madrid career, Kylian Mbappé has already surpassed one of the club greats.

Mbappé scored twice in Madrid’s 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal to take his tally to 31 goals in all competitions this season — one more than Brazil striker Ronaldo managed in his first campaign at the club.

Having surpassed Ronaldo’s tally from 2002-03, the former Paris Saint-Germain player is now closing in on the 33 goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his first season with Madrid in 2009-10.

“They are legends who marked eras with the club,” Mbappé said about the two Ronaldos. “If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano it doesn’t mean that I am better, just that my first season is better.”

TENNIS

Draper knocks off 2-time champion Alcaraz

Jack Draper toppled two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 to reach the BNP Paribas Open final.

The 13th-seeded Draper will face 12th-seeded Holger Rune on Sunday. Rune beat fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 6-4 in the first semifinal for his 150th tour-level victory.

In the women’s final Sunday, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka will play 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

— From news services