A trio of Ryder Cup stars are flying the flag for Europe on the final day of The Players Championship as Jon Rahm leads by one shot over Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.

The Spaniard posted a superb eight-under 64 to take a one-shot lead into Sunday at TPC Sawgrass as the British duo both battled their way to a two-under 70 having gone into the third round with the overnight lead.

Rahm, who sits at -15 after 54 holes, said: "Didn't miss many shots out there," Rahm said. "Really, really confident with my irons. Every time I stepped up, I felt like I was going to hit a good shot."

McIlroy and Fleetwood, both looking to become only the second British winner at The Players, got off to torrid starts with a bogey and double bogey respectively on the first.

Fleetwood, in search of a first win on United States soil, drifted to three-over for his round after seven holes, before both put on fine recovery performances on the back nine.

“I just kept going, I hit some dreadful shots early on,” Fleetwood told Sky Sports after his round. “Made an absolute hash of the first hole. It was a struggle really, I hit some better shots coming in but it was a real test of grit and mental strength really.

"Five under for my last ten or eleven holes is really good and I’m really pleased with that.

“I’ve got a chance now I can go and rest and work on my game a bit,” he added. “You’re in the Players Championship and I’m playing in the last group all weekend, it doesn’t get much better than that!"

Of his 70, McIlroy, who has struggled on Sundays since his win at Bay Hill in March 2018, said: "I just need to hit fairways and greens. If I can do that, and take the opportunities I give myself, hopefully I can turn tomorrow into the best Sunday of the year so far.”

Tiger Woods recovered from a three-over front nine to post a level par 72, thanks to a birdie on the 17th following his quadruple-bogey seven on Friday on the famous par three.

Five players were within five shots of Rahm, the deficit the Spaniard made up on Saturday. That group included Brandt Snedeker (65) and Keegan Bradley (68), and Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world who played the par 5s at even and still shot a 69.

Here is the leaderboard after three days at TPC Sawgrass...

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.