The Players Championship is not a major. By the look of things today, it may be even harder.

Beaten and battered, David Duval trudged off the 18th green after his fifth bogey of the day and tried to muster enough strength to acknowledge the hometown gallery that applauded his perservance as much as the fact he was in the lead.

"We just got kicked around," Duval said. "As far as the golf course goes, this is as tough as I've ever seen it.''

The third round had the whipping wind of a British Open, the nasty rough of a U.S. Open, the terrifying greens of the Masters.

Who knows? With Duval holding a one-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson and Skip Kendall, maybe it will even reward a first-time major winner like is often the case in the PGA Championship.

Despite a bogey from the rough -- his pitch shot landed 6 feet in front of the hole and rolled 30 feet by -- Duval survived with a 2-over-par 74 for a 4-under 212 total, the highest score of a third-round leader since the tournament moved to the Stadium Course on the TPC at Sawgrass in 1982.

Mickelson had one of only six rounds under par on a day when the Stadium Course played a whopping 4.3 strokes over par, a 71 that left him and Kendall at 213. Kendall chipped in for birdie on the 18th for a 70, the best score of the day.

"It was like playing Augusta and the U.S. Open on the same day," Montgomerie said after a 73. "I like none of them, so if you put it together, it's worse."

Twenty-nine players began the third round under par. By the end of a gruelling day of groans and moans and hardly any smiles, only six remained.

One by one, players caught the wrath of Pete Dye's design and Mother Nature's dry, unyielding conditions.

• Payne Stewart, chewing his gum harder and harder as his ball descended on the 17th green, turned away when it bounded over the back and into the water for a double bogey that dropped him to even-par 216.

• Duffy Waldorf, at 3-under after a rare birdie on the par-3 17th, took an 8 on the closing hole to finish at 217.

• Davis Love III recovered from a triple bogey on the first hole and was also at 3-under until he put two balls in the water on the island green 17th and took a 7. He had a 78 and was at 2-over 218.

• Ernie Els, at one point 4-under for the tournament, had a 42 on the back and finished at 220.

"I don't know what they were thinking today," said Tiger Woods, whose 75 left him in the group at 216 along with Mark O'Meara and Hal Sutton, who both had 71.

"Certain holes were almost impossible to play," Woods said. "The greens were so fast, so burnt out. If they had known the wind was blowing this hard, I'm sure they would have given us a break."

The greens have been crispy-fried since the opening round, but the wind that began whistling through the pines at the crack of dawn set the table for a torturous day.

"If you hit good shots out there, it was fine," Hoch said. "Any time you missed a shot, it didn't turn out too good. It was survival. We all know that."

More is at stake for Duval than just $900,000 to the winner. He has a chance to rise to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. If his father, Bob Duval, maintains his three-stroke lead in the Senior PGA Tour event this week in Pensacola, Fla., the Emerald Coast Classic, they would become the first father-son combination to win in the same week.

All of those possibilities seemed a million miles away as Duval jumped in a cart and drove back to the clubhouse.

"I'm a long way from that point," Duval said.

All he hopes for his for is that the conditions will remain as rock-hard as they have been all week.

"I don't see how they can change it now," he said. "It's going to be interesting to see how many people can stay under par.''

Mickelson had his own tales to tell, such as aiming for the bunker on the No. 11 with a 5-iron because there was no way to make his ball stop on the green, or the spike mark that not only stopped his putt on the first hole but make it move backward.

"That's when I knew it was going to be a long day," Mickelson said.

Bruce Lietzke, who started the day two out of the lead, was paired with Love. Ernie Els was in the group ahead, Duval in the group behind

"I was in the midst of two of the top five players in the world, and they were struggling," said Lietzke, who finished with an 80. "When you reduce the best players in the world to shooting what they were shooting, you know you have a problem."

Just like at Augusta National, the ball seemed to roll endlessly when it reached the green. Just like the U.S. Open, the best way to make up ground was to stay in the same spot.

"The roughs are close to the U.S. Open, the greens are Augusta, the winds are British Open. So you've got all three majors," O'Meara said. "This probably needs to be a major."

Of the seven top players on the leaderboard going into today, only Duval remained. But the list of casualties ran deeper than that.

Nick Faldo, even-par over the first six holes, finished with an 83, matching his worst score ever in America. He also had an 83 in the final round of the MCI Heritage Classic. Bob Friend made an eagle on the 11th hole and still had an 87.

No one sank quite as quickly as second-round leader Joe Ozaki. He hit three shots on the first hole without losing his turn, and lost his lead before he even got to the second tee box. He finished with an 81.

Duval can't say the harsh conditions caught him by surprise.

He hit a beautiful chip on the third hole that looked like it wouldn't get to the hole, then looked like it wouldn't stop as it rolled 10 feet by. He holed the putt for par, but left the green shaking his head.

"Getting a little quick," he said.

Duval was at 8-under after his wedge into the fourth hole stopped 10 inches from the hole. Even after a bogey on the fifth, he led by four strokes.

And he had a hunch it wouldn't last.

"I didn't know where I stood," he said of his early lead. "I had played five holes and saw we were in for a jolly good time."