Shane Lowry, Seamus Power and Rory McIlroy will all have weekend tee-times at TPC Sawgrass, but hopes of a second Players Championship victory for the men from the Emerald Isle on St. Patrick’s Day took a hit when Rory McIlroy could only muster a one-over 73 to fall eight behind halfway leader Wyndham Clark.
Both Lowry and Power were among the early starters on day two, and it was the Waterford man who is poised to climb back inside the top 100 in the world rankings if he continues his steady improvement that had the best of it in round two.
Power had five birdies and just the one bogey on the card as he stood on the 18th tee, but could only manage a five at the par-4 closing hole to complete a three-under 69 that lifted him from outside the cutline to two strokes inside.
Lowry was highly fancied this week after back-to-back top-five finishes on the PGA Tour, but could only manage a 71 on a relatively benign opening day. The Offaly man looked as though he’d be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at home when he stood on the fourth – his 13th hole of the day – to drop back to level par and a shot outside the projected cutline, but he rallied to birdie three of his final five holes to join Power at -3 and in a share of 34th.
Save for two wayward tee shots, McIlroy had been at his imperious best on day one, making 10 birdies and leading the field in putting, but looked a pale shadow of the player he’d been on day one, dropping shots at the first, third and sixth holes, yet somehow making the turn at one-under for the day thanks to his vastly improved iron play.
That facet of his game deserted him on the par-5 11th where he was fortunate not to find the hazard with his second shot, leaving a long bunker shot that he wasn’t able to get up and down, then his aggressive tee shot on 12 saw him find water for the third time of the week, and the resulting bogey dropped him back to level-par for the day.
He’d pick up another shot on the next, but after finding the bunker off the tee on 14, he’d be forced to layup and a poor wedge left him 40 feet up the hill and he’d take three to get down, making his second double bogey of the week. He’d par the final four holes and cut a frustrated figure as he headed straight for the range afterwards.
Wyndham Clark is the man they all have to catch after the US Open champion shot matching 65s on days one and two to take a four shot lead after 36 holes. And he has a hot putter to thank, wielding it not just to make eight birdies in the round, but for several clutch par saves including a 22-footer on the ffith – his 14th. He played his final nine holes of the day in 29 strokes – a number that has never been bettered at TPC Sawgrass, and coming shortly after a round of 60 at Pebble Beach, he’s getting accustomed to record setting and winning big events.
“I mean, that’s pretty cool,” he said when informed of the magnitude of his achievement. “I guess I’ve been breaking some records recently, which is pretty neat. More than anything I’m just super excited that kind of had a ho-hum front nine and then turned and really just got into a nice zone and felt really good on the greens and shot an awesome number.”
Clark leads Xander Schauffele and Nick Taylor by four, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy one shot further adrift on -9.
World number one Scottie Scheffler battled to a three-under 69 despite getting heavy treatment for a neck injury throughout the round. It was clearly affecting him as he was wincing regularly after hitting full shots, but it’s testament to the quality of his ball striking that he still gained strokes on the field in every department apart from on the greens as his putting woes continue to bubble under and occasionally break the surface.
“Yeah, I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” he explained, “and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.”
With the odd thunderstorm expected to roll in overnight, TPC Sawgrass will play reasonably soft again on Saturday meaning that the earlier starters will have the opportunity to cut a swathe up the leaderboard and move into position to contend on Sunday, but if Clark continues the way he’s been going, he’s going to take some catching.
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