Wyndham Clark (-14) left with a five-stroke lead at the end of the morning round of the second day of the THE PLAYERS, and things have not substantially changed in the afternoon, although Nick Taylor (-10) and Xander Schauffele (-10) have slightly reduced the gap, with scores of 68 and 69 strokes, respectively.
Everyone was going for Clark, but no one has even come into view in the Denver native’s rearview mirror. To name the two most illustrious: in the morning, Scottie Scheffler (-8) was perhaps more concerned about his neck discomfort and finishing moderately well (we’ll see if he can compete without problems this Saturday), for which he was repeatedly attended to during the round. And in the afternoon, Rory McIlroy (-6) embarked on one of his roller coaster profile rounds, finishing over par on the day (round of 73) after making up to five birdies…
Perhaps this is the great opportunity for Schauffele, so in need of that great result that truly confirms him as a top-tier player. He dropped a double bogey on the 11th, but responded with authority (birdie on the 12th and then eagle on the 16th), to finally get into Saturday’s stellar match alongside Clark. It is virtually impossible for the leader to maintain today’s level of accuracy on the greens, but he already plays with the advantage of not having to force things on a course that precisely penalizes excessive aggression where it doesn’t belong. Taylor, for his part, is more than just an outsider, mainly because this 35-year-old Canadian arrived this week at Ponte Vedra Beach in the best moment of his career (World Number 25, the best ranking of his career) and exudes confidence from every pore.
At times it seemed that Jason Day (-6) could become the best response to the leader, as he had already chained more than thirty holes without error, but in the final stretch of the round he began to systematically fail with wedges in his hands (holes 15, 16 and 17) and ended up paying a toll with a double bogey on the 17th.
There is still a lot of THE PLAYERS left. And it gives the impression that the course has been getting a bit harder and that during the weekend there can still be a few more twists and turns. At the end of the morning round the cut was already set at -1 and there it has stayed without any problem, a sign that the birdie festival was not so much anymore. It is not even necessary to rule out that the winning result on Sunday does not go much beyond the current -14 with which Clark rules with a firm hand, in which case, of course, he remains the favourite. Everyone now depends on him and, for now, no one has caught up with him.
The list of those affected by the cut is, as always, significant. For example, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Justin Rose, Matthieu Pavon, Nick Dunlap, Nicolai Hojgaard, Russell Henley or Keegan Bradley, among other illustrious ones, have been left out, as well as Ryan Fox, whose hole in one on the 17th on Thursday has done little for him, beyond the momentary high (which is not a minor matter, mind you).
Speaking of the cut. At the time of the suspension of play due to lack of light, only Ryo Hisatsune and Ben Silverman, both in the same group, remained on the course, who have to play the 9th hole, par 5. The Japanese needed the birdie to make the cut and the Canadian the eagle, so they decided to leave the task for tomorrow early in the morning, while the third player in the group, Robert MacIntyre, already without options, finished it alone. Be that as it may, blessed cut that puts each one in his place, whatever his name may be.
