– Xander Schauffele admitted on Friday after the second round of the THE PLAYERS Championship that he had greatly enjoyed playing with the World Number One and Number 2, however, he explained that the feeling is very different from when he shared a round with Tiger Woods. Basically, there was more silence, less noise.
Seconds later, Scottie Scheffler was asked about Schauffele’s observation, and the Texan didn’t find it very amusing. Few things amuse him lately, it must be said. “It must be because I haven’t given the crowd many reasons to cheer and celebrate. However, Rory has. Maybe it’s because he didn’t do anything special beyond the chip he holed on the 1st. He just hit the fairways, reached the greens, and made a few putts. All very boring. I hate him for it,” he joked with the utmost irony.
– When Schauffele finished his round in the morning, it was still unclear whether the cut would be at par or one under par. Therefore, his final birdie on the 9th, playing the textbook hole, to finish -1 in total was very commendable. The World Number 3 and winner of the PGA and the Open last year doesn’t feel good about his game and needs rounds. In fact, he was considering signing up for the Valspar and playing for the third consecutive week. “The doctors have told me to stop, that I need to give my body a rest and hit fewer practice balls. I think I’m not going to listen to them,” he noted after the round. However, he eventually did listen to them and has not signed up for the Valspar. We will definitely see him in one or at least one of the two tournaments before the Masters in Texas.
– Scheffler continues without raising any alarms despite being far from victory for another week. He maintains that he is playing very well from tee to green and that the only difference from last year is that the putts are not dropping, even though he is hitting them well. It’s true that he’s not far from his best version, but it’s undeniable, no matter what the Number One says, that his long game is less consistent and, above all, he’s leaving them less close than a year ago.
– Wyndham Clark, who finished second last year, withdrew on Friday after playing nine holes. He was four over for the day. The official medical report cited neck discomfort. The Masters is just around the corner, and he was four shots off the cut at that moment. Better not to risk it, thought the 2023 US Open champion.
– Akshay Bhatia broke a record this Friday. He has become the youngest leader in the history of the THE PLAYERS after the second round. He surpassed Fred Couples. He set the mark at 23 years, one month, and 14 days. It doesn’t seem like a very impressive record, but it reflects something that has always been said about TPC Sawgrass. It plays better the more times you visit it.
– Min Woo Lee is another of the leaders of THE PLAYERS. In his first participation in 2023, he finished sixth and went out to play in the final group on Sunday. The victory went to Scottie Scheffler.
– The difference of 16 strokes between the first and second rounds of Justin Thomas (78 and 62) is the second largest in the tournament’s history. A monument to grit for the two-time PGA Championship winner. By the way, he has 13 rounds of 62 strokes or less since 2015 on the PGA Tour. No one has more.
– Rory McIlroy has taken 135 strokes in two days. It’s his second-lowest mark in the 15 years he’s played THE PLAYERS. Only his 2019 performance, when he had 132 strokes, surpasses it. That year, by the way, he won his first and only THE PLAYERS. Watch out.
– Tom Hoge has surpassed his seventh consecutive cut at THE PLAYERS. It’s the best active streak. However, it’s still far from the 22 consecutive cuts made by Sergio García, a figure that stopped counting after his move to LIV Golf. Sergio made the cut every year from 2004 to 2022. Incredible.
