Sawgrass cuts into scores at Players
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Each birdie by Louis Oosthuizen and Kyle Stanley pushed them higher up the leaderboard, a little further away from those chasing them in The Players Championship.
And as Friday showed, every little bit helps.
Anirban Lahiri looked like a lock to at least make the cut until he hit three shots into the water on the 18th and took a 10. Jim Furyk celebrated his 47th birthday with a solid round that came undone with two shots into the water on No. 17 — with its famous island green — that caused him to take the weekend off.
J.B. Holmes was tied for the lead until bogeys on his last two holes.
Vijay Singh, the 54-year-old surprise of the tournament, poured in putts from everywhere until a threeputt finish on the 18th gave him a 68 and put him three behind.
“I don’t think you can ever get too comfortable out here,” Stanley said after an eight-birdie round of 6-underpar 66, matching Oosthuizen for the best score of the second round.
They shared the lead at 9-under 135, and as conditions toughened at TPC Sawgrass, they played even better.
Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy scrapped it around Friday morning, with Johnson making only one birdie for a 73 and McIlroy managing a 71 despite nagging back pain. They were at par for 36 holes — and not too bothered. They were only five behind when they finished, and because of steamy weather and swaying pines, they could sense nobody was going to get too far away from them.
“I’m going to have to play two really good rounds on the weekend,” Johnson said.
He and McIlroy at least are still in the game. Jordan Spieth was headed home after missing the cut for the third straight year.
The cut was at 2-over 146, and there will be another cut today because more than 78 players advanced to the weekend. That’s when the tournament will finally start to take shape, and while Oosthuizen and Stanley stood out with the best scores of the second round, both know it can change quickly.
“We’re in a pretty good spot going into this weekend,” said Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion who still hasn’t won in America. “A lot of golf to be played around this golf course, and as we’ve seen the last two days, you can easily make a mistake around this track.”
There were plenty of those. Along with Lahiri, the other big number belonged to Zac Blair. He hit three shots into the water on the par-3 17th and made a 9.
Phil Mickelson started making putts and moved up the leaderboard, only to begin a slow slide. He made three bogeys on the back nine and then, torn between a 9-iron and a wedge on the 17th, he opted for a wedge to make sure it didn’t go over the back of the island. It still hopped hard at the back of the green and went into the water, leading to a double bogey.
That left him at 72, seven shots behind.
“It’s a hard course, and any errant swings will lead to not a good score,” Mickelson said. “But I played a good front nine and shot even. I don’t know what else to say.”
Jason Day, the tournament’s 2016 champion, didn’t make up any ground, either, trading birdies and bogeys for a 72. He also was seven back at 2-under 142. Rickie Fowler shot 74 and joined Johnson and McIlroy at 144.