Oosthuizen, Stanley share lead at Players Championship
Spieth misses cut; Johnson, McIlroy lurking
firm and crusty. Spieth’s last hope ended with a tee shot that bounced at the back of the island-green 17th and into the water.
Equally surprising was Vijay Singh, the 54-yearold Fijian who was making putts from everywhere until a three-putt bogey on the 18th. He still shot 68 and goes into the weekend only three shots out of the lead.
The cut was at 2-over 146, and there will be another cut Saturday 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.”
Yes, there were plenty of those.
Anirban hit three shots into the water and made a 10 on the par-4 18th hole. Zac Blair 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.