Round two of The Players Championship from TPC Sawgrass got underway early on Friday morning with a three-way tie atop the leaderboard. Lucas Glover, JJ Spaun, and Camilo Villegas all entered the day at -6 after firing opening rounds of 66.
Spaun was the only of the leaders to play the morning, and he was steady once again. A round of -4 68 got him to -10 overall, setting the early number to watch.
The marquee grouping that included the world’s top three players of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy had one of the early tee times in round two. Scheffler and Schauffele both struggled to make a big charge, but McIlroy surged near the top of the leaderboard. Five birdies on the first nine helped Rory close in on the leaders, and although he had a pedestrian second nine, it was still a -4 68 to get him to -9 for the tournament.
As for the other two, Scheffler did not have his best day on the greens. Still, he managed to put together a -2 70 to get him to -5 for the week. Schauffele struggled, and was in danger of missing the cut for much of the round. A birdie on his last hole of the day got him to -1 on the day and for the tournament, allowing him to move onto the weekend.
Min Woo Lee made a charge in the morning, making three birdies on his first nine. He followed that with four birdies in the first five holes of his last nine. However, Lee’s first and only bogey of the day came on the final hole. Still, he shot -6 66 to get to -11 overall and gave him the lead before the afternoon wave.
The afternoon wave saw Akshay Bhatia soar up the leaderboard as well. He shot a -6 66 on his way to equaling Lee at -11 for the tourney.
Late drama saw Justin Thomas put together a round to remember. After shooting +6 yesterday and being in significant danger of missing the cut, he fired a -10 62. That got him to -4 and safely within the cut line.
By the end of round two, it was Lee and Bhatia sharing the lead at -11.