Rory McIlroy’s Players title bid fades after erratic second round at Sawgrass

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Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship victory suffered a probably deadly blow as Scottie Scheffler performed by way of the ache barrier to maintain his hopes of an historic title defence alive.

McIlroy held a share of the in a single day lead following a gap 65 at Sawgrass, however may solely add a second round of 73 to hunch eight pictures behind US Open champion Wyndham Clark.

An erratic begin noticed McIlroy card three birdies and three bogeys within the first six holes and, after reaching the flip in 35 with a birdie on the ninth, the world quantity two bogeyed the twelfth, birdied the thirteenth and double-bogeyed the subsequent in a irritating inward 9 of 38.

Scheffler had earlier acquired remedy from a PGA Tour physio throughout a second round of 69 which left him six behind Clark, who reached midway at 14 underneath par because of a second-consecutive 65.

“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” Scheffler, who had began from the tenth gap, defined.

“Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12 and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much labouring to get the club somehow away from me.

“I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.

“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”

Scheffler, who received the Arnold Palmer Invitational by 5 pictures on Sunday, is bidding to grow to be the primary participant to efficiently defend the Players Championship title in its 50-year historical past.

Clark made eight birdies – together with 5 in six holes across the flip – to finish the day 4 pictures away from Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy one other stroke again.

“My iron play’s been very solid, I’ve rolled in a handful of putts and then I’ve really been mentally strong so I’d say all of those things are why I’m sitting where I am right now,” Clark mentioned.

England’s Fitzpatrick held the outright lead when he carded his fifth birdie of the day on the third, his twelfth gap, to achieve 10 underneath par, solely to search out the water along with his method from the tough on the subsequent to run up a double bogey.

“I felt the lie was good enough to kind of hack it on to the right side (of the green),” mentioned Fitzpatrick, who birdied his ultimate gap of the day so as to add a 69 to his opening 66.

“I was aiming at the right bunker, which if you kind of go back there, you realise how far right it was. It just kind of snagged me and went left.

“Otherwise I felt like I did everything well. Just felt like I played solid overall. Made a couple of putts when I needed to, drove the ball well and my approach play was good as well.”

Asked about trailing Clark by 5 pictures, Fitzpatrick added: “Anything can happen over the weekend, there’s still two days, so you never know.

“Another couple of six-under rounds over the weekend and you never know what can happen. So, for me it’s just about trying to stay patient, just keep doing what I’m doing and go from there.”