Players Championship 2023: 3 Instant Reactions to Friday Leaderboard Scores
The second round of the Players Championship has been suspended because of inclement weather.
Adam Svensson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout lead the pack at eight-under. Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa and Min Woo Lee are tied for third at six-under.
A few other big names in the top 10 and ties include World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler (five-under), Jason Day and Viktor Hovland (both at four-under).
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Friday proved to be an eventual day from TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Here's a look at three takeaways after play was called for the day.
Scheffler Lurking and Poised To Take Lead
The world's No. 2 golfer is set to move up the leaderboard.
Scheffler is sitting on a 16'8" eagle putt on the par-five 11th hole to begin his round Saturday. If he sinks it, he'll be one stroke behind co-leaders Adam Svensson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Even if he settles for birdie, he'll stay hot after making birdies on the ninth and 10th holes. He very well could find himself in the lead when Saturday is done too.
Scheffler is one of the few golfers in the field who's been strong and steady throughout his entire tournament. He's only made two bogeys in 29 holes and notably got scorching hot on the front nine Thursday (four-under).
Scheffler is the betting favorite right now, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
McIlroy in Serious Danger of Missing Cut; JT Plays Waiting Game
This has been a tournament to forget for McIlroy, the 2019 Players Championship winner. He shot four-over on Thursday before adding two more strokes onto his scorecard on Friday. The cut line is currently at one-over (with a possibility of two-over), so McIlroy will need to get on a big run on the back nine with eight holes remaining just to advance to the weekend.
McIlroy's short game has failed him the most this week, as he's lost a combined 7.586 strokes gained around the green and putting.
Meanwhile, it's a waiting game for Thomas, who is in the clubhouse at two-over. He shot one-over on Thursday and Friday and now will play the waiting game to see if the cut line falls a stroke.
Thomas birdied the eighth hole (his 17th hole of the day after starting on the back nine) and had a chance to get to one-over after facing a 15'4" birdie putt on the par-five ninth. However, he just missed and now will wait to find out his fate.
Afternoon Wave Lucks Out With Delay
The Friday afternoon wave was struggling mightily as the Ponte Vedra Beach weather turned cloudy and windy. It was more akin to an Open Championship round than a Players Championship one, and the professionals' scores dropped en masse.
However, the remaining group will finish its round out in positively pleasant conditions. According to Weather Underground, it will be sunny and in the high 50s with 10 mph winds on Saturday morning.
Jason Sobel of Action Network provided commentary on Friday vs. Saturday play.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the cut line falls to two-over.
The cut is 65 and ties at the Players Championship. Right now, 67 players are at the one-over cut line or better. As of the conclusion of Friday's play, Data Golf projected a 69.6 percent chance of a two-over cut.
However, calmer conditions could lead to improved scoring, meaning some big names at two-over (e.g. Thomas, Shane Lowry) could be going home early.
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