Players Championship 2014: Day 2 Leaderboard Scores, Cut List and Highlights
Martin Kaymer continued his assault on the course at TPC Sawgrass, leading The Players Championship after two rounds with a score of 12 under.
The former No. 1 player in the world could not quite replicate his 63 from Round 1, but he earned a 69 in the second round to hold a slight lead after 36 holes. However, Jordan Spieth remains right on his tail after firing a 66 in Round 2, remaining bogey free through two rounds.
There is a bit of a gap after the top two, but other players like Russell Henley and Jim Furyk remain in contention. On the other hand, the course was not as kind to Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut after finishing one stroke over par for the tournament.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here is an updated look at the leaderboard heading into the weekend:
After earning seven birdies on the front nine in Round 1, Kaymer came back to earth at the start of Friday's play. However, he still managed two birdies to go with just one bogey due to a three-putt on No. 7.
Still, he was extremely accurate with his irons and wedges to put the ball close to the pin on almost every hole. Here are some of his better shots on the day:
While anyone would be confident after a start like this, Kaymer is aware that he still has work to do:
This focus is certain to help him out as he looks to win his first official tournament since the 2010 PGA Championship.
Of course, Kaymer will have plenty of competition over the next two days. Spieth was spectacular yet again, carding a 66 to move just one stroke off the lead at 11 under. Kieran Clark of eDraft.com breaks down the first two rounds from the 20-year-old star:
His approach on No. 14 to get a birdie summed up his day well:
Despite his young age, Spieth is showing that he will be a top contender in pretty much every tournament and that no stage is too big. This is bad news for Kaymer looking to hold onto his lead.
Geoff Ogilvy appeared ready to make a move on Friday with an incredible start. He moved to five under in his first 14 holes, thanks in part to an eagle on No. 2:
The problem was that he fell apart down the stretch with three bogeys in a row and ended with a 70, which put him at five under for the tournament.
Many others remain in contention following the first 36 holes, and really anyone that made the cut should feel confident in their ability to come back in this tournament. Here is a complete look at those who made the cut of even par:
| 1 | Martin Kaymer | -12 |
| 2 | Jordan Spieth | -11 |
| 3 | Russell Henley | -8 |
| T4 | Jim Furyk | -6 |
| T4 | Lee Westwood | -6 |
| T4 | Gary Woodland | -6 |
| T4 | Justin Rose | -6 |
| T4 | Sergio Garcia | -6 |
| T9 | Brian Davis | -5 |
| T9 | Bill Haas | -5 |
| T9 | John Senden | -5 |
| T9 | Sang-Moon Bae | -5 |
| T9 | George McNeill | -5 |
| T9 | Geoff Ogilvy | -5 |
| T9 | Matt Jones | -5 |
| T9 | Charl Schwartzel | -5 |
| T9 | Kevin Na | -5 |
| T9 | Scott Brown | -5 |
| T19 | Kevin Chappell | -4 |
| T19 | Freddie Jacobson | -4 |
| T19 | Joost Luiten | -4 |
| T19 | Zach Johnson | -4 |
| T19 | Graeme McDowell | -4 |
| T19 | Stewart Cink | -4 |
| T25 | Hideki Matsuyama | -3 |
| T25 | Jamie Donaldson | -3 |
| T25 | Pat Perez | -3 |
| T25 | Justin Leonard | -3 |
| T25 | John Huh | -3 |
| T25 | Henrik Stenson | -3 |
| T25 | Steve Stricker | -3 |
| T25 | Bubba Watson | -3 |
| T25 | David Hearn | -3 |
| T25 | Martin Flores | -3 |
| T25 | Bo Van Pelt | -3 |
| T25 | Brendan Steele | -3 |
| T37 | Jeff Overton | -2 |
| T37 | Daniel Summerhays | -2 |
| T37 | Richard Lee | -2 |
| T37 | Charlie Beljan | -2 |
| T37 | Kyle Stanley | -2 |
| T37 | Matt Kuchar | -2 |
| T37 | Francesco Molinari | -2 |
| T37 | Erik Compton | -2 |
| T37 | Marc Leishman | -2 |
| T37 | Luke Donald | -2 |
| T37 | Billy Horschel | -2 |
| T37 | Dustin Johnson | -2 |
| T37 | John Peterson | -2 |
| T37 | Morgan Hoffmann | -2 |
| T37 | Retief Goosen | -2 |
| T52 | Justin Hicks | -1 |
| T52 | Jonas Blixt | -1 |
| T52 | Rickie Fowler | -1 |
| T52 | Ian Poulter | -1 |
| T52 | Jimmy Walker | -1 |
| T52 | John Merrick | -1 |
| T52 | Scott Langley | -1 |
| T52 | Brendon de Jonge | -1 |
| T52 | Jeff Maggert | -1 |
| T52 | Brian Stuard | -1 |
| T52 | Chris Stroud | -1 |
| T52 | Jason Dufner | -1 |
| T64 | Charley Hoffman | E |
| T64 | Angel Cabrera | E |
| T64 | J.J. Henry | E |
| T64 | Steven Bowditch | E |
| T64 | Brandt Snedeker | E |
| T64 | Seung-yul Noh | E |
| T64 | Adam Scott | E |
| T64 | John Rollins | E |
| T64 | Russell Knox | E |
| T64 | Ryan Palmer | E |
| T64 | Gonzalo Fdez-Castano | E |
| T64 | Stuart Appleby | E |
| T64 | Rory Sabbatini | E |
| T64 | K.J. Choi | E |
| T64 | Ryan Moore | E |
| T64 | Scott Stallings | E |
| T64 | Rory McIlroy | E |
| T64 | Chris Kirk | E |
| T64 | Ernie Els | E |
Obviously, this was not a great course for everyone. Quite a few big names were on the other side of the cut and will end their week early.
Arguably the biggest star going home is Phil Mickelson, who scored a 70 on Day 2 but was unable to make up for his Round 1 showing of 75. He needed to be more aggressive on Friday, but he settled for just one stroke over par overall.
Rory McIlroy barely saved himself with a fantastic back nine to get back to even. Ron Sirak of Golf Digest notes the poor start:
It might have hurt his chances to win the tournament, but he notched four birdies down the stretch to stick in the tournament.
Adam Scott was also able to get on the right side of the cut list as he followed up a 77 with a 67 in Round 2. He totaled seven birdies on the day and now has a lot of momentum heading into the next two rounds.
Scott is one of many players capable of coming from the middle of the pack and challenge Kaymer at the top of the leaderboard. All we know at this point is that there is a lot still to be decided at TPC Sawgrass.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
