Players Championship 2018 Leaderboard: Live Updates, Top Storylines for Saturday
Webb Simpson took a commanding five-shot lead heading into Saturday at the 2018 Players Championship, as he shot a remarkable 63 on Friday to move to 15 under for the tournament.
The chasing pack is full of quality. Charl Schwartzel finished Day 2 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, sitting tied-second after a 66, Jason Day is at eight under and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson is at seven under with Sergio Garcia.
Tiger Woods will be sticking around for the weekend's action but only just scraped by the one-under cut-line, after rounds of 72 and 71, along with pre-tournament favourites Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
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Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy,
Saturday Storylines
Simpson's to Lose
If Simpson replicates his form from Friday at the weekend, there will be no stopping him.
The 2012 U.S. Open champion was nine under for his 18 holes on the second day of action in Florida, and that was despite a double-bogey five at 17.
An eagle and two birdies on the front nine were paired with six birdies on the bounce from the 11th on the back, and had he not gone in the water, on 17 he likely would have broken the course record. Instead, he only equalled it.
It was an exceptional round of golf, per Sean Martin of the PGA Tour:
He will tee off with Schwartzel in the final pairing on Saturday, and although there is still a long way to go in this most competitive of championships, something remarkable will have to happen for him not to be in the final group again on Sunday.
Early birdies will be the key for the rest of the field as they try to put pressure on Simpson, 32.
If he begins to see the likes of Schwartzel, Day, Johnson, Garcia, Jimmy Walker (-7) and Adam Scott (-7)—all major winners—appearing in his rear-view mirror, the American could begin to feel the pressure.
However, his current five-shot cushion will be difficult to make a dent in if Simpson produces anything like the form he has shown in the first two rounds.
Trailing Favourites
Before the start of the 2018 Players Championship, there were four players leading the betting: McIlroy, Day, Thomas and Spieth.
Only the Australian is left in the running to claim the so-called fifth major. McIlroy's 74 on Friday means he only lasted two days at the tournament.
Meanwhile, American duo Thomas and Spieth tee off together in just the second group out on Saturday.
Few would have been surprised were that the final group on Sunday.
The duo are old friends, and with the pressure very much off, it may well be worth keeping an eye on them.
There is little chance of them making up the 14-shot gap to Simpson, but in such a comfortable environment, one or both of them could well go very low.
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