The Players: Wyndham Clark leads as Scottie Scheffler battles injury and Rory McIlroy struggles | Golf News

US Open champion Wyndham Clark constructed up a four-shot midway lead at The Gamers, the place Scottie Scheffler suffered an harm scare and Rory McIlroy did not construct on his robust opening spherical.

Clark, chasing a fourth win in 10 months on the PGA Tour, fired a second successive 65 at TPC Sawgrass to maneuver to 14 underneath and with a commanding cushion over Xander Schauffele and Nick Taylor.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick shares fourth with Maverick McNealy and Scheffler is an additional stroke again as he seems to change into the primary back-to-back champion at The Gamers, with the world No 1 handled for a neck harm at varied factors of his second-round 69.

McIlroy – additionally beginning in a share of the lead – slipped eight strokes off the tempo after carding 5 birdies, 4 bogeys and a double-bogey in an erratic one-over 73, with the Northern Irishman declining the media post-round and instantly heading to the vary after slipping again to 6 underneath.

Play was suspended as a consequence of darkness at 7.30pm native time (11.30pm GMT), with two gamers who might nonetheless make the minimize – Ryo Hisatsune and Ben Silverman – having one gap to finish. They are going to return to complete on Saturday at 7.40am native time (11.40am).

How Clark took management at The Gamers

Clark – starting on the again 9 – took benefit of the par-five eleventh and bounced again from a bogey on the 14th by rolling in from 20 ft on the par-three seventeenth, whereas Fitzpatrick edged forward when he made 4 birdies in a six-hole stretch from the sixteenth.

Fitzpatrick misplaced floor with a double-bogey on the fourth, the place he caught his strategy into the water, permitting Clark to leap 4 forward when he made 4 consecutive birdies from the primary and made a 20-foot birdie on the sixth.

Clark additionally birdied the ninth – his last gap of the day – to complete 5 forward of the remainder of the morning wave, with Fitzpatrick choosing up a shot on the identical par-five to shut a second-round 69 and keep inside 5 of the lead.

The Gamers Championship Reside

Saturday sixteenth March 2:00pm

Schauffele seemed to be slipping out of rivalry when he triple-bogeyed the par-four eleventh, though he bogeyed the subsequent and eagled the sixteenth to affix Nick Taylor inside 4 of the lead.

Fitzpatrick shares fourth with Maverick McNealy, who posted a second-round 68, with Matt Schmid an additional stroke again after a final-hole double-bogey dropped him again to eight underneath with Corey Conners and Scheffler.

Requested about trailing Clark by 5 photographs, Fitzpatrick mentioned: “Something can occur over the weekend, there’s nonetheless two days, so that you by no means know. So, for me it is nearly making an attempt to remain affected person, simply maintain doing what I am doing and go from there.”

Scheffler feared he could also be unable to proceed when he obtained remedy on three successive holes, though the world No 1 blended 5 birdies with two bogeys in a powerful present of resilience.

“I did what I might to sort of keep within the event at present and hopefully it will loosen up after which I am going to be capable of make considerably regular swings tomorrow,” Scheffler mentioned. “The best way I used to be getting across the course, the way in which my neck was feeling, I did not know if I used to be going to have the ability to proceed enjoying.”

McIlroy’s hopes of a second Gamers title took a backwards step when he double-bogeyed the par-four 14th after which completed with 4 straight pars, having struggled with all sides of his recreation at varied factors throughout a disappointing second spherical.

Jason Day performed his first 34 holes bogey-free however double-bogeyed the seventeenth to additionally drop again to 6 underneath with McIlroy, whereas Irish duo Shane Lowry and Seamus Energy head into the weekend 9 again after rounds of 70 and 69 respectively.

Viktor Hovland battled into the weekend on two underneath alongside Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott and Tommy Fleetwood, whereas Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose all missed the minimize.

Watch The Gamers stay all through the week on Sky Sports activities. Reside protection continues on Saturday from 2pm on Sky Sports activities Golf, with further feeds accessible earlier than then on the crimson button. Stream the PGA Tour and more with NOW.

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