Jordan Spieth moves on to play the weekend at TPC Sawgrass – but just barely.
Spieth went into his final hole in Friday’s second round, the ninth par-5, a clear shot from the intended cut line, but after hitting his second shot into the rough right, around 25 yards from the hole, Spieth needed four more hits to get the ball in the hole.
His bogey left him closing with a 2-over 74, and at even par, Spieth was one of 21 players on the cut line at the Players Championship. Eight players must finish their second round at 7am on Saturday, although the line cannot move. Harry Higgs and Victor Perez even equal one and three holes left, respectively, while Sam Ryder and Adam Schenk are all 2 over with at least two to play.
Other players, including several big names, are already on their way home. Hideki Matsuyama, who fired an opening 63 years ago before the tournament was canceled, was joined by Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton and Marc Leishman in missing the cut by a man.
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Among those who missed the two-stroke cut was Viktor Hovland, who called himself a double-shot penalty on Thursday. Gary Woodland fired 76 after opening 70 to drop also two short blows along with Tommy Fleetwood, Webb Simpson, Max Homa and Bubba Watson.
Steve Stricker was strongly supported by 77 and was part of a group at 3 over that also included Tony Finau and Francesco Molinari.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were both pre-tournament favorites, but finished 36 holes at 4 overs and 5 overs, respectively. Rickie Fowler’s struggle continued, as he finished at 6 over.
And then there was defensive champion Rory McIlroy, who returned home after a 10-over performance in which he defeated just 10 players.