Fuelled by a blistering front nine that included two eagles, Sweden’s Ludvig \u00c5berg charged two strokes clear of the field in the second round of The Players Championship.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour whose most recent victory came at last year’s Genesis Invitational, fired a superb nine-under-par 63 on a sun-splashed afternoon at TPC Sawgrass for a 12-under total.<\/p>\n
That left him two ahead of two-time major champion Xander Schauffele, who had set the pace in the morning wave with a seven-under, 65.<\/p>\n
Cameron Young was alone in third at nine under for the tournament, after carding a six-birdie 67, while Canada’s Corey Conners (67) and 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas (68) were a further stroke back at eight under.<\/p>\n
\u00c5berg, whose best PGA Tour finish this season was a tie for third at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, made an electrifying start to the second round. He birdied the first, eagled the par-5 second by sinking a 15-foot putt and picked up further shots at the third and fourth.<\/p>\n
He then added another eagle at the par-5 ninth, where he chipped in from light rough just short of the green, to reach the turn at a sensational seven-under and in a tie for the lead with Schauffele.<\/p>\n
\u00c5berg briefly moved one ahead with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 11th before slipping back with a bogey at the par-4 15th. Undaunted though, he reeled off additional birdies at the par-5 16th and the par-4 18th, where he struck his approach to eight feet, to end his day with a two-stroke advantage.<\/p>\n