{"id":475078,"date":"2026-03-14T10:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/475078\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T10:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T10:48:10","slug":"schauffele-sets-players-pace-as-mcilroy-faces-cut-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/475078\/","title":{"rendered":"Schauffele sets Players pace as McIlroy faces cut wait"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy is hoping a birdie on the last hole of his second round will be enough for him to make the halfway cut at the Players Championship.<\/p>\n

The defending champion, who was among the early starters on Friday, signed for a one-under-par 71 to improve to one over for the tournament – which is right on the projected cut mark, with the top 65 plus ties playing the final two rounds.<\/p>\n

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McIlroy, who said he was feeling “rusty” in round one after several days without hitting a ball as he recovered from a back injury, said he “hit the ball better” in round two.<\/p>\n

“I played well enough to be up the leaderboard, I just couldn’t get a putt to drop,” added the world number two, who missed seven birdie attempts from inside 20 feet.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully I’ve done enough to get into the weekend and have another two days at it.”<\/p>\n

His playing partner Xander Schauffele set the clubhouse pace on 10 under with a scintillating round of 65 at TPC Sawgrass in Florida that featured eight birdies and one bogey.<\/p>\n

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The two-time major winner hit every fairway in a terrific display of ball-striking.<\/p>\n

“I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive,” said the American, who has twice finished runner-up at the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament.<\/p>\n

“It’s always easy to be aggressive from the fairway and take advantage of the greens being just a hair softer. But I think they’re slowly firming up.”<\/p>\n

Schauffele leads by one from fellow American Cameron Young, who is on nine under after a 67.<\/p>\n

Canadian Corey Conners took just 30 shots for his first nine holes, including holing a 102-yard wedge for an eagle three on the ninth, as he also carded a 67 that lifted him to eight under.<\/p>\n

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Jordan Spieth also made positive moves up the leaderboard with a run of five successive birdies midway through his round.<\/p>\n

But he said his finish “stinks” after posting a double-bogey for second day running. He called golf a “weird game” after signing for a 68 that left him at three under.<\/p>\n

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who had an erratic level-par 72 in round one, is among the later starters, alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood.<\/p>\n

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is also out on the course and he had three birdies and an eagle in his opening four holes to shoot up the leaderboard.<\/p>\n

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