World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sneaks past cut line at Players Championship

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler will live to golf another day at The Players Championship.

A birdie on 18, sealed with former champion Justin Thomas’ thumbs-up approval, capped his day.

Scheffler finished one-over par on Day 2 of the tournament, shooting 73 and ending his day tied for 51st.

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Xander Schauffele tees off on the 15th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Xander Schauffele tees off on the 15th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Xander Schauffele walks down the 15th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Xander Schauffele crosses the bridge from on the 15th green to 16th tee during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

From right, Xander Schauffele tees off on the 16th hole as Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama look on during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Corey Conners hits from the rough on the 12th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Corey Conners hits from the rough on the 12th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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Players Championship: Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course

Corey Conners runs to see his lie on the 12th hole during the second round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

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It all almost went awry after bogeys on 14 and 16 put him at two-over par and at risk of missing the cut, potentially ending his emeritus status as a past champion in the playing field.

But his final swing of the day—a nine-foot, slow-roller putt that seemingly froze in time before dropping in—saved him from an early exit.

Scottie Scheffler misses chance at par on No. 16, almost derails chances at playing through weekend

Scottie Scheffler lines up his putt on the seventh green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Friday March 13, 2026. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

Scheffler stood under a tree just a few steps off the green of No. 15, jotting down his score down with a quiet disappointment. A bogey on No. 14 put him right up against the cut line at one-over par.

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What would come next threatened to end his weekend early.

Scheffler lipped a three-foot put on No. 16 and dropped down to two-over par with the island green waiting for him on his next swing. But he overcame that misstep to shoot par on No. 17 and his birdie on 18 pulled him to safety.

“If you’re on the cut line and you’re standing on 17, if you hit it in the water, you’re all but done,” Thomas said of Scheffler. “Then the same kind of goes for 18 on the tee shot. It’s every bit as hard as trying to win a golf tournament.”

Scheffler’s 137-yard tee shot landed safely in the middle of the island on No. 17, allowing him to putt his way out of danger and move on to No. 18 unscathed. His tee shot on 18 was a 279-yard strike that landed on the left of the fairway, a dangerous shot considering the relatively closeness to the water.

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But it gave him the ability to drive 175 yards to the green and set up his nine-foot birdie.

Scheffler will have the chance to tackle the Stadium Course once again on Saturday morning, likely being one of the first pairings to tee off since he’s just outside of the cut line.

“It’s just timing and trying to match it up,” Scheffler said. “He’s still hitting shots that not many people on planet earth can hit in the same rounds. It’s just golf.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Scottie Scheffler almost misses cut line after late bogey at Players Championship