Wyndham Clark leads at Players as Theegala, Pan climb into top 10

Indian-American Sahith Theegala dropped one stroke against six birdies for a 5-under 67 to enter the weekend in shared tenth place alongside Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan at the 50th Players Championship behind new leader Wyndham Clark at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida, on Friday.

Theegala rose from a share of 37th place into the top 10 on 7 under par 137 with Pan, Open champion Brian Harman and J.T. Poston seven strokes behind US Open winner Clark (65-65, 14-under 130). Tokyo Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (65-69) was second four shots behind along with Canada’s Nick Taylor on 10 under 134.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and American Maverick McNealy shared fourth place on 9-under while defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Canadian Corey Conners and course-record holder Tom Hoge were six shots off the pace at 8-under. Scheffler needed physiotherapy on a neck complaint during his round despite which he posted a 69 to stay in contention.

Clark said he tried to keep up with current world no. 1 Scheffler, whom he finished runner-up to at Bay Hill last Sunday. “I really looked at how Scottie has been playing this year and last year, and I use him as someone to try to keep up with and he plays good every week. So my thing is just try to be consistent and with our schedule now too you kind of only play big events, so that's part of it as well.”

Despite his sore left wrist, past PGA Tour winner Pan is making a bold run at the title including a huge par save on his last hole at the Stadium Course to post a 4-under 68. Asia’s challenge was also being carried by Hideki Matsuyama who fought back from a slow start for the second straight day and signed for a successive 69 to sit on 6-under in the $25 million tournament.

The 32-year-old Pan traded two birdies against as many bogeys in his opening five holes before adding four more gains over his last 10 holes, thanks largely to some wonderful iron play and scrambling where he got up and down on three occasions, including on the demanding 18th hole after missing the fairway.

“I hit a good tee shot but it went too far (into the pine straws). The winds picked up over the last three or four holes. It’s always good to finish with a par,” said Pan, whose best finish at the event was a T46 in 2018.

“It was tough as the wind was swirling. I kept telling myself to hit fairways and that’s why I like this course because if you hit a lot of fairways, you can create birdie opportunities. My iron shots are good over the last three weeks. Overall, I was feeling confident, and keeping it simple.”

A partnership with veteran caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who previously caddied for Tiger Woods and is the regular bagman for Jim Furyk, has been pivotal in Pan’s resurgence. He hopes to lean on the 76-year-old to sustain his title run.

“We have a great chemistry. He’s funny, always cracking jokes and keeps me loose. He walks kind of slow which is the way I like it as sometimes I rush into my shots. Overall, we’re great teammates,” said Pan.

Korea’s Si Woo Kim, the 2017 Players champion, will enter the weekend on 3-under after a 71 while compatriot Sungjae Im shot a 72 to lie on 2-under.

Clark has win three times in the span of 10 months, including February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. With a second successive 65 at TPC Sawgrass, he became the first player in tournament history to open with two consecutive rounds of 65 or better.

Overnight a joint leader, Rory McIlroy hit his third water ball of the tournament at the par-4 12th hole and signed for a 1-over 73 and is now 6-under par going into the weekend, eight shots behind Clark. Will Zalatoris (71-74) and Justin Thomas (73-75) missed the cut and were the biggest names to make an early exit.

Also heading home early were Korea’s Byeong-Hun An, past Players champions Webb Simpson (2018) and Matt Kuchar (2012), and Rio Olympic champion Justin Rose. And a day after making tournament history with an eagle and a hole in one, Ryan Fox was on his way home.