Player Championship: Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler ready to handle a heavy test on TPC Sawgrass

Rory Mcilroy and Scottie Scheffler are willing to accept the heavy test TPC SAWGRASS after arguing in the weekend at the player championship.

McIlroy followed the opening of 67 on Friday morning with a four -pointed 68, where he briefly held a solo lead before the two goods threw him back in nine below and two behind the heads of the Akshay Bhatia and Min Woo Woo Lee.

The northern Irishman played in the Marquee group, along with Xander Schauffele and World No 1 Scheffler, who, on five and six, half -time leadership in the second consecutive year, while chasing a historic triple Friday on players.

The winds are expected to strengthen over the weekend and bring over 30 miles per hour for later starters in the next two rounds, and Scheffler hopes that the change of conditions will help him move on the board.

“It will be quite challenging this weekend,” Scheffler told reporters after his second round 70. “The Golf Terrain was definitely the first time for two days and could not use it the way I was hoping.

“Entering tomorrow and Sunday, (there) is definitely an opportunity to change the conditions. The wind is moving around a good amount here.

“If you like a course like a place where the open championship is, you could play the ball on the ground. You can’t really feel like this place. Sometimes you can feel like you are guessing a little in the wind, and we hope you guessed it correctly than you are wrong.”

McIlroy is looking for only a seventh player who won several players, after seeking a win in the 2019 competition, with World No 2 already enjoying the windy conditions on AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM earlier this season.

“I look forward to that,” McIlroy said of the upcoming test. “I think it will be really important to try to fly the ball and keep it below the tree line.

“I think when it comes back above the tree line, it can start to really hit it (the wind). It spins a little, but I think when the wind is so strong, it will be a little more consistent. This course is challenging enough, but with such a wind, I’m excited about that challenge.”

During the introductory circle, McIlroy found only four sail from the T -shirt, but on Friday he saw huge improvements, where he entered his first hole of the day and made six birds in his first 11 holes.

“Much better,” McIlroy added. “Hit much better than a teenager. I think today I hit more swimming paths in six holes than I did at 18 yesterday.

“I got it a lot better, and then from there I could provide some options and obviously make some birds early. I couldn’t completely continue on nine, but it was much better than a teenager.”

Schauffele completed the Marquee group and continued to be impressed with his own performance, in just another event from an injury, with a double main champion needed a bird in the last hole to save one under 71 and give himself the opportunity to make a weekend.

Asked about what’s wrong with his game, Schauffele said after the second round, “All. Not hitting him close enough to push the chips, they missed every navigable path to hit the suitcases to miss the greenery.

“It’s pretty rude, being completely honest. So if I can single out this cut, that would be nice. But the game feels pretty bad. I’m not sure if it’s something related to setting up or something I don’t do or do not do on the course I do on the range, but it feels pretty bad.”

Scheffler shows cracks in his game?

Nick Dougherty of Sky Sports Golf, saying Sky Sports News about Scheffler’s start and his hope that he will win players for the third year in a row:

“He was untouchable, I hate it, almost Tiger-Esque, a year of Tiger-Esque. No one has been on that standard since Tiger was in his pomp.

“Nine victories last year, including that gold at the Olympic Games. He won the Masters, he won the way he returned. If he won, it would have been three victories on the players, which no one did but the big Jack Nicklaus.

“However, several cracks appear, certainly during the first few events. It was a slow driver of his season after he was rolling, that’s really good, but it wasn’t Pinnacle Scottie Scheffler yet.

“If he grabs the fire over the weekend, he is more than capable of doing a job. So far, even though he looked a little, a little frustration on his face – little things, but the signs we didn’t see last year when he was growing.”

Who will win the players? Watch over the Sky Sports weekend? The coverage continues on Saturday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf, with 10 additional feeds – including prominent holes, presented groups and bonus coverage – on Sky Sports+. Get Sky Sports or Stream without a contract now.