Scheffler shines, Rahm out & McIlroy fades at Players

The top three players in the world suffered contrasting fortunes as storms curtailed day two of the Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida.

McIlroy is six over with eight holes left, while playing partner Scottie Scheffler is five under, one behind clubhouse leader Ben Griffin.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Svensson lead the field on eight under.

South Africa’s Bezuidenhout has played 14 holes, while Canada’s Svensson has completed 11. Round two will resume at 07:00 (12:00 GMT) on Saturday.

And McIlroy will need to produce something special if he is to keep himself in the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament that he won in 2019.

The Northern Irishman toiled to a four-over-par 76 in round one and did little to improve his chances of making the final two rounds in the 10 holes he completed on Friday.

The nadir was a double-bogey six on the par-four sixth after knocking a 43-foot birdie putt twice as far off the front of the green and taking three more from there.

The cut mark is likely to come at around one or two over par, meaning McIlroy needs a fast start on Saturday.

In contrast, Scheffler cut a more serene figure as he improved his overall total to five under courtesy of successive birdies on the ninth and 10th holes.

A victory in the $25m (£21m) tournament would see Scheffler usurp Rahm, who shot a one-under 71 on Thursday before pulling out on Friday, at the top of the rankings.

While the build-up to the week was all about Rahm, Scheffler and McIlroy given they have all won this calendar year and had a spell at the top of the world rankings, there are terrific stories emerging elsewhere.

Two years ago, clubhouse leader Griffin walked away from golf to take up a career in the residential mortgage industry

“Taking a break has provided me with an awesome perspective,” he said after signing for a one-under-par 71 on Friday.

He reached six under despite dropping two shots at the 18th. Wary of the huge lake that dominates the left side of the fairway Griffin pushed his ball way right into rough, cannoned his second off a tree and played his third beyond the green and needed a chip and two putts from there.

More to follow.