PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass was the most dominant conversation point among the golfers who teed off in the morning on Friday at The Players Championship.
New greens installed after last year’s tournament have played very firm. That coupled with warm temperatures and increasing winds made the first half of round two a very difficult scoring round.
Among the best scores Friday morning, David Hearn and Webb Simpson both posted 3-under par 69s.
Hearn was tied with Rafa Belo Cabrera at 5-under par for the tournament, best among players who have finished their second rounds. Hearn, who has never won on the PGA Tour, said that he likes to play the Stadium Course because he feels that it suits his game.
“It requires a lot of different shot shapes out here,” Hearn said. “I think this, if you're kind of a one-dimensional player and you just hit draws or fades there's enough variety out here that it can be tricky. My caddie is from St. Augustine, Palatka actually, Brent Everson, and he loves being here and it's kind of a home game for him. So we just really enjoy this golf course.”
Among the golfers one stroke behind Hearn and Cabrera is 22-year old John Rahm, one of the hottest golfers on the tour, who shot even par-72 Friday. He will be one of the golfers to watch over the weekend as he shoots for what would be his biggest win. He will have to manage his way through two more rounds in difficult scoring conditions to do so.
“It is very tough. I'm playing some of my best golf and I'm only 4-under par,” Rahm said. “When you have the best players in the world and the cut's over par it shows that the golf course is very tough. Being brand new greens, I think they're a little firmer than they might have been in the past. It's hard to hold on. I don't think I've seen a ball spin back.”
Some of the most accomplished players in the field struggled just to hang on to make the weekend.
Dustin Johnson called his 73 “a very frustrating day.” He is at even par for the tournament. Sergio Garcia’s 71 included four birdies and three bogeys. Playing in his first tournament since winning the Masters, Garcia is at even par for the tournament.
“I'm not going to lie, it has been difficult,” Garcia said. “But even like that, I felt like I fought hard the last two days after a terrible start, and it's a shame because today, without playing amazing, I felt like I could have shot 3-, 4-under par and that would have been really, really good.”
Rory McIlroy shot 1-under par 71 and admitted that he tweaked his back during the round and that his goal was just to get to the weekend.
“It's in the same area as what the injury was at the start of the year,” McIlroy said. “If that injury was an eight or a nine in terms of pain and soreness and stiffness, this is around a four or five. So it's, it might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be okay.”
McIlroy said that he will have an MRI in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Monday.
The second round is scheduled to conclude Friday, then the field will be cut to the top 70 and ties for the weekend.