Bryson DeChambeau hits a three-under-par 69 to put himself firmly in contention on six under midway through the second round of the Players Championship.
| Date: 11-14 March Venue: Stadium Course, Sawgrass, Florida |
| Coverage: BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra commentary – Saturday: 21:00 GMT and Sunday: 20:00. Live text commentary of final two rounds on BBC Sport website from 19:00, with in-play highlights |
A three-under 69 saw him finish just behind fellow American Chris Kirk, who shot a 65 to move to seven under.
World number two Jon Rahm had a 68 to improve to four under overall.
Sergio Garcia, who led after round one on seven under in Florida, is among the late starters, along with Rory McIlroy who opened with a seven-over 79.
And with the halfway cut projected for level par, Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, the 2019 champion, knows he needs to take 14 shots fewer today to improve his chances of playing the final two rounds.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who opened with a 68 in round one, and Lee Westwood who had a 69, are also both among the late starters on Friday.
DeChambeau shines among major trio
After a wild drive into the trees on the 10th, his first hole of the day, DeChambeau started with a double-bogey six.
However, he played solid golf from there on, picking up birdies on the 11th, 16th, 17th and sixth holes before finishing with another on the ninth to sign for a second round of 69.
However, he was not happy with his performance and said he was heading for a 90-minute practice session.
“I’m not hitting it be best but I was able to scrap it round,” he said. “I hit my driver perfectly one hole and then pretty far right the next. I just have to focus on putting the ball in play.”
He was playing with world number one and 2020 Masters winner Dustin Johnson, and US PGA Championship victor Collin Morikawa.
Johnson had four birdies in his opening seven holes to get to three under overall. He matched two bogeys with two birdies on his second nine before dropping two shots on the seventh after finding the water with his tee shot.
He missed a seven-foot birdie putt on the ninth as he signed for a two-under 70 and one under total.
Morikawa shot a 73 but birdied his final two holes to finish right on the cut mark at level par.
Americans to the fore
Kirk, who started on the 10th, had three successive birdies from the 15th and then holed his second shot from 146 yards for an eagle on the par-four second. He also finished with two birdies to equal the lowest round of the week so far.
DeChambeau is level with Denny McCarthy, who had a hole-in-one at the par-three third in a 69 that featured just one bogey.
They are tied with Brian Harman, who had a double-bogey five on the par-three 17th after hitting his tee shot into the water that surrounds the green but had two birdies on his second nine to sign for a 71 and Charley Hoffman, who had six birdies and two bogeys in a 68.
