PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – With the largest purse of the PGA Tour season – a cool $25 million – the Players Championship isn’t the week to be trunk-slamming on Friday. Yet the Pete Dye design at TPC Sawgrass exposes any weaknesses in one’s game and it sent several of the best players in golf packing.
That included the likes of Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Jordan Spieth.
On the flip side, Aaron Rai, who lives locally, came up clutch, stuffing his approach at 18 inside 2 feet and brushed in the birdie putt to make the cut on the number. Min Woo Lee canned a 60 foot, 1 inch putt at 17, the second-longest putt made on the hole since 2003, which gave him a cushion to make bogey at 18 and also finish on the cutline. And Sam Burns salvaged a par from this unlikely spot to join them on the weekend.
In all, the field needed to shoot 1-under 143 or better to earn a spot into the weekend at the Tour’s flagship event, with reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (65-65) leading the way at 14 under.
Just two golfers didn’t finish their second rounds before darkness set in Friday night.
Justin Thomas plays his shot from the 16th tee during the first round of the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)
Round 1: 1-under 71
Round 2: 2-over 74
Justin Thomas, the 2021 Players champ, had never missed the cut at this event in eight previous starts. He made seven birdies in the first round but made too many mistakes, including just 2-for-7 scrambling in posting his 71. On Friday, the putter let him down as he ranked 139th out of 144 in SG: Putting, missing several putts in the 5-10-foot range. Thomas has four top-12 finishes this season but also missed the cut in two of his last three starts.
Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)
Round 1: 2-over 74
Round 2: Even-par 72
Spieth continued to struggle at TPC Sawgrass. He missed the cut for the sixth time in 10 starts at the Players. Spieth struggled mightily off the tee in both rounds, hitting just 13 fairways for two rounds.
It didn’t get much better from there as he ranked 141st in SG: Tee to Green on Thursday. His usually impressive short-game was off the mark as he only scrambled successfully on 4 of 14 attempts (T-134).
Justin Rose hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the second round of the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)
Round 1: 2-under 70
Round 2: 5-over 77
Rose straddled the cutline for most of the day but it ended poorly when he splashed two balls at 17 into the water. That resulted in a triple bogey and the damage was done. He sprinkled four more bogeys on the card on Friday. He missed the cut for the second week in a row.
Will Zalatoris watches his tee shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Gray Siegel/Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
Round 1: 1-over 73
Round 2: 3-over 75
Zalatoris was coming off a strong showing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he finished T-4, and a T-2 at the Genesis Invitational before it. He had made his last four cuts and was perfect in three previous appearances at the Players. Add all of this up and he was considered one of the favorites. It wasn’t to be.
Zalatoris struggled SG: Around the Green (133rd) and SG: Putting (132nd) in the first round. On Friday, he struggled in SG: Off the Tee (141st) and SG: Tee to Green (132nd).
Ben An looks on from the fifth green during the second round of the 2024 Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Round 1: 3-under 69
Round 2: 8-over 80
An started strongly with a 69 but it all went wrong on Friday. He was already going the wrong way when he dunked two in the water at 17 and made a quadruple-bogey 7. He ranked 143rd in SG: Tee to Green on Friday (-6.804).
His on Friday isn’t even his worst score at TPC Sawgrass. He opened with 83 three years ago. Let’s just say the Pete Dye design likely isn’t one of his favorites.
An missed his first cut in eight starts this season. He entered the week ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup standings so he may have been due for a down week.
Keegan Bradley plays his shot from the fourth tee during the first the 2024 Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Round 1: Even-par 72
Round 2: 2-over 74
Bradley missed the cut for the second straight year at the Players. His fate was sealed when he rinsed his tee shot at 17 and made triple-bogey. He’s missed the cut at two of the last three signature events.
Bradley doesn’t have to look far to figure out why he’s got the weekend off – his putting was dreadful. He lost over 4.5 strokes to the field on the greens on Friday and ranked 142nd in the field in SG: Putting.