6H AGO
Highlights | Round 2 | THE PLAYERS | 2026
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Written by Paul Hodowanic
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Scheffler and McIlroy haven’t delivered, but almost every other big name has. We’ll get to the leaders, but first …
Back in December, Jordan Spieth told me something that has rattled around in my brain since: “I haven’t swung it well for the better part of 10 years,” he said during our conversation at the Hero World Challenge.
Spieth admitted it in the context of finally being healthy, the first time he’s truly felt 100 percent in a decade. That allowed him to get his hands deeper in his backswing, a position he hasn’t reached since his peak years when he rattled off majors at a clip that had Tiger Woods comparisons feeling reasonable. That had him confident and even giddy about his potential.
I’ve been waiting for Spieth to pop ever since.
That pop came Friday (kind of) … in the most Spieth way possible. And in classic form, I missed it. I began my day with Spieth, hoping for fireworks. I guess I can’t complain because I got some, albeit not the ones I expected. In his first hole, the 10th, Spieth drove it straight into the steep bank of the left fairway bunker, got a drop, took a baseball swing with the ball that ended in a greenside bunker, flubbed that shot, and then nearly jarred another for a rollercoaster bogey. But he played a rather boring next five holes and I left him during the 16th hole.
He rattled off five straight birdies and by the time I made it back, he had stopped making them for the day. Instead, I watched more wild scrambling – some successful and some disastrous. He made an improbable par on the sixth after driving it way left and hitting a tree with his approach. It was the continuation of luck that included fortuitous bounces on the 18th and second holes that led to birdies.
His luck ran out on the ninth, his last hole of the day. Spieth drove it well left and up against a tree, forcing a short punch out. His third shot went left again, prompting him to his provisional. The adventures continued until he finally signed for a double bogey, the second time in as many days he’s closed with a double bogey and ruined a steady round.
“It’s not quite there yet, but it’s like close enough to where I can do what I did today for a while,” Spieth said.
That means Spieth will be tantalizing and a bit maddening for now. There’s great golf in there. There are also still a few too many errors. I was present for more of the former than the latter. He’s thrown away four strokes on the last hole of his last two rounds. That’s the difference between 23rd and sixth.
“I’m doing everything well. The stats aren’t necessarily showing exactly how solid things are,” Spieth said.
These wild swings aren’t new for Spieth. It’s been a feature, not a bug, for his whole career. But Spieth also hasn’t been as confident as he is right now for a long time. That portends good things.
I’m already talking myself into going out with him again on Saturday morning.
- 😬 Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will play the weekend, but
- 🎬 Here are the full highlights from Round 2 …
- I have no words for Tom Hoge’s quintuple bogey on the seventh hole. Would recommend watching that here …
- 🌊 There were five balls in the water at the 17th on Friday. Here’s how the iconic hole played in the second round …
Flash back to the end of 2024, and Saturday’s final pairing of Ludvig Åberg and Xander Schauffele would have shocked very few people. But it’s a mild surprise to see these two at the top of the leaderboard right now. Neither has completely fallen on hard times, but neither has experienced much true contention for about a year. Åberg, after a notable stint as a top-five player, has dropped outside the top 20 in the world ranking. Schauffele sits 10th in the world, near his lowest rank since 2022.
It’s also objectively great that these two are finding their games.
When right, both can threaten the level of Scheffler and McIlroy. Schauffele did it when he won two majors in 2024, and Åberg has proven he can contend in majors against them. They don’t have either Scheffler or McIlroy within earshot of them this year, but both would make a compelling case that they deserve to be the first golfer right behind them if they win this year.
Åberg shot 9-under 63, just one off the course record, and he leads the tournament outright at 12-under. Schauffele fired a 65 to get to 10-under, two strokes back. The studs don’t stop after the final group. The rest of the top five include Cameron Young, Justin Thomas and Corey Conners.
It’s going to be a great weekend.
- 💔 Keegan Bradley is still not over the Ryder Cup loss, and it’s part of the reason he’s started the season slowly. “Trying my best to separate myself and move on, but it’s hard. I think about it a lot,” he said. Bradley has three missed cuts in five starts, but he shot 66 on Friday to make the weekend here.
- 📈 The Michael Thorbjornsen boom is coming. The former world amateur No. 1 shot 65 to jump into a tie for 10th. He ranks inside the top 10 this week in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. If the putter cooperates over the final 36 holes, he should be in the mix.
- 😲 Pierceson Coody’s 83 will be lost to history. But anytime you manage to card a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on a single scorecard, you’re going to get a mention from me.
- 🦅 Second-round leader Ludvig Åberg made two eagles – that’s right, two – on the front nine at TPC Sawgrass. That brings the Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact donations up to $125,000.
- 🐀 Hideki Matsuyama is your TOURCAST Range Rat! Matsuyama hit 108 balls, the most of any player on Friday. No other player reached 100 balls hit.
