Justin Thomas looked all but certain to miss the cut at The Players Championship after a disastrous opening round, but the 2021 champion produced a record-breaking performance to haul himself back into contention at TPC Sawgrass.
After a horror start that left him eight over par through 13 holes on Thursday, Thomas scraped together a birdie-birdie finish just to post a 78. Heading into Friday, the two-time Major winner needed something truly special to have any chance of making the weekend and he delivered in historic fashion.
What a second round!
Thomas fired an incredible 10-under 62 in his second round, equalling the course record and setting a new tournament record with 11 birdies in a single round. The American was on course to break the outright scoring mark before a wild approach at the last found the water, leading to a closing bogey. Nevertheless, his stunning turnaround is one of the most remarkable recoveries in The Players’ tournament history.
Reflecting on his dramatic resurgence, Thomas admitted: “I felt like I was playing decent yesterday, but nothing was going my way. Today, everything clicked. I knew I had to go low, and thankfully I started rolling in some putts early. It’s crazy how quickly things can turn in this game.”
With his comeback complete, Thomas is now just seven shots off the lead, heading into the weekend in pursuit of a second Players Championship title.
McIlroy in the hunt
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy remains firmly in the hunt despite a frustrating finish to his second round. The Northern Irishman looked set to take the outright lead after carding six birdies in his first 11 holes, but bogeys on two of his last four saw him settle for a four-under 68.
McIlroy, sitting at nine under, trails co-leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia by two, while JJ Spaun sits in third at 10 under. Collin Morikawa and Alex Smalley join McIlroy in a tie for fourth, with England’s Tommy Fleetwood also in contention after a strong 66 left him four shots adrift of the lead.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler remains six back as he looks to make history with a three-peat at The Players, while all eyes will be on Thomas as he aims to continue his astonishing resurgence.
