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SPORTS Saturday 12 May 2018

Players hard the setup is going to

be tomorrow?”
Continued from Page 17 and Danny Lee (66) were The real challenge will be
five shots behind. catching Simpson.
“Everything is going in,” he Tiger Woods at least gets to Only three other play-
said. “You feel like no mat- return on the weekend. He ers have led by as many
ter what, you’re going to made the cut on the num- as three shots through 36
make it, and I grew up on ber (1-under 143) after a 71 holes at The Players —
an easy golf course so it re- in the easier morning con- Lanny Wadkins (3) in 1979,
minded me of being back ditions. Woods was outside Greg Norman (3) in 1994
home, shooting low num- the cut line until Jordan and Day (4) in 2016. All of
bers. But at the same time, Spieth and Justin Thomas them went on to win.
you’re at the TPC Sawgrass, each made bogey on the “If you’re off a little bit, you
so you know that trouble is 18th. Spieth three-putted make bogeys or double
everywhere, as you guys from 35 feet, though he bogeys as easy as you can
saw with me on 17.” shot 68 and ended three make birdies,” Simpson
The sand wedge in the straight years missing the said. “I don’t think any lead
water on the 17th ruined cut. Rory McIlroy wasn’t so is safe.” Schwartzel never
his round, but not his day. fortunate. He was inside came close to a bogey,
Simpson couldn’t miss putts the cut line until hitting into only missing two greens,
he wasn’t even trying to the water on the 17th and and just barely. Cantlay
make, whether it was a 35- making double bogey. only had one bad swing
foot eagle putt on his sec- Conditions were ideal for and one bad break, both
ond hole or a 30-foot birdie scoring for the second on the par-5 ninth, that led
putt up the slope and into straight day. Simpson took to bogey. Lee shot a 31 on
the cup on the 15th . that to another level. the back nine with a dou-
At that point, all he could He ended the front nine ble bogey on the 11th hole.
was laugh. And then he with a 15-foot birdie putt Simpson left them all in his
reached the 17th, playing on the par-5 ninth for a wake. “The most entertain-
147 yards to a back pin, one-shot lead, and then ing golf in our group was
the light wind playing tricks he took off. Starting with watching Webb’s score,”
with him. He kept backing an up-and-down at the said Justin Rose, who
off, consulting with his cad- par-5 11th, Simpson ran off played behind Simpson
die as he tried to decide six straight birdies — three and shot 72. “It’s a miracle
between sand wedge and straight from the 20-foot round. To be 11-under par,
pitching wedge. range, the most unlikely it’s a shame he doesn’t fin-
“The wind seemed to be birdie with the one from ish it off. But 17 is a hard
changing,” he said, “and behind the 15th green, hole to get through. I’m
people were yelling at me and another up-and-down sure he was nervous play-
to hit it.” The ball hit the from left the of the green ing that hole. We’re all
wooden frame on the front on the par-5 16th. nervous playing that hole,
of the green, caromed high Spieth was 5 under on his but an 11-under par round,
in the air and landed on round through 11 holes and that green I’m sure looks
the back of the green with wondered if he had the low even smaller.”
so much momentum that round of the day. And then Woods had wedges in his
it rolled through the light he saw a leaderboard. hand on his opening three
collar of rough and disap- “It was just amazing,” holes and never got it close
peared into the water. said Spieth, who played for birdie, and it was like
Simpson was the seventh with McIlroy and Thomas. that all day. He was in the
player to shoot 63 on the “We were talking about it feature pairing with Phil Webb Simpson shows his ball after making a birdie putt on the
Stadium Course — five throughout the round, all Mickelson and Rickie Fowl- ninth hole during the second round of The Players Championship
since 2013 — and his 15-un- three of us. We were like, er, and Woods was the only golf tournament Friday, May 11, 2018, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
der 129 tied the 36-hole re- ‘Man, I hope he shoots one to make the cut. Associated Press
cord set two years ago by 59.’ And at the same time, Mickelson went 79-73 and Fowler was in good shape first of consecutive double
Jason Day. Charl Schwartz- we’re saying if he shoots missed the cut for the fifth until losing a ball in a tree bogeys. He shot 71 and
el (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) 59, can you imagine how time in the last six years. on the sixth hole for the missed by two shots.q