Rory McIlroy supports the controversial proposals that would see new golf balls introduced to tackle ever-increasing driving distances.

The R&A and United States Golf Association (USGA) last week proposed a "Model Local Rule" that would allow organisers and tournaments the option to use a modified ball that reduces hitting distance by approximately 15 yards.

The move was first mooted in 2020 as a way of decreasing the distance modern tour professionals hit the ball amid fears golf courses will soon not be long enough to provide a suitable test in elite competitions. 

The proposals have been met with widespread criticism from manufacturers and players alike, with Justin Thomas last week describing the move as "so bad for the game of golf."

However, four-time major champion McIlroy, who is currently playing at the World Golf Championships Match Play in Texas, is not so angry. 

Speaking to No Laying Up, he said: "For elite-level play, I really like it. I really do.

"I know that's a really unpopular opinion amongst my peers, but I think it's going to help identify who the best players are a bit easier. Especially in this era of parity that we've been living in these past couple of decades.

"Selfishly, I think it helps me. I think this is only going to help the better player. It might help the longer player too, in some ways but I think it's going to help the overall professional game. 

"I think making guys hit some long irons again, and some mid irons, and being able to hit every club in your bag in a round of golf.… I can't remember the last time when I've had to do that. 

"I don't know if this change in the ball will make us do that, but it certainly is a step closer to that."

Martin Slumbers and Mike Whan, the heads of the respective organisations, confirmed the rule would not be implemented until 2026 but would then be introduced for their elite events – the Open Championship and the U.S. Open.

There is no obligation for the PGA Tour to adopt the rules, but McIlroy suggested he might still consider using a rolled-back ball in regular-season events to better prepare for the majors. 

"Honestly, for me, the major championships are the biggest deal, so if the PGA Tour doesn't implement it, I might still play the Model Local Rule ball, because I know that'll give me the best chance and the best preparation leading into the major championships," he added. 

"And again, this is personal preference and personal opinion at this stage of my career. I know that I'm going to be defined by the amount of major championships that I hopefully will win from now until the end of my career. And that's the most important thing for me.

"If that gives me the best chance to succeed at the major championships and feel as prepared as I possibly can be, then that's what I would do."

Taylor Moore is now a winner on the PGA Tour after shooting a terrific four-under 67 on Sunday to finish atop the Valspar Championship leaderboard.

Moore, 29, is in his second full season on the tour. After four top-10s last time around, and three consecutive top-15 finishes at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Phoenix Open, he now has his first victory.

However, he needed some help from the final pairing, as co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk both failed to hold on down the stretch.

Moore's 67 was tied for the second-best score of the day, carding birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th to pull into a tie for the lead on 10 under when he finished his round.

As he stayed warm on the practice range, Spieth found the water and bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind, but he gave himself a birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff. 

Meanwhile, Schenk was tied for the lead on 18, but a poor drive landed right at the base of a tree, meaning the righty had to scramble it back into the fairway left-handed.

Spieth had the first putt to try and join Moore at 10 under but raced it past, subsequently missing the comebacker to drop down to a tie for third.

Schenk went up next for par to earn a spot in a two-man playoff, but his putt cannoned into the lip of the hole and stayed out.

England's Tommy Fleetwood finished tied with Spieth in third at eight under, and there was a two-stroke gap back to Wyndham Clark alone in fifth at six under.

Adam Schenk remains atop the standings at the Valspar Championships after three rounds but Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood are both within striking distance one stroke behind.

The 31-year-old American, who has never won on the PGA Tour, was joint-leader after the first round and outright leader at the halfway mark, maintaining that through the third day in windy conditions on Saturday at the Copperhead Course in Florida.

Schenk carded a third-round one-under 70 that included two bogeys and three birdies. The American birdied the par-five 18th after hitting his approach within five feet to re-claim his lead, sitting eight under after three rounds.

Spieth had an eventful round that started with an eagle on the par-five first hole, but finished with a bogey on the 18th.

The 29-year-old American missed a five-foot par putt on the seventh, along with a seven-foot par putt on the 10th, while he managed birdie on the 11th after a bunker shot and had a three-putt bogey on the 13th.

The three-time major winner's two-under 69 round included an eagle, five birdies and five bogeys, having led by two strokes at one stage.

Former US Open and Open Championship runner-up Fleetwood also carded a two-under 69 to be seven-under overall. The Englishman's round was more routine compared to Spieth, with 16 pars and two birdies.

Webb Simpson, Taylor Moore and Cody Gribble are all tied at six-under overall, while Patton Kizzire made the major move up the leaderboard with a four-under 67 to be five-under overall.

Kizzire moved up 19 places overall for the round, enjoying a bogey-free round with four birdies. Justin Thomas dropped down the leaderboard after a one-over 72 to be two-under overall.

Adam Schenk stood alone atop the leaderboard at seven under through two rounds at the Valspar Championship, with major champions Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas both in the hunt.

Schenk, a 31-year-old American who has never won on the PGA Tour, was tied for the first-round lead after starting his week with a five-under 66. He followed it up with a 69 on Friday, collecting four birdies to go with two bogeys to earn the outright lead heading into the weekend.

Kramer Hickok was the only player one back at six under, shooting a pair of 68s, while some big names were breathing down his neck at the Innisbrook resort in Florida.

Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth (70) sat tied for third at five under, joined by fellow top-30 ranked talent Tommy Fleetwood (69), as well as Cody Gribble (65) and Davis Riley (68).

Spieth spoke positively of his round but found the windy conditions challenging.

He said: "I drove the ball maybe the best of the year today. Gave myself a lot of chances with some wedges. There's a lot of back pins and I just got a little tentative for a few holes.

"Then I decided to attack one on 10 and flew the green. I couldn't quite get my distance control down on some scoring clubs. But when the wind here is gusty like that and the green depths are so small, it gets really, really tricky and doesn't take much. Keep driving the ball like that, I feel like I can fine-tune some of the scoring clubs and maybe get a few more looks."

England's Matt Wallace (67) and Germany's Stephan Jaeger (72) featured in the five-man group rounding out the top 10 at four under, while two-time major champion Justin Thomas headlined the logjam at three under, still well in the mix after a 70.

After a horror quintuple-bogey nine during his first round, reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick was unable to recover and make the cut, missing out by two strokes at three over after a level-par 71.

Ryan Brehm produced the highlight from Thursday's opening round at the Valspar Championship as he drained a late hole-in-one to earn a share of the lead at five under.

Brehm, who collected the only PGA Tour win of his career last season at the Puerto Rico Open, was at three under when he stepped up to the par-three 17th. With one shot on the 196-yard hole he jumped up the leaderboard, securing a par on the 18th to put the finishing touches on a 66.

He is joined at five under by fellow American Adam Schenk and Germany's Stephan Jaeger after a successful first trip around Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course.

Just one stroke back in a tie for fourth is Jordan Spieth, coming off three top-20 finishes from his past four starts. The world number 14 and three-time major champion went bogey-free with four birdies, and he is joined at four under by Maverick McNealy and Lucas Glover.

The only other player in the top 10 to finish without a bogey was South Korea's An Byeong-hun, posting a three-under 68 to sit in a five-player group tied for seventh, which also includes Tommy Fleetwood.

Top-20 talents Justin Thomas and Sam Burns headline the logjam at two under, while it was a miserable day for Matt Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick posted a nine on the par-four third hole after finding the water twice, and then went on to also bogey the fourth and fifth. However, he went three under across his next 13 holes to finish at three over and leave himself a chance of making the cut.

Scottie Scheffler says it is "very special" to join golf greats Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to hold the Masters and Players Championship titles at the same time.

Scheffler won the Players' Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday by five strokes, re-claiming the world number one ranking in the process.

The 26-year-old American's dominant victory comes after winning last month's Phoenix Open, along with last season's PGA Player of the Year after collecting his first four tour titles.

Scheffler has won six of his past 27 events, but joining Woods and Nicklaus in a rare group meant a lot to him.

"It's quite a special group of people," Scheffler told reporters, before joking: "We could add all our majors and Players together and I have two now and they have a lot more than that.

"But any time you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger and Jack it's very special. I'm very grateful for that."

Scheffler's career-best form comes with his Masters' defence a month away, and he described how his game has matured over the past 18 months.

"I'm just comfortable with where my game is," Scheffler said. "I feel like I'm improving. I'm definitely learning more and the more you can get into contention and be in the moments. I would say that's probably the most valuable thing is knowing what you feel like and being able to prepare for it.

"I am a bit more comfortable knowing what I need to do. I think before Phoenix [in 2022] I had this idea that I had to play perfect on Sundays and hit nothing but good shots and that's not necessarily how golf is played. Very rarely do I hit it exactly how I want to and maybe only a couple times a tournament. Most of it is just managing your way around a golf course.

"Going into the Masters, it's going to be a fun week… but by the time we tee it up Thursday everybody starts at even par so it probably doesn't have much of an effect."

The American went on a run of five birdies around the turn at Sawgrass, picking up shots at each hole from eight to 12, on the way to a 69 that took him to 17 under, finishing five shots clear of Tyrrell Hatton. Scheffler broke 70 in all four of his rounds.

"I played really well the whole week, really solid," Scheffler said. "I had some times throughout week where I didn't feel like I was swinging my best or playing at a 100 per cent, and then I would just kind of wait and pick my moments, and fortunately, I got kind of hot in spurts in each of my rounds, whether it was the back nine on the first round or eight-through-12 this afternoon.

"I just found a way to choose my moments and get hot here and there and had four just really solid rounds."

Scheffler's dominance at the notoriously challenging Sawgrass was an ominous sign for the Masters at Augusta National.

"I get excited for a good hard test," he said. "I feel like that I can find a way to make pars and hang in there.

"This week I think I had five bogeys for the whole week. Around this place that's really, really hard to do and that's probably what I'm most proud of is just playing so solid. I think I just like the challenge of kind of harder golf courses."

Scottie Scheffler earned a huge confidence bump ahead of his Masters title defence by triumphing at The Players Championship on Sunday.

The American went on a run of five birdies around the turn at Sawgrass, picking up shots at each hole from eight to 12, on the way to a 69 that took him to 17 under, enough for a five-shot victory.

Scheffler, 26, hops up one spot and returns to number one in the world rankings thanks to this big win. He has won all six of his PGA Tour titles since the beginning of last year, with a hot streak leading up to Augusta last year followed in 2023 by a Phoenix Open victory and now this commanding success.

He was two clear of nearest rival Min Woo Lee coming into the final round, but as the Australian's challenge fell away, Scheffler pulled further clear of the field. He broke 70 in all four of his rounds.

Tyrrell Hatton matched the back-nine course record on his way to second place outright, with the Englishman coming home in 29 for a seven-under-par 65 to finish at 12 under.

Hatton made birdies at 10, 12 and then at every hole from the 14th onwards, producing what he described as a "pretty mad" final flourish to scorch to 12 under.

Viktor Hovland had a closing 68 to finish in a tie for third with Tom Hoge, whose 70 on Sunday was the final act in a dramatic week that began for him with a 78. Hoge narrowly made the cut after a 68 in round two, before shooting a course-record 62 on Saturday.

He cancelled flights home on Friday, when bad weather caused a delay to the second round, and again on Saturday, after making it through on the cut line, with Hoge reaping the rewards of his persistence.

American Alex Smalley had a hole-in-one at the 17th, the famous par-three island hole, early on Sunday, but windy conditions later on made it treacherous and a host of players sent balls into the water. Scheffler reached that penultimate hole with a five-shot lead and an excellent tee shot meant he had cleared the last real obstacle in his path.

Hideki Matsuyama was in with a shout at one stage after reaching 12 under with five holes to play, but the 2021 Masters champion played those holes in three over par, signing for a 68 and sliding to fifth place.

Scheffler's playing partner Lee was one of seven players tied for sixth after having two sevens on his card. Lee finished with a miserable 76 that a brilliant birdie at 17 could not salvage, albeit he revelled in the moment after hitting his tee shot to just five feet from the pin. A bogey at the last summed up his rotten day.

Taylor Montgomery went from 10 under after 14 holes to three under three holes later, twice finding water at the 17th, going 5-7-7 in that stretch to tumble off the leaderboard and into the ranks of the also-rans. He parred the last for a 76 and a tie for 44th place, having been firmly in contention for top three just an hour earlier.

Scheffler avoid any such chaos, and after an emotional celebration with family he told the Golf Channel: "It's a lot of fun. A long day, a tough day. I knew the conditions were going to get really hard late, and I did a really good job of staying patient and not trying to force things. I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I could."

His game is in great shape ahead of his Augusta title defence next month, and Scheffler said: "I'm just hoping to improve. I'm just trying to get a little bit better, not over-think things. I'm so fortunate to be able to see some results and enjoy some wins and I'm very thankful."

Returning to world number one will not be on Scottie Scheffler's mind on Sunday when he sets about adding The Players Championship to his already glowing resume.

Scheffler is in position to triumph at TPC Sawgrass, last year's Masters champion heading into the final day at 14 under par, giving him a two-stroke lead over Australia's Min Woo Lee.

In a turbulent era for golf, Scheffler, along with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, have provided continuity. Since Rahm took the number one spot for the fourth time in July 2021, he, Scheffler and McIlroy have shared the ranking between themselves.

Rahm deposed Scheffler as world number one last month but, with the Spaniard pulling out of the Players through illness and McIlroy missing the cut, Scheffler will return to the summit with a top-five finish at Sawgrass.

But asked about that potential achievement, Scheffler told a press conference after his third round: "I think the ranking is just an algorithm.

"For me, I would much rather win the tournament than get back to number one in the world.

"So that will be my focus going into Sunday is just going out and having a solid round of golf, and the rankings will be the rankings.

"It's tough to rank professional golf, and the OWGR has done a good job of that over long period of time, but at the end of the day for me, it's just an algorithm, and I'm going to go out there to try and win the golf tournament."

Looking ahead to the final round, Scheffler said: "I think the conditions are going to be pretty tough.

"From what I saw, it's going to be pretty gusty winds in the afternoon, so it should be a good challenge."

His main competition may come from Lee, who does not have a PGA Tour win since joining in 2019, his sole two professional triumphs coming on the European Tour.

Lee has made only five major appearances but finished in the top 30, including a tied-14th finish at The Masters, in three of the four last year.

"He's very, very talented," Scheffler said of Lee. 

"I don't know how much y'all may know about Min Woo, but I've heard about him for a long time and he's a very talented player."

Tom Hoge set a new course record without realising it and Aaron Rai celebrated a hole-in-one at the 17th, but it is Scottie Scheffler who heads into the final round of The Players Championship with a two-shot lead.

An absorbing Saturday at Sawgrass saw Hoge card a 10-under 62, as both he and Rai put themselves into contention going into Sunday's closing 18 holes.

Scheffler's 65 took him to 14-under par and made him the only player with three sub-70 rounds, earning the world number two a two-shot lead over Australian Min Woo Lee. They had been tied at 13 under entering the closing moments of the day, but Lee had a bogey at the last and just minutes later Scheffler made birdie.

Lee had to settle for a six-under 66, which he had kick-started by holing a 112-yard shot from the fairway on the opening hole for an eagle two. Another Australian, Cam Davis, had a 67 to reach 10 under for outright third place.

Englishman Aaron Rai drew the biggest roars of the day with a hole-in-one at 17, becoming the second player to ace the famous island hole this week, after Hayden Buckley managed the feat on Thursday.

Birdies either side meant Rai finished the round in style and carded a seven-under 65 to reach nine-under overall for a tie of fourth spot with compatriot Tommy Fleetwood (65), American Chad Ramey (68) and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (69).

Hoge, whose lone PGA Tour title came at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last year, finished the day one shot further back. Incredibly, he did not know what the previous scoring record was, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn it stood at 63, achieved multiple times on the flagship course.

"I didn't even know it was a course record until after we got done in the scoring there," Hoge said. Former Open winner Shane Lowry suggested to Hoge he had broken the record after a birdie at the 18th hole, but Hoge still waited for confirmation.

Hoge only scraped into the final 36 holes on the cut mark of two over, after producing a gutsy 68 on Friday following an opening 78. He rocketed into contention on Saturday and said it felt good to be able to cancel his flight home to Dallas Fort Worth, having booked it in the anticipation his tournament would be over.

South Korean Im Sung-jae jumped from level par to eight under with a 64, and Jordan Spieth followed his eagle on the final hole of his second round on Friday with a 66 to go to six under for the tournament.

It was a day for low scoring and those that missed out got left behind, including second-round leader Adam Svensson, with the Canadian shooting a 75 to plummet down the leaderboard to join Spieth in a tie for 14th. Jerry Kelly, the 56-year-old who became the oldest player to make the cut in this tournament's history, went from two over to one under with a round of 69.

Tom Hoge set a new course record without realising it and Aaron Rai celebrated a hole-in-one at the 17th, but it is Scottie Scheffler who heads into the final round of The Players Championship with a two-shot lead.

An absorbing Saturday at Sawgrass saw Hoge card a 10-under 62, as both he and Rai put themselves into contention going into Sunday's closing 18 holes.

Scheffler's 65 took him to 14-under par and made him the only player with three sub-70 rounds, earning the world number two a two-shot lead over Australian Min Woo Lee. They had been tied at 13 under entering the closing moments of the day, but Lee had a bogey at the last and just minutes later Scheffler made birdie.

Lee had to settle for a six-under 66, which he had kick-started by holing a 112-yard shot from the fairway on the opening hole for an eagle two. Another Australian, Cam Davis, had a 67 to reach 10 under for outright third place.

Englishman Aaron Rai drew the biggest roars of the day with a hole-in-one at 17, becoming the second player to ace the famous island hole this week, after Hayden Buckley managed the feat on Thursday.

Birdies either side meant Rai finished the round in style and carded a seven-under 65 to reach nine-under overall for a tie of fourth spot with compatriot Tommy Fleetwood (65), American Chad Ramey (68) and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (69).

Hoge, whose lone PGA Tour title came at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last year, finished the day one shot further back. Incredibly, he did not know what the previous scoring record was, so it was a pleasant surprise to learn it stood at 63, achieved multiple times on the flagship course.

"I didn't even know it was a course record until after we got done in the scoring there," Hoge said. Former Open winner Shane Lowry suggested to Hoge he had broken the record after a birdie at the 18th hole, but Hoge still waited for confirmation.

Hoge only scraped into the final 36 holes on the cut mark of two over, after producing a gutsy 68 on Friday following an opening 78. He rocketed into contention on Saturday and said it felt good to be able to cancel his flight home to Dallas Fort Worth, having booked it in the anticipation his tournament would be over.

South Korean Im Sung-jae jumped from level par to eight under with a 64, and Jordan Spieth followed his eagle on the final hole of his second round on Friday with a 66 to go to six under for the tournament.

It was a day for low scoring and those that missed out got left behind, including second-round leader Adam Svensson, with the Canadian shooting a 75 to plummet down the leaderboard to join Spieth in a tie for 14th. Jerry Kelly, the 56-year-old who became the oldest player to make the cut in this tournament's history, went from two over to one under with a round of 69.

Jordan Spieth soared up the Sawgrass leaderboard and revealed it was a serving US Marine who had inadvertently spared him a possible missed cut at The Players Championship.

Spieth was five over for his second round on Friday heading to the 18th hole, where a wild drive looked set to find the water and leave him in even deeper trouble.

Already on the cut borderline at two over, Spieth got a lucky break when the stray tee shot struck a spectator's knee, and bounced not into the drink but back onto the fairway.

He was gifted a reprieve, played his second shot just short of the green and then chipped in for an eagle to get back to level par through 36 holes.

Following that with a six-under 66 on Saturday to move two shots outside the top 10 gave Spieth hope of figuring even higher on the leaderboard on Sunday.

"Especially with the way my round finished yesterday I have nothing to lose, I have everything to gain," Spieth said.

Addressing Friday's lucky break, Spieth was asked whether he had since made contact with the man whose knee felt the full force of his ball.

"He's over there right now," Spieth said. "He's an active Marine. His name is Matt. He didn't want anything."

Spieth added: "I spent a little time with him yesterday. He didn't want anything, but I thought if I could do anything for him, I'd try to, and the [PGA] Tour stepped in and hooked him up too.

"So hopefully he's having a good weekend. And his knee, I mean, once I found out he was an active Marine I don't really think getting hit in the knee really does much to those guys.

"I would like to say once the cut moved to two over I felt like I could have still finagled my way through. But it's still two shots that it saved me at least. That will make a difference regardless tomorrow."

Jerry Kelly became the oldest player to ever make the cut at The Players Championship as the American scraped through to the final round.

At the age of 56 years, three months and 16 days, Kelly ensured he would stick around for the full weekend at TPC Sawgrass.

The PGA Tour confirmed that as a new age record for its flagship tournament.

Kelly only just made it though, with rounds of 74 and 72 putting him two over par. At one stage, the cut looked like falling at one over, but that changed on Saturday when second rounds resumed after weather disruption curtailed Friday's action.

Madison-based Kelly won two PGA Tour events in 2002 and a third in 2009, but he has had greater success on the senior PGA Champions tour. There, he has totted up 11 titles since 2017, on the way to helping his career prize-money reach $40.25million.

Rory McIlroy missed the cut at The Players Championship on Saturday and pointed the finger at his off-course political workload, saying: "I'd love to get back to being a golfer."

The Northern Irishman, a talisman for the PGA Tour, has been a strong and vocal opponent of the LIV Golf series that has attracted a host of the world's leading players.

With LIV being a Saudi-backed series, questions have been asked about why players would sign up for a tour that critics consider an attempt at sportswashing due to that country's human rights record.

McIlroy has been working closely with top-level golf officials to improve the appeal of the US-based PGA Tour, with a revamped calendar for 2024 set to include eight additional no-cut tournaments, which it is hoped will prove attractive to anyone with wavering support.

Having an eye on the business side has affected his golf, though, the 33-year-old believes, and McIlroy bowed out at TPC Sawgrass after a delayed finish to the second round, which was affected by bad weather on Friday.

McIlroy agreed after his round when asked if it was fair to say the added responsibilities had taken their toll.

"Yeah, it is fair. I'd love to get back to being a golfer," he said. "It's been a busy couple of weeks, and honestly it's been a busy six or eight months.

"But as I said at the start of the week, everything has sort of been announced now, and the wheels have been put in motion, so it should obviously quieten down from here."

He followed an opening 76 with a 73 in round two, missing the cut by three shots at the flagship tour event.

McIlroy said his week had been "just very blah".

"You just have to be really on to play well here," he added. "If you're a little off, it definitely magnifies where you are off. It's a bit of an enigma. Some years I come here, and it feels easier than others. It's just a tricky golf course."

McIlroy said he would head to Augusta for "a couple of days" next week to familiarise himself with the Georgia course ahead of the Masters, which begins on April 6.

"I actually don't feel like I'm playing that badly at all," said the world number three. "A few miscues here and there, I putted it off the sixth green yesterday, and just stuff that was a little untidy here and there. But I hit the ball okay."

Canadian Adam Svensson held the 36-hole lead on nine under par after a 67, with American Scottie Scheffler second following a second-round 69, putting him two behind. Four players shared third on six under ahead of the third round getting under way: Ben Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Collin Morikawa.

Jordan Spieth needed an incredible stroke of luck to sneak under the cut-line during Friday's weather-interrupted second round of The Players Championship.

On a day when the two best performers from round one – Chad Ramey and Collin Morikawa – both shot over par, the top story was the unlikely eagle on the final hole from Spieth to go from two over to even par.

Likely needing a birdie to make the cut, Spieth sliced his drive towards the water, but instead of going in and ending his week, it struck a spectator's knee and ricocheted back into the fairway.

He went on to put his second shot on the par-five ninth hole into the greenside rough, where he would chip in for eagle.

After the round, Spieth said he was "trying to get that guy's information and see literally whatever he wants this weekend because everything from here on out is because it hit him".

Meanwhile, still with plenty of holes to play after weather forced the afternoon starters to wrap up early, South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout (through 14) and Canada's Adam Svensson (through 11) sit two strokes clear of the field at eight under.

Morikawa could not replicate his opening 65, sitting at one over for his round through 11 holes and six under overall, tied with fellow American Ben Griffin and Australia's Min Woo Lee (through 15) in third.

World number two Scottie Scheffler (through 10) is with Taylor Pendrith as the only players at five under, while Jason Day and Viktor Hovland headline the final group in the top 10 at four under.

The field lost world number one Jon Rahm as he withdrew due to illness an hour before teeing off, while Rory McIlroy is almost certainly going to miss the cut at six over with eight holes to play.

World number one Jon Rahm withdrew from The Players Championship ahead of his second round due to illness.

Rahm carded a one-under 71 in the opening round, leaving him seven strokes behind overnight leader Chad Ramey, but he was unable to compete on Friday.

Confirmation of Rahm's withdrawal from the PGA Tour's flagship event came less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off at TPC Sawgrass.

The 28-year-old, who previously won The Players Championship in 2020, had been chasing a sixth victory in 11 worldwide starts.

He had been due to play in a marquee group alongside Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler for the second straight day.