Weather: Mostly Sunny. High of 75. Wind E 6-12 mph. The second round was suspended due to darkness at 6:36 p.m. ET with eight players left on the course and resumed at 6:59 a.m. ET Saturday. The round was completed at 7:38 a.m. Third-round tee times will run off the No. 1 tee in twosomes from 8 a.m. ET to 2 p.m. ET.
36-hole cut: 71 professionals at even-par 144 from a field of 154 professionals.
Second-Round Leaderboard
Lee Westwood 69-66—135 (-9)
Matthew Fitzpatrick 68-68—136 (-8)
Chris Kirk 72-65—137 (-7)
Sergio Garcia 65-72—137 (-7)
Things to Know
- On the heels of his solo-second at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Lee Westwood leads for the second time in the last four rounds on TOUR (led by one after 54 holes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational)
- England’s Lee Westwood (1st) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (2nd) top the leaderboard after the second round; with 15 different international winners of THE PLAYERS, no Englishman has ever won the event
- Bryson DeChambeau (T5) seeks to become the fourth player to win THE PLAYERS after winning the week prior (most recent: Tiger Woods/2001 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
- Five players who finished in the top 10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational are in the top 10 after round two: Lee Westwood, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Chris Kirk, Bryson DeChambeau, Charley Hoffman
- Rory McIlroy becomes the first defending champion to miss the cut the following year since Rickie Fowler in 2016
Second-Round Lead Notes
14 Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win THE PLAYERS Championship (most recent: Rory McIlroy/2019)
5 Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2020-21
(most recent: Harris English/Sentry Tournament of Champions)
| Lee Westwood (1st/-9) | Entering the week |
| Age | 47 (April 24, 1973) |
| FedExCup / OWGR | 58 / 31 |
| Starts at THE PLAYERS | 14 |
| Wins at THE PLAYERS | 0 |
| Top-10s at THE PLAYERS | 5 |
| Career PGA TOUR starts | 245 |
| Career PGA TOUR wins | 2 |
| Career PGA TOUR top-10s | 47 |
| PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21 | 6 |
| PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21 | 0 |
| PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21 | 1 |
- Making 15th start at THE PLAYERS and first since 2017; owns five top-10s highlighted by a T4 in 2010
- Marks second straight week of holding a lead on the PGA TOUR after holding the 54-hole lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
- Holds fifth career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR, two of which occurred at THE PLAYERS; held the 36-hole co-lead in 2005 (finished T22) and led solo in 2010 (finished T4)
- 1-for-4 in converting previous 36-hole lead/co-leads to victory (2010 FedEx St. Jude Classic)
- At 47 years old, seeks to become the second-oldest winner in tournament history (Fred Funk, 2005/48 years, 9 months, 14 days)
- Records sixth career bogey-free round at THE PLAYERS, the most of any player since 2005
- Entered the Florida Swing (beginning at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession) at No. 153 in the FedExCup standings; Ranks 58th currently after a runner-up last week
- Owns 42 worldwide victories (most recent: 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA) and two PGA TOUR titles: 1998 Zurich Classic of New Orleans; 2010 FedEx St. Jude Classic
Matthew Fitzpatrick (2nd/-8)
- Seeking to become the third player to earn his first PGA TOUR victory at THE PLAYERS (Craig Perks/2002, Tim Clark/2010); two made cuts in four previous starts at THE PLAYERS with a top finish of T41 in 2019
- Entered the week No. 72 in the FedExCup standings and No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking; Fitzpatrick is the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking without a win on the PGA TOUR
- Has two top-10s in eight starts this season, including consecutive finishes of T5-T11-T10 leading into THE PLAYERS
- Held a share of the 18-hole lead two weeks ago at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession (finished T11)
Chris Kirk (T3/-7)
- Posts career-low round at THE PLAYERS with a 7-under 65; seventh round in the 60s at THE PLAYERS in 33rd tournament round
- Has three top-15 finishes in nine prior starts at THE PLAYERS, including a top finish of T12 (2017)
- Holed out for eagle with his second shot into the par-4 first hole (147 yards); the eagle was his third at THE PLAYERS in his 10th start (2019/No. 9/R1, 2019/No. 16/R2)
- Has two top-10s in 10 starts during the 2020-21 season highlighted by T2 (2021 Sony Open in Hawaii)
- Secured full PGA TOUR status for the season after a T2 in his final start on his medical extension at the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii
- Four-time PGA TOUR champion (2011 Sanderson Farms Championship, 2013 The RSM Classic, 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship, 2015 Charles Schwab Challenge)
Sergio Garcia (T3/-7)
- Recorded his third eagle of the tournament, becoming the first player to make three eagles at THE PLAYERS multiple times (2011 and 2021); no player has made four eagles in a week at TPC Sawgrass
- Extended his streak of consecutive cuts made at THE PLAYERS to 17, the longest in tournament history (second: 14, Brad Faxon 1992-1995, 1997-2006)
- Has one win (2008) and two runner-up finishes (2007, 2015) in 20 prior starts at THE PLAYERS
- Looks to become the seventh player to win multiple PLAYERS titles and first since Tiger Woods (2001 and 2013)
- Has one win (Sanderson Farms Championship) and six made cuts in 10 starts during the 2020-21 season
- Entered the week No. 23 in the FedExCup standings and No. 43 in the Official World Golf Ranking
Miscellaneous Notes
- Bryson DeChambeau (T5) seeks to join Tiger Woods (2013) as the only FedExCup leader to win THE PLAYERS
- Denny McCarthy (T5) ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting (4.304) for the week; McCarthy has led the TOUR in that category each of the last two seasons
- Sungjae Im (T5) birdied Nos. 15-2 to tie the tournament record for most consecutive birdies (6); marks his career-best birdie streak (previously: 5 at 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions/R1)
- Doug Ghim (T5) holds the best 36-hole position of the 18 players making their tournament debut
- Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who rank first and second in consecutive cuts made on TOUR respectively, each miss the cut; Schauffele ended his TOUR-best streak of consecutive made cuts at 23, dating to the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open; Hovland ranked second with 22, dating to the 2020 Honda Classic
- Denny McCarthy recorded his first career hole-in-one on TOUR at No. 3, with an 8-iron from 165 yards; marked the fifth hole-in-one at No. 3 in tournament history and first since Seamus Power/2019/R3
- Brendon Todd recorded his first career hole-in-one on TOUR at No. 8, with a 5-wood from 213 yards; marked the seventh hole-in-one at No. 8 in tournament history and first since Michael Thompson/2013/R1
Course Statistics
Toughest Hole Easiest Hole
R1: Par-4 18th (4.416) Par-5 16th (4.610)
R2: Par-4 14th (4.346) Par-5 11th (4.536)
Scoring Averages
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
R1: 36.896 36.909 73.805 –
R2: 36.072 35.967 72.039 72.925
Bogey-free rounds:
R1 (1): Tom Hoge (69)
R2 (2): Lee Westwood (66), Doug Ghim (67) (Note: Westwood and Ghim were also the only two players with bogey-free rounds in R1 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
Balls in the water at No. 17 (since 2003)
| Year | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 2021 | 35 | 13 | |||
| 2019 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 45 |
| 2018 | 24 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 54 |
| 2017 | 19 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 69 |
| 2016 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 36 |
| 2015 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 45 |
| 2014 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 28 |
| 2013 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 44 |
| 2012 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 39 |
| 2011 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 40 |
| 2010 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 |
| 2009 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 32 |
| 2008 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 64 |
| 2007 | 50 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 93 |
| 2006 | 19 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 57 |
| 2005 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 28 | 68 |
| 2004 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 |
| 2003 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 29 |
| Average | 17.22 | 13.24 | 8.06 | 9.71 | 47.18 |
Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge
As part of its Eagles for Impact Challenge, Morgan Stanley will donate 1,500 books for every eagle made at THE PLAYERS to Book Trust—an early literacy non-profit that works to engage every child in book choice and ownership, cultivating literacy rich communities. Here’s a breakdown of eagles made and books donated:
Round Eagles Books
1 14 21,000
2 14 21,000