A golf marathon is on deck Saturday at the 2023 Players Championship after inclement weather suspended play during Round 2 on Friday. Players such as Collin Morikawa (-6) and Scottie Scheffler (-5) reside on the first page of the leaderboard with holes remaining in their second rounds.
The two young stars aim to position themselves for a title run over the final 36 holes while world No. 3 Rory McIlroy just hopes to be present for the second half of the championship. McIlroy sits at 6 over with seven holes to play and will need to make a move Saturday morning in order to creep inside the projected cutline of 2 over.
They will all be chasing a pair of surprises at the top of the leaderboard: Adam Svensson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Sitting at 8 under, the two international players have opened up a two-stroke gap over the rest of the field heading into the weekend.
Viktor Hovland and Jason Day find themselves inside the top 10 at 4 under with their second rounds completed. Without the need to wake up early on Saturday, Hovland, Day and the rest of the field will wait and see what the deficit is once Round 3 finally gets underway.
Here is the breakdown of the leaderboard heading into Saturday at the 2023 Players Championship.
T1. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Adam Svensson (-8): This tournament opened up once Chad Ramey made a seven on the par-3 17th, and waiting right there at the doorway were Bezuidenhout and Svensson. They are arguably just as big surprises as Ramey with a hair more experience. Bezuidenhout has won on the DP World Tour and Svensson won this past fall at the RSM Classic, but taking down the Players Championship will be a completely different animal.
T3. Ben Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Collin Morikawa (-6): You'll hear the story of the former loan officer Griffin a lot over the weekend. Stepping away from the game after college, the North Carolina product has made his way to the PGA Tour and is making the most of his rookie campaign. Whether he can stay on the first page of the leaderboard is one thing; regardless, Griffin's perspective having previously held an office job and now playing on the PGA Tour is refreshing.
"Taking a break has provided me with an awesome perspective," said Griffin. "A lot of guys out here, not going to say any names, but a lot of people have big egos, and for me I'm just very grateful to be playing and very lucky to play in awesome conditions, have player dining. There's so much to be thankful for at all these PGA Tour events; they do so much for us. For me, on the golf course it's just about making birdies, and I'm not too worried about anything else, just trying to compete against the best in the world and seeing where my name stacks up."
T6. Taylor Pendrith, Scottie Scheffler, Will Gordon (-5): Scheffler just hovers, hovers, hovers and then all of a sudden pounces. He will face a 16-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th as his first shot on Saturday, and should he convert it, will find himself within one stroke of the lead. The world No. 2 is currently the betting favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. If Scheffler wins, he will have trophies from the Players Championship, Masters and World Golf Championship in his possession.
T8. Will Gordon, Jason Day, Viktor Hovland, Denny McCarthy, Byeong Hun An, Chad Ramey, Adam Hadwin (-4): Hovland was the man up to the challenge during the early stages on Friday as he reached 8 under through his first 11 holes. Only then did trouble appear as he made an ugly double on the par-4 4th which was followed by a pair of bogeys in his last four holes. Despite his short-game shortcomings, Hovland is in a great position to contend, just as he did last year when he finished T9.
"Obviously in a good spot, but pretty disappointed I didn't finish it off today because I played some really, really good golf," said Hovland. "It's just frustrating with that finish."
T15. Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Cam Davis, David Lingmerth, Justin Suh (-3): Davis entered this week having missed his last five cuts but divulged to the media the reason why. Battling health concerns, the young Australian confirmed he is back to 100%, and the play is evident.
T20. Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Si Woo Kim and 10 others (-2): Depending how far in front the leaders get Saturday morning, this group could be in trouble. Fowler is still on the golf course and has done well to keep it in red figures. The 2015 champion has been erratic from tee to green but ranks eighth in strokes gained putting on the week.
T33. Patrick Cantlay, Joel Dahmen, Aaron Baddeley, Garrick Higgo, Kramer Hickok, Lucas Glover (-1): Can Cantlay finally make the cut at the Players? He hasn't done so since 2018 but is under par with seven holes to play in his second round and three strokes inside the cutline. Things could have gotten away from the world No. 4 when he putted the ball off the green and into the water on the par-4 4th, but he remained level-headed. His Saturday morning could make or break his championship aspirations depending on the direction he goes.
T39. Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young, Adam Scott and 10 others (E): Spieth may have used all his magic beans to make the cut. After beginning his second round with a pair of birdies to reach 5 under, the three-time major champion struggled mightily around TPC Sawgrass. Playing his next 15 holes in 7 over, he arrived to his final hole (the par-5 9th) needing a par to likely make the cut and a birdie to guarantee a weekend appearance. After blasting his tee shot way right, Spieth's ball avoided the water when it hit a fan and bounced back into the fairway. Moments later, he chipped in for eagle because why not.
The horn has blown at the Players Championship due to threatening weather in the area. It is unknown how long the delay will take but it only adds to what has already been a long day of play -- the group of Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler needed three hours to complete their opening nine. Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Svensson are currently tied for the lead at 8 under.
It's incredible. He kind of just hovers, hovers, hovers and then boom, Scottie Scheffler is on the first page of the leaderboard. He just made back-to-back birdies to reach 5 under. He stands three strokes off the lead of Christiaan Bezuidenhout at 8 under.
