Friday’s second round of the 2026 Players Championship features a lot of big storylines. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked players in the world, will fight to make the cut. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas will try to set himself up for a comeback victory at TPC Sawgrass on the weekend. Below, we’ll provide Players Championship live updates all day long on Friday, including from our writers on-site at Sawgrass, as well as Players leaderboard updates and more.
Here are a few things to know as you follow along on Friday:
How to watch Players Round 2
PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ opens exclusive streaming coverage starting Friday at 7:30 a.m. ET. Golf Channel’s TV coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET. Check out full Players Friday TV coverage and streaming details here.
Notable Round 2 tee times
8:40 a.m. – Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth
1:42 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
8:52 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama
Two down, two to go
All right, friends. Let’s close the day here with a few items.
Who’s leading? That would be Ludvig Aberg. He’s at 12-under.
Who’s lurking? Xander Schauffele is at 10-under. Cameron Young is at nine-under. Corey Conners and Justin Thomas are at eight-under.
Is there a theme among those players? Yep. Ball strikers. All of ’em.
How did Rory McIlroy look? Better. Dealing with a back injury he suffered last week, he shot a one-under and he made the cut.
How did Scottie Scheffler look? Frustrated, as his tee balls continued to befuddle him. But he’ll also be around for the weekend.
Biggest surprise? It has to be Scheffler. But runner-up might be the rally of Keegan Bradley. He was six-over for the tournament throught 19 holes, then played seven-under golf after that.
Anything else? You got a winner for us? How about Cameron Young? In a playoff over Ludvig Aberg. How fun would that be?
Justin Thomas and the mental part of his comeback
This was an interesting exchange between reporters and Justin Thomas, who is playing his second event this year after undergoing back surgery in November.
Q. You said yesterday maybe trying to stay focused last week was a bit of a problem after the layoff. Was the bigger problem staying focused mental or physical?
Justin Thomas: Mental, for sure. I said that to Rev [caddie Matt Minister] today on — what was it, kind of 13, 14. I just was like, Man, I’m kind of starting to lose focus. I get spacey, and it’s one of those you’re over the ball and you’re somehow thinking about nothing. I’m not thinking about the shot I’m trying to hit, not thinking about the yardage I’m trying to hit it. It’s just, I get lost.
I know it’s not the best thing to admit to, but it’s kind of the reality. So really just tried very hard to kind of take my breaks between shots, and then when it was our turn to hit, just get really honed in, focus on what I was trying to do, and then just rinse and repeat until I was doing.
Q. What does Rev say to you to lock you back in? Is there one thing?
Justin Thomas: Not necessarily. He did a great job yesterday and did a great job today, as well. Just focus on what we’re doing. I’m swinging — just kind of reiterating, I’m playing well, I’m swinging well, I’m doing all the right things. Just focus on what we’re doing.
The biggest thing for me is commitment and feeling confident about the decision that I made, the club I’m hitting, whatever it is. So I think that’s the biggest thing for him is just making sure that I feel that way, I guess, going into the shot.
What’s ignited Ludvig Aberg this week?
Here’s what he said after his round: “I feel like I’ve understood a little bit more what’s important for me in my golf swing and kind of sticking to that, not necessarily trying to look away other ways around it, and keeping it very simple. I think my mind is very good when it’s simple, and when things are very easy, and that’s what I’ve felt like I’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks.”
Yeah, my mind is very good when it’s simple, too.
Scottie Scheffler battles to make the cut, part 3
He putts. His ball drops in. Birdie. We’ll see him Saturday and Sunday.
Sungjae Im battles to make the cut
MORE drama. Im’s at 17, and on the cutline. He tees off. He drops his club. And … his ball clings to the rough on the right side of the green. He’s still alive.
Scottie Scheffler battles to make the cut, part 2
Iron to 6 feet. Damn.
Scottie Scheffler battles to make the cut
HERE’S some drama. Scottie Scheffler on 18 — and on the cutline. Par or better means he plays the weekend. Worse than that and he’s done. Water left. Trees right. He’s been missing off the tee. But, with a 3-wood, he finds the left side of the fairway. Here we go.
Players at sunset
Not sure about “wiser,” but a colleague is here to bring us home. The work week is done. And big-time golf is being played. As I look up from my computer, Justin Thomas is teeing off on 17. That’s the good stuff.
What we’re missing — and what we’re not
I’ll hand things off to wiser colleagues, but I’ll leave with this: I’m fired up for this weekend. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are the clear two best players in the world and they’ve also won the last three Players Championships — but they’re a dozen shots off the lead.
We’re left with a high-powered board of guys with something to prove, from mega-talents Aberg and Young and Schauffele to underrated flushers Henley, Straka and Conners. There’s a terrific pack lurking, too: JT, Hovland, Thorbjornsen, Fleetwood et. al.
We may see a big-time run from Rory and/or Scottie. But if we don’t I think we’re in great hands.
See you there!
CUT WATCH
It’s a gorgeous evening at TPC Sawgrass — but it’s not exactly easy. The afternoon is proving tougher than the morning, which is bad luck for this wave, because they were also out in yesterday’s tougher morning conditions.
Anyway, the cut appears very like at 2 over, which is currently T63.
Some notables still on the course on the correct side of that line include Brooks Koepka (-1 thru 16), Robert MacIntyre (E thru 14) Scottie Scheffler (+1 thru 14) Michael Brennan (+1 thru 14), Patrick Cantlay (+2 thru 17) and Sungjae Im (+2 thru 13).
On the outside looking in: Lucas Glover, Rasmus Hojgaard, Jake Knapp and Matt McCarty, each at 3 over par with a dwindling number of birdie chances remaining…
Scheffler’s cut-line chase
It’s clear that Scottie Scheffler isn’t quite himself. But his “C” game — or whatever we think this is — should still be enough to get him to the weekend. He’s back to even par after an impressive two-putt birdie at No. 11.
The cut line seems like a coin flip between 1 over and 2 over at the moment.
Ludvig’s launch
About halfway through the afternoon wave there’s one main character: Ludvig Aberg. Two eagles. Three birdies. A front-nine 29. And a ridiculous par save at No. 10 just now.
He’s doing it with a balanced attack; he’s top-20 in strokes gained off the tee, on approach, around the green and with the putter. Five-tool player.
It had been a slowish start to the season for Aberg, but reports of his demise? Greatly exaggerated.
Jordan Spieth, quote of the day:
Proper exchange between Spieth — who shot 68 but finished with double — and a reporter.
Q. Later today will you be able to think mostly about the good stuff and sort of set the finish?
JORDAN SPIETH: Never. Have you ever played golf?
Q. Every time.
JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, it’s a the same way. It’s the same thing you would do.
Keegan Bradley: Still “heartbroken”
Returning to a full-time playing role after juggling the Ryder Cup captaincy last season makes Keegan Bradley a fascinating figure in a fascinating position. He hasn’t had much success thus far this season. When he started bogey-quad on Thursday it seemed like it might be more of the same. Instead he rallied with a Friday 66; now he’s T36 and could well make a charge.
But Bradley didn’t hold back post-round Friday on what it’s been like to adjust post-captaincy:
“Listen, it’s been a little difficult. I’m still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup. So, trying my best to separate myself and move on, but it’s hard. I think about it a lot. I think about the guys a lot, and I’m still in the process of getting past all that.”
And this:
“Unless you’re a captain of the Ryder Cup team you just have no idea what goes into it and the emotional toll that it takes on you. I think like a lot of guys that do it, they’re basically done playing, so they never again — I’m the first person to have to sort of deal with this, get back out there, try to be one of the best players in the world and make the next team. So I’m still navigating how to do that. But it’s on my mind.”
“Some reception”
I’m hoping for some crispier greens on the weekend, and I’m interested how they’ll change this afternoon, too. Some insight on low morning scores from Jacob Bridgeman, who’s T6 at 6 under after a morning 68:
“This morning, the greens were amazing, perfect, a little bit faster, but still had saw some reception to ’em so we were able to be aggressive.”
Cut-line updates
The cut looks like it’ll most likely fall at 1 over par, though it’s possible it falls to 2 over. (Even par would surprise me…) That means:
–Rory McIlroy‘s birdie at his 18th hole (No. 9) should get him through at 1 over
–Chris Gotterup‘s chip-in eagle at his 18th hole (also No. 9) will definitely get him through at even par
–Sam Burns (76-68) and Keegan Bradley (77-66) are the most dramatic players to start “out” and finish “in” so far
Afternoon wave – players to watch!
Hey gang, Dylan Dethier back and ready to watch some serious afternoon golf. Yesterday our “players to watch” included Corey Conners, Xander Schauffele and Cam Young, so I’ll take full credit for them sitting 1-2-3 on the leaderboard at the moment. As for today…
–Scottie Scheffler. For obvious reasons. Best player in the world, slightly off at the moment, pounded range balls in the rain post-round yesterday, very much still in it with a good round.
–Tommy Fleetwood. Again, obvious as hell. But the guys who are going low right now are flushers and accurate drivers. That makes Fleetwood a fit.
–Russell Henley. As I was saying…
–Justin Thomas. Hit it really well off the tee on Thursday and turned last week’s 79-79 into an opening 68. What’ll he do in his follow-up?
–Ludvig Aberg. He’s been so-so this season but looked extremely back to his best self on Thursday. I could see him joining the party Friday, too.
–Matt McCarty. He shot 75 on Thursday but for no particular reason feels like a strong candidate for a backdoor made cut.
–Johnny Keefer. Was wondering if this would be Keefer’s week to break out on Tour…after a Thursday 76, he’ll need a rally to do so.
–Tony Finau. We’re officially at “way too many players” now but after an opening 69 I’m excited to see Big Tone in the mix after a down season, too.
Let’s get it going…
Defending champ walking the cutline
Rory arrived at the par-4 fourth on the right side of the cutline at +1. But his drive missed the fairway left. He tried to get greedy with his approach shot and it came out soft and landed in the water. McIlroy was able to make an 11-footer for bogey to only drop one shot.
He is currently just inside the projected cutline of +2 but is firmly in danger of missing the weekend if he stumbles over his final five holes.
Jordan Spieth is in full flight right now.
He has made five birdies in a row from No. 16-2. He then missed a four-footer for birdie at No. 3 but stuffed it close on the fourth for another birdie.
He’s 5 under for the tournament and 6 under on the day. The key? After losing ove a shot in Round 1 off the tee, Spieth is picking up 1.5 shots off the tee today while also gaining 3.2 shots on approach.
Can World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler make a charge Friday?
Scottie Scheffler, fresh off an even-par 72, immediately hit the range after his round on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, working through his swing in the pouring rain with long-time coach Randy Smith.
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee broke down what Scheffler was working on on the range Thursday night, pointing out in particular Scheffler’s position at the top of the backswing.
“I don’t even recognize this golf swing from Scottie Scheffler,” Chamblee said. “It’s a foot and a half shorter than it was last year, and the face is wide open.”
Scheffler is using a new driver this week, one he used the past two years.
Scheffler tees off at 1:42 p.m. ET on Friday.