Cut Drops Big Name Players at The Players Championship

TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL — March 13, 2022

The second round of the rain-delayed Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass finished just after 3 pm on Sunday. With Sam Burns and Tom Hoge tied for the lead at seven-under-par.

Normally the tournament would be entering its final holes with high drama on the 16th, 17th, and 18th likely determining the winner.

The drama was different today, but it was those three holes that factored in. Day two of a professional golf tournament is when the field is cut with the top contenders moving on to the final two rounds and the pretenders heading home.

The cut line for the 49th Players Championship included the top 65 players and ties, that number fell at two-over-par. Two big-name players sat in the clubhouse at that number as play finished in Round Two. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy thought they were going to miss out on the final two rounds and a nice payday until the unthinkable happened.

An hour earlier the cut number was one over par. That was until the final trio of holes took their toll on Jhonattan Vegas.

Massive Blowup Moves TPC Cut Line

Vegas was two under par after 15 holes in his second round. A bogey on the par-five 16th cost him a stroke. Then the par-three 17th bit Vegas badly. Off the tee facing the island green, Vegas went long and into the water. His shot from the drop area also found the lake around the scenic hole. By the time his ball found the bottom of the cup he carded a quadruple-bogey seven. Vegas had gone from safely in the tournament to three over par and out. Unless he could birdie the 18th. He made bogey.

The blowup moved seven players who were tied at two-over-par into a position to compete over the final two rounds.

Third-round play began soon after the drama as pin locations were moved and players started from both the first and 10th tees. Even with an extra hour courtesy of Daylight Savings time, play will have to be completed Monday morning.

The Leaderboard

There are not a lot of super familiar names at the top of the Players Championship leaderboard. But look at some of the players heading home after Round two at the TPC Sawgrass.

Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Stewart Cink, Brandt Snedeker, Lee Westwood, Brooks Koepka, and Zach Johnson all failed to make the 36-hole cut.