Scottie Scheffler's Players Championship defense hits a troubling snag
We might have just found the one thing that can slow down Scottie Scheffler.
The world's top-ranked golfer began The Players Championship with a five-under 67, putting him two shots off the lead after the first round. Remember, Scheffler won at TPC Sawgrass last year and is coming off a dominant five-shot victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a week ago, so he was rightfully still the favorite to win after 18 holes.
That changed early in the second round.
After birdieing the 10th hole, his first hole of the day, Scheffler started feeling discomfort in his neck. Sean Martin of the PGA Tour reported on X that the 27-year-old was rubbing his neck on the 12th hole and asked a rules official if someone could bring him Biofreeze. On the 14th hole, Scheffler was shown sitting in a chair and receiving treatment on his neck and shoulder.
The reigning Players champ fought through the pain for the rest of his round, but he didn't look comfortable on the golf course. He couldn't fully follow through on swings off the tee, leading to awkward finishes and unbalanced shots. Whenever he had to pick up his ball out of the hole, Scheffler looked stiff bending down and returning to his normal posture.
It was a painful Friday morning for Scheffler, but he still found a way to scratch out a 3-under 69. He is tied for third place, six shots behind leader Wyndham Clark, as of this publishing on Friday.
Even though it was a decent scoring day for Scheffler, his neck was clearly affecting his game. The seven-time PGA Tour winner averaged just 286.8 yards per drive off the tee, which was significantly lower than his 308.7-yard average in the first round. He missed more fairways and more greens in the second round and his putting was much worse than it was Thursday.
Scheffler is still in a decent position to contend for his second straight Players title, but that's assuming his neck doesn't stiffen overnight and causes him even more pain. He won't be able to best this loaded field if he's forced to keep swinging like he did Friday.
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