Ludvig Aberg grabbed a two-shot lead after the second round of the 2026 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, with Xander Schauffele trailing closely. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy barely advanced past the cut line, surprising many observers. Several prominent players, including Shane Lowry, failed to make the weekend.
The 2026 Players Championship reached its halfway point with unexpected developments on Friday at TPC Sawgrass. Ludvig Aberg sits atop the leaderboard with a two-shot advantage over Xander Schauffele, following a solid performance after a strong showing the previous week.
Tournament favorites Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, and Rory McIlroy struggled but managed to make the cut. Jessica Marksbury, senior editor at Golf.com, called Scheffler's battle with the cutline "highly unexpected," noting his reputation as a top ball-striker and a lengthy post-round range session in pouring rain on Thursday. Josh Sens echoed the surprise, while also highlighting Justin Thomas's sharpness after a poor finish at Bay Hill last week.
Other standouts included Corey Conners, who birdied five of his first six holes Friday and eagled the par-5 ninth, despite limited top finishes this season—his best being a T24 at the Sony Open. Keegan Bradley mounted a comeback, going seven-under after starting six-over through 19 holes.
Six notable players missed the 36-hole cut. Shane Lowry, who nearly won the Cognizant Classic two weeks ago, suffered a quadruple bogey on the 18th hole Thursday— the 1,000th tee shot into the water there since 2003—finishing rounds of 76-73. Harris English, ranked No. 16, also carded a quadruple bogey on his ninth hole Friday (the 18th), shooting 73-77; he had not missed a cut since last year's Arnold Palmer Invitational. Others included Joel Dahmen (77-73), Kurt Kitayama (74-75), Jake Knapp (75-72), and Ben Griffin (70-78). Collin Morikawa withdrew early Thursday due to a back injury.
Zephyr Melton expressed excitement about Aberg's form lasting through the weekend, while Josh Schrock wondered if players like Conners could sustain their momentum.
