PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Charl Schwartzel and Patrick Cantlay have set the early target at The Players Championship.

Schwartzel never came close to bogey in his round of 6-under 66 on Friday, another day of warm weather and good scoring conditions at the TPC Sawgrass. Cantlay was efficient as ever except for one bad break that cost him a shot on the par-5 ninth. He had a 68.

They were at 10-under 134, one shot ahead of Chesson Hadley (69) and two clear over Jason Day (67), Steve Stricker (69) and Xander Schauffele (68).

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Tiger Woods was hopeful he would be around for the weekend. He rarely got it close with wedges and shot 71. Woods was just inside the cut with half the field playing in the afternoon.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Webb Simpson didn’t miss anything except the island green at the TPC Sawgrass.

Simpson was on the verge of shattering the course record at The Players Championship until he hit a sand wedge into the water on the notorious par-3 17th. He settled for a 9-under 63 to tie the course record, giving him a five-shot lead going into the weekend.

Simpson was the seventh player to shoot 63, the last five since 2013.

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He was at 15-under 129, tying the 36-hole tournament record set by Jason Day two years ago.

Charl Schwartzel (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Danny Lee (66) were five behind.

AGRIGENTO, Sicily (AP) Julien Guerrier of France and Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark shared a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Sicilian Open on Friday.

Guerrier is the only player in the field yet to drop a shot after adding a 65 to his opening 68 to be 9-under-par, a total later matched by joint overnight leader Bjerregaard, who returned a 68 in windy conditions.

Ryan Evans, who was the other overnight leader, had four bogeys in a round of 69 to slip a shot behind the top two.

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English compatriot Steven Brown was level.

French golfer Mike Lorenzo-Vera was another stroke back after a superb 64, the lowest score of the week at Verdura Golf Club.

Guerrier regained his playing privileges via the Challenge Tour last season and is already on course for his best season on the European Tour.

”I made no bogeys so, in these conditions, in two rounds, to make no bogeys is really good,” Guerrier said. ”I come from La Rochelle where it’s very windy so I th..

SCIACCA, Sicily (AP) Julien Guerrier of France and Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark had a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Sicilian Open on Friday.

Guerrier was the only player in the field yet to drop a shot after adding a 65 to his opening 68 to be 9-under-133, a total later matched by joint overnight leader Bjerregaard, who had a 68 in windy conditions.

Ryan Evans, who was the other overnight leader, had four bogeys in a round of 69 to slip a shot behind the top two.

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French golfer Mike Lorenzo-Vera was another stroke back after a 64, the lowest score of the week at Verdura Golf Club.

Guerrier regained his playing privileges via the Challenge Tour last season and is already on course for his best season on the European Tour.

”I made no bogeys so, in these conditions, in two rounds, to make no bogeys is really good,” Guerrier said. ”I come from La Rochelle where it’s very windy, so I think it helped me a lot.”

Stan BadzPONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — A little Florida sun and some afternoon beverages at the Players Championship makes for some great chatter when following just about any group. Throw in a Tiger-Phil (and Rickie) pairing and the banter was as lively as ever.. Wednesday’s practice round had its share of moments as well, a really dark one in particular. By the way, have you heard about Phil’s shirt? Here’s the best things overheard in the gallery so far at the Players.
RELATED: 7 other golf styles we're surprised didn't take off (Actually, make that not surprised at all)
Single, ready to mingle
“Phil!! Phil, the old girls love you Phil! Give us a smile Phil!” – A middle-aged woman on Wednesday hoping for Mickelson’s… autograph? Not sure, but super discriminatory to all the young girls that love Phil too.
One of the few
“Yoo, Phil! Dig the long sleeves!” – A teenage fan that was being way too kind on Thursday.
Ride or die
“That shirt’s just so Phil, I keep defending it because ..

2020 Olympics: Though the club's stance was reversed in 2017, women were not allowed as full-time members until this week.

May marks the 75th anniversary of Willie McRae's debut as a caddie at Pinehurst. He has worked for tour pros, 4 U.S. presidents & thousands of everyday golfers

Richard HeathcoteGolf style is fleeting. Those plus fours from the 1930s had already run their course a decade later, and the oversized shirts Fred Couples sported in the early '90s now look like intricately-designed pillow cases.
But those were at least the prevailing trends of the era. Some looks, meanwhile, had much shorter life spans — for reasons that now seem obvious. Might Phil Mickelson's long-sleeve shirt at the Players Championship succumb to the same fate?
Time will tell, but judging by the early reaction, he's got an uphill battle if he wants to avoid joining these all-time head-scratchers.
The Martin Kaymer buff__
FacebookPinterestThe Woody Austin Star-Spangled Banner shirt__
FacebookPinterestThe Hal Sutton cowboy hat
FacebookPinterestThe Jarmo Sandelin bizarro futuristic sunglasses
FacebookPinterestThe Jarmo Sandelin (a rare double winner!) bizarro Andy Warhol white hat thingy
FacebookPinterestThe Jesper Parnevik upturned hat brim
FacebookPinterestThe Bill ..

Scott HalleranFew athletes have received more criticism for their on-field play than Blake Bortles has in the last few years. Through it all, the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback has kept his head down and steadily improved, leading his team to an AFC Championship and earning a three-year, $54-million contract many believe he does not deserve. This story is further proof he's a man you should want to go to war with.
According to TMZ, Bortles and Jaguars offensive lineman Chris Reed were at a party at the Jacksonville Beach home of teammate Brandon Linder when they noticed a strange man inside the house. Bortles and Reed realized he was an uninvited guest and immediately called the police. It wasn't until after that when cops checked surveillance video and found out the 18-year-old kid attempted to steal Bortles' truck, which was unlocked with his keys and wallet inside according to the police report. Luckily for Bortles, his truck was boxed in and the kid couldn't g..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Jordan Spieth couldn’t do anything wrong the first 58 holes he played at The Players Championship.

Since then, hardly anything has gone right.

The latest episode was Thursday, when Spieth started off on a wild ride in the easiest scoring conditions. He three-putted from 6 feet for bogey on No. 10. He hit into the water and made bogey on the par-5 11th. He drove onto the 12th green to 10 feet for eagle. And then his tee shot kicked off the side of a bunker and went into the water on the par-3 13th for a double bogey. He hit one more into the water on No. 16 for another bogey.

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It never got much better. Spieth had a 75 and was in jeopardy of missing the cut for the fourth straight year at the TPC Sawgrass.

”At Augusta, I can feel like I really didn’t play that great and I’m somewhere near the leaderboard,” Spieth said. ”Out here, I felt like I didn’t play that bad and I’m like in last. So it’s two ends of the spectrum for me hi..