Players' Championship at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, Florida

McIlroy needs to score in 60s in second round

FROM SKY SPORTS.COM

Butch Harmon believes Rory McIlroy, currently T83 after a par round of 72, needs a big recovery after a slow start to the week at the Players' Championship, where he also noticed similarities between world No 1 Jason Day and 14-times major champion Tiger Woods.

Said Harmon:
"What we saw on Thursday were two very different golf courses. This morning, no wind and soft greens saw everyone take advantage of it, but in the afternoon the wind came up and the greens got firmer. That meant only a couple of the later guys were able to shoot good scores.

"Rory McIlroy had an up-and-down day. One minute he would look like he was playing pretty well and would make a birdie to get something going, only to then give it back.

McIlroy mixed two birdies with as many bogeys

"The likes of McIlroy, Rickie Fowler (T83 on 72) and Adam Scott ((T103 on 73 after a quadruple bogey at the 18th) are going to have come back with a really good round on Friday. They'll need something well in to the 60s to have a chance to really get up there.
"This is not as easy of a golf course as the early players made it look on Thursday it's going to be interesting to see what happens when the tee times flop around.
"Jason Day had a perfect card with nine pars and nine birdies - you can't really do much better than that. On his day, he is the type of player who can take over a golf course.

Day holds a two-shot lead after the opening round

"He's really starting to remind me of Tiger Woods in his heyday. He putts well, he drives well, he hits it far and he doesn't really have any weaknesses.
"Day's putting in particular was really on today. The putts he was making weren't just short ones; he was facing those in the 15 to 20 feet range and knocking them in to the heart of the cup.
"He has won six times in his past 16 starts and the guy's just unbelievable. I'm telling you, when he gets it going, nobody catches him.
"Day got the best of the breaks by playing in the morning and he took advantage of it.He's now coming out tomorrow afternoon, where there's talk of possible thunderstorms, and it'll be interesting to see how he does."
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
par 72

Jason Day