High winds wreak havoc at THE PLAYERS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The good news? The rain that sent THE PLAYERS spiraling off schedule subsided and the sun finally shone on TPC Sawgrass. Players were able to play without interruption once they got on the course midday Saturday, but they were faced with a new challenge: a fierce wind from the north that only exacerbated the tricks and traps that Pete Dye laid out in this former swamp.

Players were required to hit a full of array shots, and the penalty was severe for the slightest miscue.

The Stadium Course’s scoring average was 75.4 in Saturday’s second round, which would make it one of the 10 hardest rounds since THE PLAYERS moved to TPC Sawgrass 40 years ago.

Brooks Koepka and Ryan Brehm, winner of last week’s Puerto Rico Open, shot 81. Jordan Spieth shot 79, while Xander Schauffele shot 78. FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler shot 76.

“You catch some gusts, and you play, I guess, the wrong shot, the wrong gust, and you make some numbers,” said Koepka, a man who knows something about conquering tough conditions, after making two double-bogeys and a triple at the 17th.

There were some success stories,. Bubba Watson had a bogey-free 68. Justin Thomas also was bogey free in his 69 and Billy Horschel shot 70. Watson and Thomas are now within three shots of the lead, while Horschel will comfortably make the cut after starting the round in 110th place.

“I hit 9-iron from 95 yards, then a couple holes later I hit 9-iron from 208 yards,” Keegan Bradley said after his 71. “To me there's no yardage. It's just the trajectory of your ball, whatever club you can get to fit that window, that's the shot.”

Thomas hit two pitching wedges 185 yards Saturday. He also hit a 5-wood 193 yards. Watson hit a 5-iron 156 yards on the 18th hole.

“It's one of those days I think could be really fun to play if you're home,” Thomas said. “It's not really fun when it's TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS, and you're kind of around the cut line to start the day. It's so hard.

“It's really hard to make even 2-, 3-, 4-footers with that wind.”

The strong, gusting wind made club selection difficult. Nowhere was that more apparent than TPC Sawgrass’ trademark finishing holes. Both 17 and 18 played into the wind, making them especially penal. The island 17th played to a 3.7 scoring average in Saturday afternoon’s second round. That was an improvement from earlier in the day, when the 21 players who teed off on the 17th hole to complete their first rounds averaged more than a stroke over par. Those 21 players deposited 10 balls in the water (and the 60 players who played it in the second round added another 19).

Players hit wedge shots into the 17th in innocuous conditions, but Saturday they were reaching for mid-irons. Surviving the 17th only meant players faced an even stiffer test on the next hole. The par-4 18th played to a 5.0 scoring in the second round as players had to aim over the lake and hope the water blew their ball back toward land. The right trees on 18 had more visitors than Disney World during Spring Break. Players were hitting long-irons and fairway woods into the 18th green.

“When I got to 17 and 18, you couldn’t hardly stand up, much less hit a golf shot,” Kevin Kisner said after his 74. “It was sustained 20 (mph), but next thing you know it’s blowing 40.”

Sepp Straka, who bested another penal Florida test two weeks ago to win The Honda Classic, was one shot off the lead when he arrived at the 17th hole. Two shots in the water led to a quadruple-bogey 7.

If there was one saving grace, it’s that the course played softer and slower. It was wet after receiving more rain Saturday morning, and the agronomy team kept the greens slow so that balls would stay still in the high winds.

While many of the players who were originally scheduled to tee off in Thursday’s afternoon wave played at least 18 holes Saturday, the other half of the field will play most, if not all, of their second round Sunday morning.

The forecast calls for less wind Sunday but players will face cold temperatures, especially in the morning. Temperatures are expected to drop into the 30s overnight and not even reach 60 degrees during the day. It’s expected to be 41 when the second round resumes at 8:15 a.m. Sunday. The wind is expected to blow about 10-15 mph, which is less than the 35-mph gusts players faced Saturday, but a cold, windy evening also will give the course a chance to dry out and firm up after receiving nearly 5 inches of rain this week.

“I hope it blows like this in the morning and they freeze their butts off,” Kisner said, “since they’ve been sitting at home all day watching us in the carnage.”