Scottie Scheffler began his second round at the 2024 Players Championship in true Scottie Scheffler fashion. Splitting the fairway on No. 10, striking his wedge inside 3 feet and tapping in for birdie, the world No. 1 had the look of a man who would torch TPC Sawgrass on a receptive Friday morning.
Instead, his day ended in a respectable 3-under 69. After his first two holes, nothing came easy for Scheffler. Upon hitting his tee shot on the short par-4 12th, Scheffler reached for his neck and promptly waved down a rules official to seek some sort of alleviation from his discomfort, according to the PGA Tour. The birdies — and a couple bogeys — continued to flow, but so did the massages.
Yes, massages.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today, and I felt a little something in my neck, and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back,” said Scheffler. “So, I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.”
Scheffler received treatment from a physical therapist on site in between holes for most of his first nine (the back nine at TPC Sawgrass). After making par on No. 12, the defending champion sat down in chair and got worked on as playing partners Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler hit their tee shots. This cadence continued after a birdie on No. 13 and a par on No. 14.
While he held honors, Scheffler gave up the opportunity to hit first off the tee in lieu of treatment. Fowler and Thomas played ready golf, but even despite the brevity of their routine, the group was asked to speed up their pace on the par-5 16th. They ultimately got back in position.
The pain Scheffler experienced appeared to spread toward his back as the round progressed. Gingerly picking his golf ball out of the hole after making putts and altering his posture while reading greens, Scheffler did his best just to get his ball around TPC Sawgrass.
“I did enough I felt like today to keep myself somewhat in the tournament, and so, that’s really all I could ask for,” he explained. “The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler stands at 8 under for the championship and six strokes off the pace of Wyndham Clark, who has signed for back-to-back 65s to take the clubhouse lead. Scheffler is seeking to become the first golfer in Players Championship history to successfully defend his title.