A GUTSY SECOND round earned Shane Lowry a spot in the final two rounds of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, but Rory McIlroy missed the cut by three shots as the storm-affected second round came to a belated end on Saturday.
Lowry snapped a club in frustration during a trying, opening-round 77, but he battled back with a second-round 69 to sneak the right side of the +2 cut mark.
His second round was a rollercoaster, his opening seven holes reading bogey-eagle-birdie-bogey-bogey-par-birdie. Another four birdies and two bogeys on the back nine was enough for Lowry to tee it up for the weekend. He will play alongside Justin Thomas and Tom Hoge, teeing off just after 5pm Irish time on Saturday.
McIlroy’s fate, meanwhile, seemed clear after he followed his miserable opening round of 76 with a 73 on Friday, and it was confirmed as the cut was made at two over par once the final finishers had reached the clubhouse on Saturday morning.
Seamus Power also missed the cut, finishing a shot worse off than McIlroy at +6.
Canadian Adam Svensson will start the third round with a two-shot lead over reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler after a birdie on the 18th saw him sign for a second round of 67.
Ben Griffin followed his opening 67 with a second round of 71 to drop back into four-way tie for third alongside Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Collin Morikawa.
With reporting by PA
