Updated at 23.41

RORY MCILROY BIRDIED his final hole to boost his chances of making the cut at the Players Championship.

The defending champion has been struggling with a back injury and could only manage a two-over-par 74 on day one in Sawgrass.

But a birdie on the ninth hole — his last of the day — saw him post a one-under 71 to leave him in with a good chance of returning for the weekend.

He told Sky Sports: “I felt a little bit better. I would say if anything, it was just that I was struggling to trust everything was OK yesterday.

“I struggled a little bit on lies that were beneath my feet and stuff like that, but today I felt pretty good and felt like I hit the ball well. I really just couldn’t get a putt to drop. That was the issue.

“I tried my best, I grinded and made a good birdie at the last, hopefully to make the cut.

“Game feels good, I just went five or six days without really touching a club or doing anything, so just getting my feels back a little.

“Hopefully, another couple of days to get myself up the leaderboard. I’m 11 back at the minute, I’m not sure I’m going to contend for the title, but hopefully two good days and have a respectable finish.”

McIlroy had withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday before his third round, but having spent some extra time recuperating at home, he felt fit to defend his title in Florida.

He said he felt “rusty” on Thursday after he laboured through his opening round.

But he returned on Friday and immediately recorded a birdie, putting from five feet on the par-four 10th.

A bogey on the 14th dropped him back to two over, but he picked up a stroke on the par-five 16th as he reached the turn in one under par.

The five-time major champion found the water on the fourth as he dropped back to level par for the round.

But on the 582-yard par-five ninth, he reached the green in two before narrowly missing his eagle chance from over 30 feet, leaving him just inside the projected cut mark of two-over par.

On potentially missing the cut, McIlroy added in his press conference: “I think it does wound your pride.

“I think I have 280-odd starts on the PGA Tour and I’ve missed maybe less than 30 cuts. So, yeah, I’m proud of that.

“But if I had missed the cut, I probably would have added an event going into the Masters, so hopefully I’m here for the weekend, and I don’t have to do that.”

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is set to miss the cut after finishing the day five over par.

The 38-year-old had a tough Thursday as he registered a four-over-par 76, and Friday’s 73 was not enough to ensure he would continue into the weekend.

Seamus Power is tied for 62nd on one over par after a second-round 72, narrowly making the cut in the process.

Ludvig Aberg of Sweden follows his shot off the 18th tee during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Ludvig Aberg fired a nine-under par 63, one off the course record, to seize a two-stroke lead after Friday’s second round.

The 26-year-old Swede made two eagles and six birdies against a lone bogey to stand on 12-under 132 after 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Aberg answered his first bogey of the week at the par-four 15th with birdies at the par-five 16th and par-four 18th for the lead.

“It was good, fought all the way to the end,” Aberg said. “It was nice to birdie 16 and 18. Overall, very pleased.”

Xander Schauffele, the 2024 PGA Championship and British Open winner, was second on 134 after a 65 on Friday with fellow American Cameron Young third on 135, plus Canada’s Corey Conners and American Justin Thomas fourth on 136.

“For the most part, I felt like I was in control and felt like I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive,” said Schauffele, who found every fairway. “It’s always easy to be aggressive from the fairway here.”

Aberg, the 2024 Masters runner-up, seeks his third PGA Tour title after the 2023 RSM Classic and last year’s Genesis Invitational.

Aberg, third last week at Bay Hill, matched his lowest career 36-hole score to par, helped by two eagles on the front nine.

He birdied the first hole from just inside four feet, eagled the par-five second from just inside 15 feet, sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-three third and curled in a 23-foot chip to birdie the fourth.

“I got off to a really nice start, made some nice putts and even chipped in on four,” Aberg said. “It was a good day. It was nice to see those things show up.

“Even though I felt like middle-round-ish, I struggled a little bit off the tee, I thought I came back into it and hit some really nice tee balls coming down the last few holes.”

Aberg, standing in a bunker, chipped in from 34 feet for an eagle at the par-five ninth for only the third front-nine 29.

“I knew it was an aggressive play getting a 3-wood up there,” he said. “I felt like I would have a chip from somewhere up there. It’s always a bonus when those go in.”

Aberg birdied the par-five 11th from just outside four feet but stumbled at 15, missing the green on his approach and sinking a testy bogey putt from just inside eight feet.

He responded by dropping his approach inches from the hole at the par-five 16th for a tap-in birdie and finished with a birdie putt from just inside eight feet.

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler fired a 73 to stand on 145, one stroke inside the cut line.

You can view the full leaderboard here.

Additional reporting by AFP