PONTE VEDRA, Fla. — The cream rose to the top of the Players Championship leaderboard in Friday’s second round at TPC Sawgrass.
First came Xander Schauffele, the world’s 10th-ranked player, shooting a 7-under-par 65 while carding eight birdies en route to taking the early lead at 10-under par.
Then came 26-year-old smooth-swinging Swede, Ludvig Åberg, storming to the tournament lead from his afternoon tee time, shooting a 9-under 63 to stand at 12-under, two shots clear of Schauffele.
Cam Young, the Westchester native out of Sleepy Hollow Country Club, is three shots off the lead at 9-under after shooting 67 on Friday.
Justin Thomas and Canadian Corey Conners are four back at 8-under after Thomas posted a 68 and Conners a 67.
The day, however, belonged first to Schauffele, who hit all 14 fairways with his game in full precision, and then Åberg, who carded six birdies and two eagles in his sparkling round.
After shooting a 6-under-par 29 on the front nine, he was chasing the tournament course record held by Thomas and Tom Hoge at 62, but fell just short with a bogey on No. 15, interrupting his record pursuit.
The golf world has been waiting for a performance like this from Åberg in one of the world’s biggest tournaments. His game and his poise have been uncanny for his age for several years now.
He was named to the European 2023 Ryder Cup team in Italy before he’d ever even played in a major championship.
For all his potential, though, Åberg has won just two PGA Tour tournaments — the 2023 RSM Classic and the 2025 Genesis Invitational.
A Players Championship title would suit him quite well.
Åberg, who lives nearby, calls TPC Sawgrass, where he practices a lot, his home course.
“I play here every now and then,’’ he said. “I’ve seen the golf course in probably every wind possible, which I know this week we’re going to have some different winds.
“But Sawgrass is also a golf course where you have to execute golf shots, and I love the golf course because it’s right in front of you. It’s very straightforward, but you still have to do it. Is there an advantage? Maybe. But you still have to hit the shots.’’
Åberg and Schauffele at the top of the board, along with big-time players like Young, Thomas and others, should make for weekend fireworks at TPC.
“I wasn’t aware of all the fairways [I] hit,’’ Schauffele said. “It was definitely nice to hit all of them, especially on this property. Definitely for the most part, I felt like I was in control and felt like I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive.’’
Schauffele said he spent some time on the range with his swing coach, Chris Como, on Thursday evening to sort things out. Apparently, that was work well worth it.
“I felt like it was close,’’ he said. “I hit a lot of really good iron shots [Thursday], and if I’m doing that, I know the driver and sort of longer stuff isn’t too far off.’’
Young, who’s ranked 15th in the world and was the best player on the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team, has won only once on the PGA Tour, the 2025 Wyndham Championship. So a win this week would be, by far, his greatest accomplishment.
“I’ve expected a lot more of myself than what I’ve done throughout my four years on Tour,’’ Young said. “I feel like [being in contention at TPC] makes it feel closer to doing a lot of stuff that I want to do, and at the same time I’ve expected those same things of myself since I was 12.’’
Asked if he’s finding more “comfort’’ with being in contention, he said, “Getting there. I feel like we keep building belief in what we do.’’
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