The PGA Tour's flagship event is set to run into a fifth day, with a Tuesday finish also a possibility, after further weather disruption at TPC Sawgrass; play to start no earlier than 4pm GMT on Saturday, with live coverage from 3.30pm on Sky Sports The Players
Saturday 12 March 2022 07:34, UK
Tommy Fleetwood retained a share of the lead at The Players without playing a shot after another weather-disrupted day at TPC Sawgrass.
Fleetwood and Tom Hoge carded first-round 66s on Thursday, where more than half of the field were unable to finish, while further heavy rain and storms prevented the opening round from reaching a conclusion on Friday.
The overnight leaders are joined on six under by Brice Garnett, who holed out for eagle at the par-four fourth - his 13th hole - shortly before play was suspended again at 11.15am local time (1615 GMT) due to "unplayable course conditions".
Some 47 players will need to return on Saturday to complete their first rounds, which will resume no earlier than 11am (4pm GMT), with tournament organisers confirming the PGA Tour's flagship event will definitely head into a fifth - or possibly sixth - day to produce a winner.
Daniel Berger made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch to get within one of the lead with two holes still to play, leaving the American tied-second alongside a quartet of players who posted a five-under 67 on Thursday.
Former world No 1 Dustin Johnson and Ryder Cup team-mate Scottie Scheffler are within two of the lead with two and three holes remaining respectively, while Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele are on three under after 15 holes of their rounds.
Jordan Spieth is four back with two to play and Justin Rose is also in the group on two under which includes Paul Casey, who recovered from an opening-hole triple-bogey to birdie five of his last eight holes.
Defending champion Justin Thomas is also four behind with three to finish and playing partner Collin Morikawa is in the group on level-par, while Rory McIlroy - completing that marquee threeball - was unable to build on a fast start on Friday morning.
McIlroy opened with back-to-back birdies from the third when play resumed, only to bogey the sixth, miss a six-footer to save par at the 10th and drop a shot at the 14th to slip over par for the tournament.
PGA Tour chief referee Gary Young said: "In an ideal world, if everything holds together as we expect, we would leave ourselves enough time to conduct our cumulative three-hole play-off [on Monday]. That would be finishing around 6.30pm-ish. But again, there's a lot of factors involved prior to that that need to really come together."
Watch The Players throughout the weekend and into next week live on Sky Sports' dedicated Players Championship channel. Live coverage continues on Saturday from 3.30pm on Sky Sports The Players.
