Players Championship 2021 R2
March 11-14
TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
$15,000,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4

Lee Westwood followed up his opening 69 with a bogey-free 66 for a 9-under 135 to take a one shot lead over Matthew Fitzpatrick in The Players Championship.

"I think to compete in any of these tournaments against the best players in the world, you can't have any weaknesses in your game. I wouldn't be able to say I'm doing this better or that better. There's not a shot out there I'm afraid of. There's not a shot out there I'll walk up to and think, `I haven't got this one.'"

"I'm comfortable out there with everything."

Overnight leader Sergio Garcia had a mixed round shooting three birdies, five bogeys and his third eagle of the week at the par-5 11th, tying the tournament record, for a 72.

"It was a beautiful roller coaster," said Garcia. "There were a lot of good things. Unfortunately, a lot of bad things. But more than anything there was a lot of fighting, and that's one of the things that I'm most proud of because when things are not really happening and you miss a couple putts here and there, it's easy to kind of let the round get away from you."

Tied with Garcia at 7-under, Chris Kirk produced seven birdies, two bogeys and an eagle at the par-4 1st for a 65. He credited caddie Michael Cromie for his performance on the greens this week.

“I'll be the first to admit that I'm a fantastic green reader on bent and on Bermuda greens, and I am a not-as-good green reader on poa annua and overseeded Bermuda,” said Kirk. “Towards the end of the round [Cromie], who's one of my best friends and a very good player in his own right, plays professional golf also, used him a little bit more, and I would say I will most likely continue to use him a little bit more and more over the weekend.”

Bryson DeChambeau had to contend with a double-bogey on his first hole at the par-4 10th but quickly recovered, stayed bogey-free the rest of his round and shot five birdies for a second 69 to tie for fifth at 6-under alongside five other players.

"I'm happy with the fact that I've still been able to keep myself in it and score well," said DeChambeau. "I've been pretty lucky, for the most part. I don't think that'll happen this weekend. I've got to make sure that my game is good off the tee, so I don't have those issues occurring and I don't have to rely on luck for the most part. I have to get it in the fairway."

Sungjae Im shot six consecutive birdies from the 15th to the second but lost his momentum with bogeys at the par-4s 5th and 7th and closed with a birdie at the 9th for a 66 to tie for fifth place.

Jordan Spieth ended his longest bogey-free streak of 411 holes with a double bogey at the par-4 16th as well as four more bogeys and four birdies to close with a 74.

Rory McIlroy followed up his opening 79 with a 75 for a total 154, his highest 36-hole total in eleven starts at the Players. He is the first defending champion to miss the cut since Rickie Fowler in 2016.