Fowler once against in hunt at The Players Championship
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rickie Fowler has been on both ends of the scoreboard at The Players Championship.
He was the runner-up in 2012 and an also-ran in four other appearances.
Those wide-ranging experiences at TPC Sawgrass have Fowler feeling a little confident but far from cocky heading into the weekend.
“I played very well here at times and I haven’t played well here at times,” Fowler said Friday after a 3-under 69 that moved him to 6 under and near the top of the leaderboard. “It’s a course where if you’re not on top of your game, it will show. But if you are playing well and ball striking is there, you can get after it a bit. This week, luckily I’m on the good side and I can get around and play this course well.
“You can’t really look past anything. Really, at any time you make a bad swing at the wrong time, you’re making bogey, double or maybe worse.”
Fowler trails co-leaders Jerry Kelly and Kevin Na by two strokes as the third round begins Saturday morning.
“Well, anyone that’s playing the weekend has a chance,” Fowler said. “Someone can go out and shoot, 6-, 7-, or 8-under tomorrow and be right back in it. Unless someone really runs away with a good round that’s around the 6-, 7-, or 8-under guys. But, yeah, it’s really still anyone’s golf tournament. But someone that’s even or 1 under is going to have to string two really good days together.”
Tiger Woods put two decent rounds together and made the cut by sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole — a moment rarely seen of late.
“I feel like I’m playing well enough to get myself up there,” Woods said. “I just need one good round and narrow up that gap between myself and the lead, and I feel like I can do that.”
In the afternoon, Rory McIlroy made it easy on himself — by his standard at the TPC Sawgrass — with a dull round of 71 that kept him in contention. Dull can be good on the Stadium Course that meted out its share of punishment.
And the island-green 17th was wild as ever.
What most everyone missed was the 48-year-old Kelly carving up the front nine with five birdies that carried him to a 7-under 65, giving him the low round this week and share of the lead with Na.
