2014 Players Championship: Tee times, pairings for Friday’s round at TPC Sawgrass

The Players Championship is called the season’s fifth major mostly because of the strength of its field. It’s the deepest group of players in one tournament all year, with large chunks not reserved for open qualifiers or PGA teaching pros.

And much of that depth of the field rose to the first page of the leaderboard on Thursday. There were, of course, a few big names that tumbled, such as Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson, who are both now fighting to make the cut on Friday. But overall, the list of names inside the top 30 is loaded with the best players from all over the world.

Martin Kaymer, a former No. 1 in the world, matched a course record round of 63 and set a new nine-hole record with his inward 29 to get to 9-under. Kaymer’s round matches the record set by Fred Couples, Greg Norman, and Roberto Castro. Of the group, only Norman went on to win after carding his round of 63. And the group chasing Kaymer after just one round is stacked. Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, and Lee Westwood are just some of the names only two shots back.

That group at 5-under all got the good end of the draw on Thursday, going out early in the morning when conditions were a bit more benign. Most of the scoring rounds in the mid 60s came from the morning wave, with the greens soft and receptive and the wind down. It got tougher as the day wore on for everyone but Kaymer it seems. Now, the German will be out early on Friday with a chance to extend his margin before the chasers ever get to the first tee. He goes off at 7:47 a.m. ET with Ted Potter, Jr. and Darren Clarke.

The marquee cluster in the morning will be out from 8:08 to 8:39 a.m., with headliners like Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar playing in the morning. All four of those players started the tournament with a chance to get to No. 1 in the world, but only Bubba put himself in adequate position with his 3-under round of 69. Kuchar and Stenson still have a chance to make a move before the midpoint, while Scott had one of his worst rounds in years with three double bogeys. Only four players had a worse score than the Aussie’s 5-over 77. He needs to get going right out of the gate, and probably has to post a round close to 65 to make the cut.

When the TV cameras come on in the afternoon, all those big names at 5-over will get to work on chasing down the lead. Spieth will tee off with Zach Johnson and Graeme McDowell at 1:28 p.m., one spot ahead of Rose and Rory McIlroy. The Ulsterman played well enough in his opening round, getting in at 3-under. But he dropped two shots over his last seven holes and came away frustrated again by the Pete Dye design. Adding his name to the mix would be another huge boost for the Tour heading into the weekend, and his form suggests that a mid-60s round is right there for the former No. 1. Mickelson’s position, at 3-over, is much more die and he’ll tee off just 10 minutes after Rory at 1:49 p.m. ET.

Here’s the full tee sheet for the second round at The Players: