Scottie Scheffler was in some pain during the second round of The Players Championship.
Scottie Scheffler needs neck massage, Biofreeze after “laboring” during The Players
During the second round of The Players Championship, Scottie Scheffler received treatment for what appears to be an ailing neck.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Walking up the par-4 12th, his third hole of the day, Scheffler stopped and spoke with a rules official while rubbing the back of his neck.
He asked the official if he could receive some Biofreeze, according to Sean Martin of the PGA Tour.
Then, two holes later, after making a birdie at the 13th, Scheffler went to sit in a chair beside the 14th tee instead of playing first with the honor. While sitting there, he received a neck massage from a physical therapist, hoping to get it stretched out.
Meanwhile, Scheffler’s playing partners, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, proceeded to tee off while the reigning Players champion received treatment.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today, and I felt a little something in my neck. Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back,” Scheffler explained.
“So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day, I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.
After his five-minute massage on 14, Scheffler stood up, rehearsed a couple of gingerly practice swings, and then hit a 275-yard drive that once again found the fairway. But Scheffler looked to have taken a little bit off on that tee shot at 14.
Still, he gave himself another brilliant opportunity at the 14th, one of the most challenging holes at TPC Sawgrass. He struck his second shot to 19 feet and tapped in for an easy par.
But on the next hole, Scheffler uncharacteristically missed the fairway way left, which led to his first bogey of the day.
On the next tee box, the easy par-5 16th, Scheffler sat down again and received another neck massage. Ironically enough, he was the only player of his group to find the fairway on 16, hitting a 291-yard drive with 286 yards of carry. That led to a birdie, as Scheffler ultimately carded a 3-under 69 on Friday.
He is at 8-under for the championship, six strokes behind Wyndham Clark.
“I did enough today to keep myself somewhat in the tournament, and so that’s really all I could ask for,” Scheffler said.
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler looked off balance all day Friday, shuffling his feet much more than usual. He also rubbed his neck at numerous points in his round, signaling discomfort.
But nothing from his opening round could have foreseen these events.
Scheffler shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday to finish two strokes behind first-round leaders Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele. He did not disclose anything to the media afterward about his neck on Thursday afternoon, saying it has been a “normal week” thus far.
Scheffler also called his first round “stress-free.”
His second round was anything but.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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