So far this week, only a Larchorn has managed to shake the Rory Mcilroy cage. Unfortunately for Scottie Scheffler, he was a child who was expelled from here on Tuesday.
Mcilroy was practicing before this year's players championship when he sent a trip to the water. “Like 2011 in Augusta,” someone shouted.
It was a reference to Mcilroy's collapse in the Masters. It was made by Luke Potter, a star golfer for the Longhorns of the University of Texas.
He was escorted and wrote a letter of apology to Mcilroy. But not before the Northern Irishman broke, and briefly caught his phone.
Scheffler, on the other hand, has sat on Mcilroy's shoulder during the last two days. The 28 -year -old graduate from the University of Texas. He mixed with Potter before this tournament and, according to the reports, he transmitted some crumbs of wisdom.
However, since then, Scheffler has simply observed how Mcilroy marched towards the top of the classification.
Scottie Scheffler faces a uphill battle to win a third championship crown of consecutive players
The world no 1 loaded a second round 70 that included five birdies and three bogeys
Going to the weekend, Scheffler sits four shots behind the world No 2 Rory Mcilroy
Going to the weekend, Scheffler is five bass: four shots of his rival and six of the leader of the Casa Club Min Woo Lee. His hopes of a historic three mobs seem to fade in the sun of Florida.
This was a story similar to Thursday's opening round. Nothing was disastrously bad, since the world did not fire a 70 that included five birdies and three bogeys.
But it was another day that Scheffler could not set fire or mask his frustration. After missing a torque putt in the third of the pair, his 12th hole of the day, leaned down at his waist and put his hand to his face.
In the sixth, he found the bunker outside the Tee and then observed his lip of Putt's torque off the hole. The world no 1 shook his head and looked at the floor.
In the penultimate hole of this second round, the cameras caught Scheffler reprimanding; When his Putt Birdie was lost by millimeters in the last, he could only let an ironic smile escape.
“The last two days I felt that I could have obtained much better: the amount of good putts that I hit that simply announced the hole,” Scheffler said.
'Sometimes last year those were the putts that would enter, and the last weeks seem not to have been.
Fortunately for the world no 1? Lee and Mcilroy had a late wobble and the weekend prognosis, strong winds and rain, should add another unpredictability layer to the procedures.
Mcilroy stole a fan's phone earlier of the week after being devils during a practice round
This was another day that Scheffler did not caught fire, or masked his frustration in Florida
Then, only a fool would rule out Scheffler from here. This time last year, he had six shots of leadership and breastfeeding a doubtful neck. Neither prevented him from winning consecutive titles.
'Having that on the back of my head is always a good thing. I don't have to play perfect golf to try to win tournaments, “said the world number 1. “So, if there is a day when I am not balancing it so well or things simply feel, I can remind myself at times like that.”
Scheffler matched the greatest return and the lowest closing round by a winner of this tournament.
As for Mcilroy? No one needs to remind him of his own story either. As Potter tried to point out, the Northern Irishman is forming when it comes to error, discarding promising positions.
Mcilroy finally returned the young man's phone. Only time will say if he and the other front corridors renounce the initiative in TPC Sawgrass.
“I really want to try to climb the classification during the weekend,” Scheffler said.
'It will be quite challenging this weekend. The golf course was definitely getable for the first two days. I could not take advantage of it as I had expected, but upon entering tomorrow and Sunday, there are definitely some opportunities there. '