THE PLAYERS Championship Round 2: Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia Share the Lead as Justin Thomas Fires 62

Friday at TPC Sawgrass had a little bit of everything: a co-lead shared by two young stars, a former champion who went from the cut line to the record book, and a pack of heavyweights loading up for the weekend.

Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia each shot 6-under 66 to reach 11-under 133 and share the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS Championship. J.J. Spaun, one of Thursday's three co-leaders, shot 68 and sits alone in third at 10 under. Rory McIlroy (68), Collin Morikawa (65) and Alex Smalley (67) are two back at 9 under. Lucas Glover and Will Zalatoris are at 8 under, and two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler is six back after a 70.

Lee Gets Hot, Then Gets Bitten

Lee started on the back nine and opened with a birdie at 10 before running off four straight pars. Then the Australian caught fire, making six birdies over the next nine holes, and nearly made an ace at the 3rd along the way. The only blemish came on his final hole, where Lee made bogey at the par-5 9th, one of the easier holes on the property. It cost him the outright lead, but a 66 that includes a bogey on a par 5 says a lot about how well the rest of the round went.

Bhatia's Creative Finish

Bhatia's path was a little bumpier. Bhatia made eight birdies against two bogeys, and the first of those bogeys came at the 10th when a 9-iron approach drifted into the right rough. What sealed the share of the lead was the closing hole, where Bhatia birdied the 9th with an improvised wedge shot, the kind of touch play that keeps showing up in his game. Bhatia has been within a shot of the lead since Thursday, opening 67-66.

Thomas Writes His Own Comeback Story

The round of the day, and maybe the week, belonged to Justin Thomas. After a 78 on Thursday that included four balls in the water, Thomas went out Friday and shot 10-under 62. He made 11 birdies, a single-round record at THE PLAYERS, and his 62 tied Tom Hoge's 2023 mark for the lowest score in tournament history. He needed just 24 putts, per Field Level Media.

The only hiccup came at the last, where his second shot found the water and he had to scramble for bogey after a penalty drop. It did not matter much. Thomas went from in danger of missing the cut to the weekend, seven shots back.

"Everything seems to happen in mysterious and weird ways," Thomas said, per the AP. "I'm happy I have a tee time tomorrow."

McIlroy and Morikawa Lurk

McIlroy's day was a tale of two stretches. He made six birdies in his first 11 holes and looked ready to take control, then gave shots back with bogeys coming home, including at the 9th. Still, the bigger story might have been off the tee, the part of his game that nearly cost him Thursday.

"I think I hit more fairways in six holes today than I did in 18 yesterday," McIlroy said.

Morikawa got there the fun way. Fresh off a runner-up finish at Bay Hill the week before, Morikawa chipped in for birdie on both the 4th and 5th holes and made nine birdies in all for a 65. "I putted really nicely," Morikawa said. Smalley, quietly, birdied two of his last three holes to join them at 9 under.

Scheffler's 70 kept him on the board but not in the conversation yet. He is still chasing the first three-peat in tournament history, and six shots is a big number with this many good players in front of him.

Who Got Cut and Who Hung On

The cut fell at 1-under 143, and it took some big names with it. Ludvig Aberg, who won The Genesis Invitational a month earlier and is No. 5 in the world, made five double bogeys over two rounds, three of them on Friday, and missed the weekend at 2 over. Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose missed at even par. Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa and Tony Finau are also going home. Wyndham Clark withdrew after nine holes with a neck injury.

Xander Schauffele made it on the number with a 71, stretching his streak to 59 consecutive made cuts on the PGA TOUR, the longest active run and the longest since Tiger Woods' 142. It was not exactly a confident report on his game, though. "But the game feels pretty bad," Schauffele said. Schauffele is two months removed from a rib injury.

Jordan Spieth, eight back, provided the highlight-reel moment of the afternoon when he hit a left-handed shot out of the pine straw on the 18th and still made birdie. Danny Walker, who got into the field Thursday morning when Jason Day withdrew with illness, also made the cut at 1 under.

Wind on the Way

The leaderboard is crowded, but the forecast is what everyone will be watching. Saturday was expected to bring gusts up to around 25 to 30 mph, and wind at TPC Sawgrass has a way of turning a tight leaderboard into a scattered one in a hurry. Eight players are within three shots of the lead, and the pair at the top is chasing a signature title. Saturday will reveal who can still hit the island green when it is moving.

For how it started, read our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's second-round wrap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (second-round wrap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.