Rory McIlroy misses cut as Adam Svensson holds lead at The Players Championship from Scottie Scheffler

Rory McIlroy will have Sunday off after missing the cut at The Players Championship.

His second round on Friday was cut short by bad weather in Florida, and he returned on Saturday morning looking to make a charge on the back nine.

With benign conditions favourable for scoring, McIlroy had every chance to make up the lost ground but was unable to bend TPC Sawgrass to his will and missed the cut by three shots after finishing at five-over.

McIlroy has looked jaded all week and his tournament was summed up on the 18th, as his tee shot went miles right, he caught a tree with his second shot, hit an excellent third but missed the putt and made bogey.

It will be a case of resetting, recharging the batteries and preparing for the opening major of the year at The Masters next month.

After missing the cut for the first time since August, McIlroy said: “Just very blah.

“The course, you just have to be really on to play well here. If you’re a little off, it definitely magnifies where you are off. It is, it’s a bit of an enigma. Some years I come here, and like it feels easier than others.

Second Round Leaderboard

• 1. Adam Svensson, nine-under
• 2. Scottie Scheffler, seven-under
• T3. Ben Griffin, six-under
• T3. Min Woo Lee, six-under
• T3. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, six-under
• T3. Collin Morikawa, six-under
• T7. Cam Davis, five-under
• T7. Chad Ramey, five-under

“It’s just a tricky golf course, you don’t hit fairways and you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Adam Svensson will take a two-stroke lead into the final two rounds after carding a 67 to get to nine-under.

The Canadian had a huge break on his final hole, as his tee shot went way right and it disappeared amongst a group of portable toilets and a hospitality facility.

Luckily, Svensson’s caddie was not afraid of heights as he climbed up and found the ball. He was given a free drop and took advantage of the break to fire his approach to seven feet and hole the putt.

World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler is an imposing figure at the top of the leaderboard, as the Masters champion added a 69 to his opening 68 to sit a seven-under.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout returned on Saturday morning to complete his round with the lead at eight-under, but the South African did not cash in on the scoring-friendly conditions as he slipped back to six-under.

It was a roller-coaster round for Tommy Fleetwood, but he made four birdies on the back nine to card a 70 to get safely into the final two rounds at two-under.