Justin Thomas offers the course record, Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia with the players

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (AP) -Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia shared the lead at the player championship with strong wind with strong wind in the forecast and the potential for a wide-open chase. This includes Justin Thomas, the biggest surprise on Friday.

Thomas opened with a 78 and was opened in 134 when he set up the tournament record with 11 birdies. A bogey from the water on the 18th hole forced him to be satisfied with a 10-below 62 player to bind the player record with Tom Hoge.

“Everything seems to happen in mysterious and strange ways,” said Thomas and unclear whether he spoke to his round or golf game.

Lee made a sloppy bogey in his last hole on the ninth Par-5. Bhatia became creative with a wedge to make Birdie on the ninth. Both had a 66 and were in the lead for the tour of 11th. 133.

Thomas was seven shots behind and not the slightest of the deficit.

“I am glad that I have a T -shirt tomorrow,” said Thomas. “I played at one point against everyone.”

Thomas witnessed the only other 62 in the TPC Sawgrass because he played with Hoge that day in 2023. He forgot that until he hugged a picture on the video board behind the 17th green and hugged Hoge.

From the right diamond on the 18th, it was planned to beat it under the trees at about 20 meters in front of the green. But the thick grass grabbed his club and turned it to the left, and the ball raced into the water through the fairway.

Thomas took back a penalty, scored a lover on 2 feet for Bogey and at least shared the brand.

He had some wild fluctuations in the scores on consecutive days and remembered the 67-80, which he had at the British Open 2017 in Royal Birkdale.

“This is much cooler,” he said.

Now comes the difficult part. The TPC Sawgrass can be discouraging under all conditions, but the 25 mile gusts awaited the stadium place to a real thrill on Saturday – and the possibility of a Sunday of wind and rain.

JJ Spaun had a 68 and was a shot behind it.

During his morning round, Rory McIlroy was at the head of the ranking, in which six birdies contained in 11 holes, only because of his swing. He had a few bogeys over the final stretch, the last on the ninth Par-5, for a 68 to cover two shots.

“I think I met more fairways in six holes today than in 18 yesterday,” said Mcilroy. “I brought it into play much better and then I was able to give myself some options and obviously make some birdies early. Couldn't go on to the back nine, but it was much better from the tee. “

Collin Morikawa, the runner -up in Bay Hill last week, who brought twice in a round of 65 in his nine birdies, was also a shot with Alex Smalley, who bird two of his last three holes for a 67 holes.

“I can't say that I drove great and hit the ball astonishingly, but I really only used it when I took good pictures,” said Morikawa. “I really grabbed. Besides, I didn't try to fight myself too much. I knew that it wasn't exactly as I did and you were only due. “

The two -time defending champion Scottie Scheffler had to be satisfied with 70 and was six shots behind him, who were still a lot in the mix, since he retired on the last day of five on the last day.

The 36-hole cut fluctuated all afternoon with some wild layers and a lot of emotion. The cut was 1 under 143.

Xander Schauffele made it to the number and expanded its cut strips on the PGA tour to 59, the longest active stripes since Tiger Woods (142) from 1998 to 2005.

This required that the PGA and British Open Champion hammered a hybrid on the ninth in its last hole and two putting for birdie and 71 on the green. It sounded like a small consolation for Schauffele, which had only returned from two months last week when she had a rib injury healed.

“Not close enough to hide, to silence chips, to miss every fairway, to beat fairways, miss the greens. It's pretty disgusting to be honest, ”he said. “So if I can get this cut out, it would be nice. But the game feels pretty bad. “

Danny Walker also gets a weekend -T -shirt after starting the week whether he would play at all. He only got into the field on Thursday morning when Jason Day withdrew with an illness. One of 26 newcomers on the field, Walker, stressed the last hole to end with 1 and had to wait an hour to see if he would be able to do it.

Among the missing people belonged to Ludvig Aberg, who won the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines last month and is number 5 in the world. He had five double bogeys in two rounds, three of them on Friday.

Jordan Spieth had another wild trip, to which a shot on the left of the pine straw was hit on the left of the fifth Fairway. Spieth was on the cutting line late in the day when he met in 17th place on the island green and then bent a journey on the 18th Fairway, which led to Birdie and 71, who brought him back eight shots.

Divots: Wyndham Clark retired with a neck injury after nine holes. … six PGA Tour winners this year did not make the cut, including Hideki Matsuyama.

Further golf reporting from the Dallas Morning News can be found here.