“This had to have been an incredibly frustrating day for Rory McIlroy.” – Roger Maltbie
“The story of the day is Wyndham Clark. We’ve highlighted not just the kind of player that he is, but the kind of competitor that he is as well. It was exemplified very clearly today.” – Paul McGinley on Live From The PLAYERS
“I was so mad, I walked all the way to the clubhouse…I still have the same driver shaft. It didn’t break and it’s still in play.” – Keith Mitchell on his viral driver smash in 2023 PLAYERS during “Fridays With Smylie”
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 15, 2024 – NBC Sports presented comprehensive of the second round of The PLAYERS Championship from The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on GOLF Channel and Peacock. Golf Central Live From The PLAYERS followed with post-round coverage.
Dan Hicks, Mike Tirico and Steve Sands handled play-by-play duties, while Brad Faxon, Gary Koch and Notah Begay III served as analysts. John Wood, Roger Maltbie and Curt Byrum served as on-course reporters, while Damon Hack handled reports and interviews.
Today’s coverage included the latest edition of NBC Sports’ “Fridays with Smylie,” as Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner provided commentary from alongside the iconic 17th hole. Kaufman and Kisner were also joined by Keith Mitchell and Brian Harman for portions of the coverage.
Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley anchored Live From The PLAYERS post-round coverage. Following are notes and quotes from today’s coverage.
PLAYERS Championship – Second Round Leaderboard
| Player | Total |
| Wyndham Clark | -14 |
| Xander Schauffele | -10 |
| Nick Taylor | -10 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | -9 |
| Maverick McNealy | -9 |
“FRIDAYS WITH SMYLIE” ON 17TH HOLE
Kisner on the 17th hole: “I lost my breath just walking across the tee here, just the nerves of the hole and the stadium that they build around it…today we have about as benign conditions as possible with no wind and soft greens, but you’re still one bad swing away from reteeing or heading to the drop zone.”
Mitchell on his viral video moment of slamming his driver down as the horn sounded for weather in 2023: “There are a lot of loud noises in that clip – my drive, the smash against the ground, the horn, the splash in the water. I was so mad, I walked all the way to the clubhouse…I don’t care if I get struck by lightning right now, I’m walking into the clubhouse…I still have the same driver shaft. It didn’t break and it’s still in play.”
Kisner to Harman: “How nice is it that you get to sit here and you don’t have to play 10 more holes like Tyson Alexander does?”
Harman: “The way you can play this golf course on Friday morning instead of on Friday afternoon is a big deal. This place gets so scary late Friday afternoon.”
GARY KOCH ON THE “BETTER THAN MOST” PUTT
Koch on what most fans don’t know about his famous call: “Most of the times that you hear the call, you don’t hear what Johnny Miller asks me initially. As the ball takes off – and Johnny always had a habit of bringing us in without us really knowing it was going to come – Tiger’s ball rolls about six to eight feet off the putter and I hear, ‘How’s that look, Gary?’ And that was the first ‘better than most,’ because it was farther left than any other putt I had seen to that point.”
ON WYNDHAM CLARK (-14, Leader)
Tirico: “Forty-five weeks ago, Wyndham Clark was a good player with talent who we were all wondering when he was going to break through. Clark, now a confident, Ryder Cup-er, is a threat when he is at the top of the board.”
Clark to Tirico on his mentality on today’s round: “On this golf course you have to be mentally tough, because the minute you let go and lose your focus, you’ll find yourself in a tough spot. Any time I did lose my focus I was able to bring it back to the present and hit a good shot.”
McGinley on Live From: “The story of the day is Wyndham Clark. We’ve highlighted not just the kind of player that he is, but the kind of competitor that he is as well. It was exemplified very clearly today. If he comes out with that kind of focus and intensity…he could well be the winner here.”
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-8, T-6th)
Begay III on Scheffler, who was dealing with neck discomfort: “We are used to seeing his footwork be all over the place but he’s imbalanced. Compensation is going on just trying to keep the club face square at impact and get the ball out into the short stuff.”
ON RORY MCILROY (-6, T-13th)
Hicks: “Rory has had to use everything in the bag and in his mind today to stay focused.”
Maltbie: “This had to have been an incredibly frustrating day for Rory.”
ON BRIAN HARMAN (-7, T-10th)
Begay III: “He plays very mistake-free, efficient golf and when he does get in trouble, he’s got a plan to get himself out of it by making a big putt.”
ON MATT FITZPATRICK (-9, T-4th)
Chamblee on Live From: “I’ve lost my keys, I’ve misplaced my phone a time or two, but I’ve never forgotten a weight under my grip…he drove it like a god today. He’s back.”
--NBC SPORTS--