Harrington and McIlroy exit Sawgrass

Lee Westwood soared into the halfway lead at The Players Championship in Florida while Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy both missed the cut.

Europe’s number one, who has been part of the field at Sawgrass only three times in the last seven years, added a sparkling 65 to his opening 67 for a halfway total of 132 which was only two outside Greg Norman’s tournament record.

With Phil Mickelson, the man who pushed him into second place at The Masters, and world number one Tiger Woods deep in the pack, Westwood now looks a good bet for his first win in America since 1998.

Nor is Westwood under threat from last week’s Quail Hollow winner McIlroy or three-time major winner Harrington who both missed the cut.

Meanwhile, there was every chance they would be joined by Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

A first prize of more than €1.3m is on offer this weekend and deep into the second day Westwood was one ahead of Italian Francesco Molinari and Japan’s Ryuji Imada.

Third, third and second in the last three majors, the Worksop golfer said: “I keep coming back. Don’t keep knocking me – I’m not going to go away.

“I’m just going to keep trying until one of them goes my way.”

He does not rate The Players the “unofficial fifth major” that it is so often called, but did say: “A victory here would be incredibly important. You get that sort of tingle when it’s getting close.”

He did not play last year, however, because he did not want another trip to the United States after playing in Korea just before. This time he warmed up in North Carolina and after taking a share of third spot on the opening day he stepped up the pace with an eagle and six birdies.

The eagle came with a brilliant drive and five-iron to three feet on the 16th, the hole where he had been in the water for a bogey six on his previous visit. Molinari, who chose the event ahead of his home Italian Open, matched Westwood’s 66, while Imada shot 66.

Woods, who missed the cut by eight shots last week, hit ugly drives on the 11th and 14th and dropped three strokes on them, but he also had four birdies in a weird six-hole stretch. Three under at the turn he had hopes of making up more lost ground on the front nine, but could not make any further progress and so will start his third round nine adrift. At least he had stayed around for 36 more holes, though, and avoided what would have been a second successive early exit for the first time in his career.

“I wasn’t quite as sharp,” he said after what was only his eighth round since the sex scandal which sent him into hiding in November. It’s still a process. The three-wood on 14 (into water) I tried to stop, but I got to the point where I couldn’t.

“I felt like I putted better, but unfortunately I was just a little bit too far away from the holes.”

McIlroy missed the cut on his debut last year and said after a 72 for one over: “You can’t see fairways when you are on the tee and I find it hard to line up.”

The event is held on the same course each year and when reminded he had better get used to it now he is in the world’s top 10 the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland replied: “If it wasn’t a 9 1/2 million dollar event I might not have to.”

Harrington finished on the same mark, running up a double bogey at the sixth – his 15th – when his shot from a bunker finished high up in a palm tree and could not be identified.

That said, the Dubliner commented: “A three-putt on the 11th (for a par) cost me dearly. Things didn’t really go my way, not that I played fantastic.”

Mickelson, needing a win with Woods outside the first five to take the number one spot for the first time, parred the first eight holes to remain two under – the expected cut line – while Luke Donald, level with Westwood overnight, was still five under after five.

McIlroy’s fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell had overtaken him by then with a superb 65 that lifted him from level par to seven under and joint ninth spot.

At one under after two days playing with Woods Match Play champion Poulter was hoping the scores would go up sufficiently to enable him to squeeze through, but Justin Rose finished level par after going in the water on the last and bogeying.

Oliver Wilson and Ross Fisher both stood four under and Brian Davis three under with five to go, while despite his seven at the short 17th yesterday Greg Owen still had a chance to make it at level par after 11 holes.

Scot Martin Laird, though, was three over after six and Casey two over after eight.