Matt Fitzpatrick is taking the scenic route.

From the rough he finds the pampas grass besides the green and that could mean trouble... the Englishman has a right good hack at it, and does very well.

He sinks a seven-footer and saves the par.

Lee Westwood gives himself a look at birdie from nine feet... but was never on line, just wriggling to the left of the cup. It's as you were for the leader, but probably a shot left out there.

A rare weak putt from Paul Casey today. He's on the par-three seventh standing over a birdie putt from about 25 feet. But he's not given that enough ooomph, the ball pulling up a couple of feet short.

Back on the sixth, Jon Rahm, from a similar distance, hits the exact same putt.

And it's catching. Up on the 13th, Justin Thomas has nailed his tee shot to eight feet but he too can't hit his putt hard enough.

All in for pars.

Here comes Bryson.

DeChambeau enjoyed a right tussle with Lee Westwood at Bay Hill last week, eventually coming out on top, and he's closing in on the Englishman again here at Sawgrass.

It's a second birdie of the day for the American, this one at four, and he's up to eight under par and just one shot back.

Uh oh. Dustin Johnson is going for a swim at 17.

The Masters champ gets an awkward break as his tee shot skips on to the back of the green and finds its way into the water.

Not quite been the world number one's week, he was off the pace at one under before splashing down at 17...

Driver not quite warmed up for Matt Fitzpatrick so far. He's in the longer grass off the tee at the par-five second. Lee Westwood is on the opposite side of the fairway. Glorious conditions in Florida at the minute.

Justin Thomas is on the 12th. If ever there was a birdie hole, this is it today. It's playing just 289 yards.

There is risk though. A tugged shot by a right-hander will find a sinuous bunker, while an outright pull will end up wet.

Thomas is 10 yards short of the green but overcooks his chip on and leaves himself a speedy 20-footer down the hill. His ball is tracking well, but he's given that a fraction too much and the ball lips out.

Jon Rahm is continuing to go well though. The Spaniard has just holed from 20 feet on the fifth for birdie and has another chance on the sixth from similar distance...

Nicely tidied up by Lee Westwood to open with a par and maintain his one-stroke lead. Matt Fitzpatrick follows suit.

DeChambeau and Hoffman are both through the par-three third in level - DeChambeau left his birdie putt just short while Hoffman went up and down for three. They're breathing down the leaders' necks...

Lee Westwood has a view of the flag through the trees. "Get there..." he tells it. It's not bad, coming high off the bat through the branches and pulling up just shy of the dance floor.

Matt Fitzpatrick has a better lie and cups one to the back of the green, finding the bank and watching it slide back down towards the pin. Lovely.

Fitzpatrick has Billy Foster on his bag today, Westwood's former caddie... should know the Yorkshireman's playing partner pretty well then.

Stop it Paul Casey. The Englishman makes it a group of five on eight under par and just one behind Lee Westwood with a beautifully judged 20-footer on the sixth.

Right, here come the leaders...

Lee Westwood might be wishing he could rewind 30 seconds and have another crack at that. He finds the trees off the tee with his driver.

Matt Fitzpatrick has also gone left and comes to a halt on the bark flanking the rough. Not the ideal start.

Justin Thomas is birdie-hunting again, this time on the par-five 11th after a wonderful 3-wood trickles up on to the green.

He can't make the 31-foot eagle putt but leaves himself a tap-in birdie.

Meanwhile, back on the fourth, world number two Jon Rahm is also enjoying a decent start. He holes his second birdie of the round to get to six under.

Bryson DeChambeau is off the mark at the second.

He leaked an approach to the left of the green at the par-five, watching it slide off down the slope, but is up and down in two for his first birdie of the day.

Charley Hoffman has also come out flying. The American eyes up an eagle putt and pops it down at the second attempt for back-to-back birdies.

While Rory McIlroy struggled, several Europeans have made an excellent start to the tournament, none more so than Lee Westwood, who finished runner-up to DeChambeau at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The former world number one carded a sensational bogey-free six-under 66 to move into the halfway lead at Sawgrass.

He started on the 10th and quickly improved his overnight score of three under with birdies on his first two holes.

The winner of the European Tour's Race to Dubai in 2020 had three more birdies in succession from the second and holed his sixth of the round on the par-five ninth.

"I felt in control," said the 47-year-old on Sky Sports. "I drove the ball well, iron shots were good, I hit lovely pitches and chips and kept the momentum going in a carefree round, I was in the zone.

"I liken this to Augusta in that there are certain places to hit the ball and certain places to miss. I feel comfortable when I walk out on this golf course."

Proof, if it was needed, that Bryson DeChambeau's big-hitting approach is having an impact on the rest of the field, with Rory McIlroy saying trying to emulate the American's power has been "detrimental" to his game.

Four-time major winner McIlroy failed to defend his Players Championship title as he missed the cut on Friday after finishing at 10 over par.

The Northern Irishman says he has tried to add speed to his swing in order to hit the ball further.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't anything to do with what Bryson did at the US Open," said the 31-year-old.

"I think a lot of people saw that and were like, 'if this is the way they're going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps'. It really helps.

"I thought being able to get some more speed is a good thing, and maybe to the detriment of my swing, I got there, but I just need to maybe rein it back in a little bit."

Image source, Getty Images

On the tee....

Sergio Garcia led on seven under after the first round and closed on Friday with a superb birdie on the par-four 18th, after almost holing his second shot.

His erratic level-par round featured five bogeys - one after he missed a par putt from inside two feet on the 15th - three birdies and a tap-in eagle on the par-five 11th.

"It was a hard day," said the Spaniard. "There were a lot of good things and a lot of bad things. I obviously didn't play as well as in round one but I fought through it and tried not to shoot myself out of the tournament.

"I'm happy with 72 because I was two over with three to play."

Brian Harman, take a bow.

That is magical from the left-hander, wedging his approach from the first fairway to within a putter's length and watching it wriggle all the way into the cup to open with an eagle. It takes him to eight under, one stroke off the lead.

Image source, EPA

Bryson DeChambeau started the day at six under, found the fairway with his driver off the first tee and eventually scuttled in a par putt.

He's out with Charley Hoffman, who has sunk a wonderful long-range birdie to kick his round off in perfect fashion - that was a beaut.

DeChambeau was not happy with his performance on Friday and said he was heading for a 90-minute practice session after his round.

"I'm not hitting it the best but I was able to scrap it round," he said yesterday. "I hit my driver perfectly one hole and then pretty far right the next. I just have to focus on putting the ball in play.

"I'm happy with the fact that I've still been able to keep myself in it and score well. I've been pretty lucky, for the most part."

Image source, EPA

Australia's Cameron Smith is already back in the hutch and he has shown there are birdies (and eagles) to be had out there today.

Smith, who finished runner-up to Dustin Johnson in the Masters back in November, has equalled the lowest round of the week with a seven-under-par 65 - and that's despite a double-bogey six on the par-four 10th.

He atoned for that with an eagle two on the par-four 12th, which is playing just 289 yards today. Smith's tee shot pulled up just short of the green, but he holed out from 50 feet or so.

He only just crept into the weekend on the cut mark of level par, but this has catapulted him right up to joint third.

What a start for Paul Casey. It's raining birdies out there at the moment. The Englishman has just sunk one on four to add to his eagle at the par-five second.

He's within two.