McIlroy struggled off the tee and on the greens during an erratic opening-round 76 at the PGA Tour's flagship event, with the world No 3 sitting on six over for the tournament and five strokes outside the projected cut when thunderstorms brought an early end to Friday's play.

The 33-year-old returned on Saturday morning to finish his final eight holes and started with a birdie at the par-five 11th, although hopes of making it through ended with a run of four consecutive pars on his back nine before a tap-in birdie at the par-five 16th.

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McIlroy then signed off a frustrating week with a final-hole bogey to close a one-over 73, seeing him miss the cut at a PGA Tour event for the first time since July and the sixth time in his Players Championship career.

Adam Svensson grabbed a two-shot lead on nine under at the halfway stage, with world No 2 Scottie Scheffler in second spot and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa in tied-third on six under alongside Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee and Ben Griffin.

How Svensson set Sawgrass pace

Svensson, holding a share of the overnight lead, missed a 12-foot par to save par at the third - his opening hole of the day - but rolled in from a similar distance to birdie the fifth and get back to eight under.

Bezhuidenhout bogeyed the seventh when he found trees off the tee and slipped into the group two off the lead when he bogeyed the par-five ninth, while Scheffler opened his day with a birdie at the par-five 11th to also get into the group on six under.

Scheffler squandered a great opportunity at the 16th but tapped in for birdie to get within one of the lead, while Svensson recovered from getting free relief near a tent at the par-five ninth to make an unlikely birdie and extend his advantage.

"I feel like it's coming around," Svensson said after his second-round 67. "I've been putting pretty well the last couple weeks. This is my first time in my career I've felt confident with the putter, and it's been awesome."

Just 11 strokes separate the 75 players who made the cut, with Shane Lowry and 2021 champion Justin Thomas among those to progress on the cut-mark on two over.

The third round will be played in threesomes and with a two-tee start, with organisers hoping to get 54 holes completed by Saturday evening to get the tournament back on schedule ahead of the final round.

Watch The Players throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the third round continues all day Saturday on Sky Sports Golf, with bonus feeds and action available via the red button.