Ladies European Tour: Tour rookie Mallory Blackwelder, a Nicholasville native who played at Kentucky, shot a 2-under 71 and is tied for third place at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open.
"I played well today so my goal for the next two days is to keep doing what I'm doing," she said. "I think the course sets up great for me."
Denmark's Iben Tinning set a course record with a 5-under-par 68. She leads Ireland's Hazel Kavanagh by a shot.
PGA European Tour: Fredrik Andersson Hed shot 6-under 66 at the Italian Open to build a one-shot lead over a five-man group that includes Miguel Angel Jimenez.
The biggest story of the weekend, though, might be 17-year-old phenom Matteo Manassero. Making his professional debut, the Italian shot a second straight 2-under 70 and is only four shots off the lead.
"I am dreaming a little about winning this tournament and if I keep playing like this I could be close," Manassero said.
Scheduling could become something of a problem for Manassero if he finishes in the top 10 and qualifies to play in next week's Mallorca Open. The high school student is due back in Verona next week for final exams.
Lee Westwood tries to peak for the biggest tournaments. And while he doesn't put The Players Championship in his top five, it's big enough that he is playing some of his best golf going into the weekend.
Westwood ran off three straight birdies to start his back nine Friday at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on his way to a 7-under 65 to build a one-shot lead over Heath Slocum, Francesco Molinari and Ryuji Imada.
"As you get older, it gets harder to peak all the time when you want to," said Westwood, a 37-year-old Englishman. "You have to pick and choose your ones, and you want to play well in the biggest tournaments. And this is one of the biggest tournaments."
There's a chance it might finally start playing like one.
Westwood was at 12-under 132, the lowest score to lead after 36 holes at The Players Championship since 1994, when Greg Norman was at 14 under on his way to setting the 72-hole record.
But as the wind picked up and the temperatures rose late in the afternoon, there were signs that the TPC Sawgrass was starting to get firm after two days of relatively soft conditions.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be around for the weekend, which is about all that could be said for golf's two biggest stars. Woods overcame one tee shot that flew off to the right at a 45-degree angle and gave him double bogey for a 1-under 71. Mickelson flirted with the cut line late in the day until making a tough chip look easy for birdie on the 16th. He shot a 71.
They were at 3-under 141, nine shots behind.
That might be too far back on a course where there already have been 73 rounds in the 60s. But with more heat and more wind, the final two days could be as unpredictable as ever.
Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and defending champion Henrik Stenson were among the notables who missed Friday's cut. Stenson, Singh, Angel Cabrera, Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, Camilo Villegas and nine others got knocked out by a single shot — John Merrick's 15-foot birdie putt to end his round.
"I had no idea," Merrick said. "That's the way it works sometimes. Oh well."
Merrick said he's been on the other side plenty of times, "so it happens to everybody."
Ladies European Tour: Tour rookie Mallory Blackwelder, a Nicholasville native who played at the University of Kentucky, shot a 2-under 71 and is tied for third place at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open.
"I played well today so my goal for the next two days is to keep doing what I'm doing," she said. "I think the course sets up great for me."
Denmark's Iben Tinning set a course record with a 5-under-par 68. She leads Ireland's Hazel Kavanagh by a shot.
PGA European Tour: Fredrik Andersson Hed shot 6-under 66 at the Italian Open to build a one-shot lead over a five-man group that includes Miguel Angel Jimenez.
The biggest story of the weekend, though, might be 17-year-old phenom Matteo Manassero. Making his professional debut, the Italian shot a second straight 2-under 70 and is only four shots off the lead.
"I am dreaming a little about winning this tournament and if I keep playing like this I could be close," Manassero said.
Scheduling could become something of a problem for Manassero if he finishes in the top 10 and qualifies to play in next week's Mallorca Open. The high school student is due back in Verona next week for final exams.
