As Germany's Martin Kaymer followed up on his first-round record 63 on Thursday in The Players Championship at Sawgrass with a 69, Rory McIlroy ominously slipped backwards in his second round and through 10 holes yesterday sat five shots outside the projected cut line.

The former PGA champion, Kaymer, shot a nine-under 63 in round one and dropped an additional three strokes yesterday to post a clubhouse lead of 12 under par. He had a 29 on the back on Thursday, the first player in the 32-year history at Sawgrass to break 30 on either nine.

Comfortably finished
Jim Furyk comfortably finished his second round and followed up on a first day 70 with a 68 to go to six under and six shots off Kaymer's score.

The 20-year-old American Jordan Speith was nine under through 11 holes, Gary Woodland eight under through 10 holes, Russell Henley eight under through 12 holes and Geoff Ogilvy eight under through eight holes.

It was McIlroy’s front nine that caught the eye for all of the wrong reasons and as Graeme McDowell successfully picked his way around the course and dropped his fair share of medium and long putts, the hopes of McIlroy faded badly in an ugly run of five holes early in the round.

The US Open and US PGA winner bogeyed the third, fourth and fifth holes and then double bogeyed the 393 yard par four sixth after he played out of a bunker only to place his ball behind a greenside tree.

Even then there was little respite as once again he struggled with the short putting part of his game, a six footer lipping out on the seventh hole and another bogey carded.

The card wrecking run of holes from three to seven cost McIlroy six shots as he plunged from minus figures and well inside the projected cut line of one under or better to four over through seven holes.

Steadied the ship
While the 25-year-old steadied the ship to par the eighth and ninth holes, he turned with a 42 and a mountain to climb on the back nine needing to shoot 31 or 32 to survive.

But there was little sign of the agony of McIlroy’s troubled face on that of McDowell.

The older of the two Ulstermen carded three birdies on the front nine and just one bogey on the par four fifth hole. It moved him from an overnight three under par to a healthy five under through 10 holes before a bogey on 11 knocked him one back.