PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Scottie Scheffler had his 25th consecutive round under par Friday in The Players Championship, but it was hard work. He felt pain in his neck that required treatment on the course, and he struggled to swing – and to stay within range of Wyndham Clark.

That turned out to be the goal for everyone.

Clark was playing in the group behind, oblivious to Scheffler’s injury or anything else. He ran off four straight birdies on the front nine and finished with a 7-under 65, leaving him one shot short of the 36-hole record at the TPC Sawgrass.

He had a four-shot lead over Xander Schauffele (69) and Nick Taylor (68), who played in the afternoon and had to cope with warm, breezy conditions on greens that remained surprisingly soft on the Stadium Course.

Scheffler was simply happy to be done. He felt something wrong on his fourth full swing of the day, a shot that went left on the par-5 11th that kept him from a good look at birdie. He got treatment before his tee shots on three straight holes but managed a 3-under 69 for a two-day total of 8-under 136.

“I felt a little something in my neck, and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back,” Scheffler said through a PGA Tour official. “So I got some treatment, maybe loosened it up a tiny bit. But most of the day, I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.”

Clark is proving each week to be a serious challenger.

The U.S. Open champion shot 60 at Pebble Beach to win in 54 holes because of weather, and he was the only player who mounted any challenge against Scheffler at Bay Hill last week, finishing as the runner-up.

He got through the back nine on another calm, sunny morning in 1 under and then started hitting everything close to perfect – a wedge to 18 inches on No. 1, a simple up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 second, a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third and a wedge to 4 feet on the fourth hole.

“I’m just super excited that kind of had a ho-hum front nine and then turned and really just got into a nice zone and felt really good on the greens and shot an awesome number,” Clark said.

He closed with a birdie for a 30 on the front nine and was at 14-under 130.

Schauffele has only one blunder through 36 holes, a hybrid he hit into the water on the par-5 11th that led to double bogey. He got that back with a 7-iron into the par-5 16th for eagle and at least worked his way into the final group.

“I want to be in the final group as often as possible, especially being four shots back,” Schauffele said.

Taylor had three bogeys but each time answered with a birdie to stay in the mix.

Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick had a double bogey on No. 4 that slowed his momentum. He had to settle for a 69 and was five shots behind, along with Maverick McNealy, who finished an opening-round 67 in the morning and followed with a 68.

Scheffler was tied for sixth, and by the sound of it, he was happy to be there.

“I did enough to keep myself somewhat in the tournament, and so that’s really all I could ask for,” Scheffler said. “The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing. So yeah, good fight out there.”

Scheffler converted two of his four birdie chances at the start, but then he walked briskly up the hill toward the 14th tee with his physio, Marnus Marais. He sat on a chair behind the 14th tee with Marais working on him.

Scheffler drilled his drive down the middle and had a 20-foot birdie chance. Then he walked through the palmetto bushes, away from spectators, for more work. Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler hit their tee shots and waited on Scheffler. The same scene played out after the 15th.

Rory McIlroy, who started the day tied for the lead with Clark and Schauffele, dropped eight shots off the pace with a 1-over 73. His round included four bogeys and a double bogey.