Wyndham Clark takes control of The Players as Scottie Scheffler's title defense hangs by a thread after world No 1 is hit by neck injury at Sawgrass

‘Borderline unfair’. That was the prognosis from Wyndham Clark last week. That was how he saw life on tour should Scottie Scheffler find a way to cure his woes on the green.

Wounds were still raw following the mauling Clark and Co had taken at Bay Hill, where the world No 1 putted the life out of his competition. It was merciless and it was ominous.

‘I never want to wish ill on anybody,’ Clark said. ‘But…’ Well, genie or no genie, strife arrived at Scheffler’s door on Friday.

The defending champion, who is bidding become the first player ever to retain this title, spent much of his second round of nursing a neck problem. He needed treatment mid-round. He tried to relieve the pain, time and again, by tilting and rolling his head.

‘I hit a shot on my second hole today and 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,’ he revealed afterwards. ‘Most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me.’

Wyndham Clark took control of The Players with a second successive 65 at TPC Sawgrass

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler needed treatment on a neck injury during Friday's second round

There had been no warning but soon there were fears his title defense could end inside two rounds. And yet? Scheffler still shot a three-under par 69. That left him six off the lead on a day when Clark threatened to end this competition before the weekend.

‘I did enough to keep myself somewhat in the tournament, that's really all I could ask for,’ Scheffler conceded. ‘I didn't know if I was going to be able to continue playing… hopefully it'll loosen up and then I'll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.’

It was the reigning US Open champion who clung closest to Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. At TPC Sawgrass, it was Scheffler’s turn to hang on.

Clark finished with a second successive 65 that included a six-under par 30 on his back nine – he started on hole 10. That gave him a clubhouse advantage of five shots just as Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele – his fellow overnight leaders – were starting their second rounds. ‘I got into a nice zone… and shot an awesome number,’ he said.

Clark, the reigning US Open champion, hit seven birdies in his last 11 holes of the second round

Scheffler, who is bidding to defend the title in Florida, clung on with a three-under par 69

To think there was a time when this course gave him ‘fits’ and the ‘heebie-jeebies’. He has been disqualified (for signing an incorrect scorecard) and endured back-to-back missed cuts. The low point in his putting? Here, last year.

This week, meanwhile, Clark’s preparation was hampered by soreness and a couple of changes to his hotel room. Not that it has showed.

On Friday, having gone level par through the first seven holes, Clark exploded. Six birdies arrived in the next eight holes as he pulled clear of the pack. Another came on the final hole. Borderline unfair? Even a fully-firing Scheffler would have struggled to keep pace.

Clark claimed afterwards that he was unaware of the world No 1’s struggles in the group ahead. ‘I've been really focused on what I'm trying to do,’ he said. ‘I haven't been seeing any of the other noise.’

That is not to say, however, that Clark is blind to what’s happening around him. He may have cursed Scheffler last week but he also has cause to thank him, too.

‘I really owe a lot to him to some of my good golf of late,’ Clark said of the world No 1

‘I really owe a lot to him to some of my good golf of late,’ he said. ‘I really looked at how Scottie has been playing this year and last year and I use him as someone to try to keep up with.’

Clark added: ‘His game and consistency and he really is kind of the meter right now of where you want to try to be… Scottie's always in contention. He's pushed me to be better.’

Just like Scheffler, Clark has benefited from a new club and newfound control in his top-two inches.

‘When I switched to the putter I've been using, that Jailbird, I started really seeing a lot of putts go in, and then all the work that I did off the course in my mental game I started seeing it on the course,’ he said.

Heading into this weekend, Clark has made 16 birdies. He has gained more than seven and a half shots on the greens and more than 13 shots in total. At the time of writing, no one could match any of those numbers. After two rounds, He was among the field's best for length off the tee (tied 11th), greens in regulation (1st) and putting (third). That helps.

Clark rode his luck, at times, most obviously on the fourth when his approach struck the ball of Brian Harman. That afforded him a much simpler birdie putt. Perhaps the most crucial moment of this round, however, came on the next hole, when he saved par from 22ft.

‘I didn't know if I was going to be able to continue playing,' Scheffler admitted after round two

‘Probably the biggest putt of the day momentum wise,’ he said. ‘Then I went on to birdie two of the last four, which was huge.’ Especially while other challengers, such as Matt Fitzpatrick, had a wobble.

Remarkably, the world No 5 was +5000 to win here earlier this week. Victory would put him among the favorites for next month’s Masters. Alongside his dad and brother, Clark recently played Augusta for the very first time.

‘I have had two opportunities to go prior to that, and I made a little pact with myself that I wouldn't go until I was eligible to play in the tournament,’ he said. ‘It's something we'll remember for the rest of our lives.’

This could prove an unforgettable week, too.