Fleetwood and Hoge retain lead as 'brutal' weather wreaks havoc at Players Championship

Fierce winds and cold temperatures created brutal conditions in Saturday's darkness-halted second round of the Players Championship, with England's Tommy Fleetwood and American Tom Hoge sharing the lead.

Elite golfers battled blustery breezes with 40mph gusts all day and were already looking at a Monday finish after two days of torrential rain wreaked havoc at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

"When I got to 17 and 18, you couldn't hardly stand up much less hit a golf shot," American Kevin Kisner said after shooting a two-over 74. "It's brutal. It's pure luck and somewhat loss of integrity of the tournament."

The famed par-3 17th island green was buffeted by north winds and averaged 3.79 strokes, the most since 1984.

"It was blowing so hard," two-time major winner Dustin Johnson said after a 73.

Fleetwood and Hoge shared the 18-hole lead on six-under par 66 after the first round was concluded Saturday, and Fleetwood managed to begin his second round before darkness struck after his tee shot at the fourth hole.

Fleetwood reached the green in two at the par-5 second hole, then two-putted for birdie from 29 feet to seize the lead alone at 7-under, only to find the rough at the par-3 third and miss a 13-foot par putt to make bogey.

That left the Englishman level again with Hoge, who was among 24 players whose second round start was postponed to Sunday as organisers prepared for a Monday finish.

India's Anirban Lahiri, Chile's Joaquin Niemann and American Keith Mitchell shared second on 5-under with 18 holes to finish Sunday.

Justin Thomas was one of only two players to go bogey-free in the second round of The Players. Getty Images

Defending champion Justin Thomas and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson