Rory McIlroy got off to a slow start in defending his title at TPC Sawgrass, while Sepp Straka and Saheeth Segala are part of a five-way battle for the early lead at The Players.
Maverick McNeely set his first clubhouse goal after an opening-round 67 in the PGA Tour’s flagship event, where play was halted for 20 minutes midway through the round due to dangerous weather.
Straka had a bogey-free start with five birdies, Lee Hodges also had four birdies over a six-hole stretch to move to 5 under, and Seagala started the round with three birdies to move into a four-way tie for first place in the clubhouse.
Austin Smotherman was also at five under with one hole remaining when play was suspended due to darkness at 7:37pm local time (11:37pm UK), and when he returned on Friday morning he was looking for a 15-foot birdie putt to take the lead for good.
Former Players champion Justin Thomas birdied three of the final five holes to move within one spot of the lead. Meanwhile, the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Ludwig Oberg and Xander Schauffele were all in a logjam, two places off the pace.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Summary of Tommy Fleetwood’s first round of 3-under 69 at TPC Sawgrass
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a level-par 72 to win his third tournament in four years, but McIlroy, who only arrived on Wednesday afternoon with a back injury and competed without a practice round, recorded just one birdie with a 2-over 74.
“I don’t feel like I’m that far away,” McIlroy said. “Nobody let down too much this afternoon, which was what I expected because the conditions were so good. If we can go out tomorrow and get some good shots, I feel like we’ll be fine for the weekend.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch the story of Rory McIlroy’s opening round at The Players, where he shot a 2-over 74 at TPC Sawgrass.
McIlroy struggles with delay in participation decision
The defending champion received daily treatment in the days leading up to the tournament and said he would “decide at game time” whether to tee up, saying he hadn’t hit any club farther than a 6-iron from his early exit at Bay Hill over the weekend to Thursday’s warm-up.
McIlroy started with three straight pars, then suffered back-to-back bogeys starting at No. 4, before taking a nice approach from a fairway bunker to the par-46 and making a close-range birdie en route to a front-nine 37.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Rory McIlroy makes a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole with an incredible bunker shot from 160 yards.
McIlroy hit bogey on the par-5 11th after a tree on his tee shot caused him to fall into deep rough, but McIlroy overcame his wayward tee shot on the 12th to save par and avoid further setbacks.
McIlroy showed off a nice up-and-down on the par-4 15th, finding a tough lie in the fairway bunker to prevent another bogey, then pulled up his approach on the 16th, made a two-putt par on the 17th, and scrambled for par at the end.
“The most uncomfortable part was when the ball was under my foot, there was some chipping, when I got down on the ball a little bit,” McIlroy said. “To be honest, overall it was okay. I was a little tired at the end of the day, but yeah, everything was pretty good actually.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Rory McIlroy paid the price for back-to-back bogeys in the first round and missed fairways at TPC Sawgrass
A bunch of leaderboards after the first day
McNeely combined six birdies and one bogey to be named the morning starter, but although his score was a worse shot than in the afternoon wave, Straka chipped in from the par-5 16th green to grab a share of the lead.
Straka went up and down from the fairway and saved par at the end to stay at 5 under, Hodges also shared the top spot with a birdie on the same hole, and Segala’s round gained momentum with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 12th.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sahith Segala holed out from 99 yards for eagle on the par-4 12th hole at TPC Sawgrass to move into first place at The Players.
Smotherman was one of four players to return to finish the opening round at 8:50am local time (12:50pm UK), but had originally planned to stop early, before the third shot into the final hole.
“Would I have been able to chip in in the morning? I went back and forth,” Smotherman said. “The fact that I was even having doubts probably meant I should have backed off. I just hit it a little bit heavier and luckily it fell off.”
Thomas is followed by compatriots Cam Young, Russell Henry and Taylor Moore at 4 under, while Tony Finau is within two of the lead despite an opening-round 69 and five bogeys.
A crowded leaderboard had 29 players within four shots of the lead, and Scheffler, who switched to his previous driver after trying a different model last week, needed a birdie on the final hole to avoid an over-par start.
Who will win The Players? Watch live all week on Sky Sports. Live coverage will continue on Sky Sports Golf from 11.30am on Friday. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.
Book your round at the lowest price on one of 1,700 courses across the UK and Ireland
