Golf’s “unofficial fifth major,” The Players Championship, got going from TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Thursday. The tournament field features 144 players with 750 FedEx Cup points on the line.
Early on, it was Jordan Spieth who created some buzz with a hot start. After a birdie on his first hole, he chipped in for eagle on his second, going to -3 thru just two holes. The rest of Spieth’s first nine, however, was quite a roller coaster. He would have a stretch where he went double-bogey, bogey, another chip-in eagle, bogey, then birdie to finish the nine -2. His second nine were more conventional, and he shot -2 70 on the day.
The rest of the early tee times were highlighted by some steady play from a handful of different contenders, headlined by Lucas Glover. Glover shot a -6 66 to take the early lead.
The afternoon wave was highlighted by the grouping that includes the #1, #2, and #3 ranked players in the world. Scottie Scheffler is attempting to win this tournament for an unprecedented third time in a row. Rory McIlroy and Xander Shauffele joined him today. Scheffler finished at -3 and Schauffele was just even, but McIlroy led the group with a -5 effort that put him T-4.
Two golfers joined Glover at -6 in the afternoon, Camilo Villegas and JJ Spaun both shot 66. Those three players will begin round two as the co-leaders.