Rory McIlroy overcomes a volatile display from the tee to get a lead shot at the player as Scotty Schaeffler started his title defense hard.
McIlroy found four fairways in the eventful opening round at TPC Sawgrass. There, I posted a 5-under 67 and mixed seven birdies with two bogies to stay in touch with the early leaders.
Former major champion Lucas Glover set the clubhouse target in opening round 66.
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Rory McIlroy charged towards the top of the TPC Sawgrass leaderboard.
McIlroy shares fourth place with Billy Horschel, Min Woo Lee, Akshay Bhatia and Max McGreevy.
English duo Aaron Rye and Laurie Canter are off the two paces from the pace of Logjam 2 after the opening round of the 68S. Schaeffler will play alongside McIlroy and consider joining Jack Nicklaus as the player’s three-time winner – starting with a 3-under 69.
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How the “unstable” McIlroy transitioned to competition
McIlroy began his dream start when he first used a par 5 from 8 feet, 40 feet to 2 putts and a par 5, taking advantage of a bogey in a third, saving a 4-foot birdie chance at 4 feet, saving the same distance and sixth.
The 35-year-old couldn’t go up and down from the seventh green, causing the leaderboard by carding the second bogey of the day, bringing him back to 1 under and making an 8-foot birdie in a par 5-foot ninth place.
Image: Rory McIlroy was 140th out of 144 players due to driving accuracy during the opening round
McIlroy converted from 10 feet to 10 feet and recovered from finding a tree from the next tee. On the 11th of Pal 5, the 2019 champion jumped to 2 of the lead when he added another birdie from 12 feet to 12 feet.
The 2019 champion continued to recover from a wayward tee shot to maintain a bogeyless back nine and did his best for the par-4 final. There was a stunning punch and run with five irons, with a punch and run with an 8-foot birdie set up from a pine straw.
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Rory McIlroy closed one of the leads with an incredible birdie on hole 18
“I was trying to be disciplined and strategic, so I didn’t do that very well,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I didn’t hit a lot of fairways, I was trying to cut it into play and it didn’t work very well, but whenever I missed a fairway I could use it to do something.
What else happened on the first day?
Schaeffler mixed four birdies with lonely bogeys in the opening round, but Xander Shaufele completed the star-studded three-ball – returning to level par after a double bogey on the final hole.
Image: Scotty Schaeffler claimed a one-shot victory in last year’s tournament, and in 2023 he also won the championship.
Glover birded each of the last four holes in the TPC Sawgrass to set the target for the first clubhouse.
The crowded leaderboard will see 19 players separated by two strokes. After an astonishing 4-under 68, which included three Eagles and a triple bogeys, Chandler Phillips returned after two astonishing 4-under 68.
Jordan Spieth’s eventful opening 70 features two Eagles in the first seven holes, with Ryder Cup players Rudy Guaberg, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood all starting the tournament with a 1-under 71.
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Jordan Spieth drilled holes twice for Eagle in the opening nine holes at the Player Championship
Former World No. 1 Justin Thomas faces a fight to make a cut on Friday, requiring a birdie bydi finish to scramble 60 over 78, and former Fede Exups Champion Victor Hofland sits at the joint bottom of the leaderboard after 80 over 80.
The five players are unable to finish the opening round and return to the finish at 8:50am local time (12:50pm), with the second round scheduled at 7:40am (11:40am GMT).
Watch the players live on Sky Sports throughout the week. Sky Sports Golf will continue live coverage on Fridays from 11:30am, followed by 10 additional feeds on Sky Sports+, including featured groups, featured holes and six bonus groups. Get Sky Sports and Streams without a contract.
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