Crowded at the Top of Players Championship; McIlroy Cards 69 & Spieth a 75


On a blustery Thursday there were some wild swings of fortune during the opening round of the $10 million Players Championship, held at the Pete Dye-designed TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

At day's end, four players shared first after 5-under 67s. The quartet includes Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, Canada's David Hearn, Californian Charley Hoffman and South Korean-born, Las Vegas resident Kevin Na.

The 23-year-old Matsuyama carded six birdies and a bogey in a consistent performance, while the 35-year-old Hearn had four birdies, an eagle on the par-5 11th and a bogey.

Starting play on the 10th tee, Hoffman was red-hot on his opening nine, recording five birdies to make the turn in 5-under 31. But a triple-bogey on his 10th hole, the par-4 first, took the 38-year-old San Diegan down the leaderboard before he posted three birdies coming home.

Na, playing in the final group of the day with Derek Fathauer and Australia's Robert Allenby, had six birdies including on his final hole (the par-4 ninth) - to jump into a tie for the lead - along with a bogey.

Opening with 68s was an All-American lineup of Troy Merritt, Ben Martin, Billy Horschel, Brendon Todd, Charles Howell III and Fathauer.

Horschel, the reigning FedEx Cup champion who lives near TPC Sawgrass, posted five birdies and a bogey on a course he's familiar with. "I'm comfortable with hitting the tee shots, what they call for, and hitting iron shots into the greens," the 28-year-old told PGATour.com. "And I've seen this golf course in every type of wind, from no wind to the hardest wind coming from every direction."

Horschel also feels like his swing is improving. "I feel like my game's been in pretty good shape the last couple weeks, and I felt like I was going to play well going into today," Horschel added. "I had some really good practice sessions the last two days, and I just needed to stay out of my own way, and I felt like if I did that today then it was going to be a good one out there."

Martin Kaymer, seeking to become the first defending champion to win two Players titles in a row, started out well with a 69. The two-time major champion had five birdies and two bogeys during Thursday's wind-swept afternoon.

Kaymer, who earned his first major, the 2010 PGA Championship at the Dye-designed Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, said after his round, "I enjoy Pete Dye courses. Today I was playing very consistent. You have to be focused on every hole."

Kaymer was among 14 players with 69s. The big group also included Americans Jeff Overton, Cameron Tringale, Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Ricky Barnes, Jason Kokrak and Brandt Snedeker, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, Australians Jason Day and Marc Leishman, Germany's Alex Cejka and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

Playing in only his seventh tournament round of the year after undergoing back surgery in December, the 48-year-old Stricker hung in on the tough golf course. "I managed my game well," the Wisconsin native told PGATour.com. "But just played pretty smart all the way around and kept it out of trouble."

The 12-time Tour winner added that he's still getting in competitive shape following the surgery. "I don't know if I'm really at full strength yet with my back," Stricker noted. "It seems like if I put in two or three days of hard work, it takes a lot out of me, so I'm constantly having to manage that. I'm trying to get stronger while I'm home, so it's been a little bit of a process, but I feel like I'm starting to see some more positive signs the way I'm hitting it."

The anticipated showdown between No. 1-ranked McIlroy and No. 2 Jordan Spieth - who were in the marquee threesome with Day - didn't materialize. Though McIlroy played well in their morning round, carding two birdies, an eagle and a bogey for his 3-under outing, Spieth, who won the Masters last month, had a tougher time. The 21-year-old from Dallas had two birdies and five bogeys for a 75.

"Anything in the 60s is a very good start," the 26-year-old McIlroy told reporters. "You just have to be very, very patient. I have a lot of pars on my card The first time I got here I felt it was a course where if you are playing well you should shoot 67 or 68 every time, but it's not really like that.

"It can jump up and bite you very quickly and you have to know sometimes that par is a good score and you move on," added McIlroy, who is looking for two straight victories after winning last week's WGC Cadillac Match Play Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

"Sometimes you have bad breaks and have a bad day," lamented Spieth after his first-ever round in the Players. "This wasn't one of them. I really struggled out there."

On Wednesday Spieth said that if there is any element of McIlroy's game he'd enjoy having it would be length off the tee. He repeated that sentiment the following day. "I certainly enjoyed playing with both those guys, Jason and Rory… but I don't like playing first on every approach shot," he said after his round.

"That's why maybe I started to hit driver more often than I should have. It was just a really, really poor day. I've got to find something to work on. If I hadn't putted well, it could have gone up there towards that 80 number."

Entered in his first tournament since last month's Masters, where he tied for 17th, Tiger Woods opened with a 73. The 14-time major champion made the turn in 1-over 37 after two birdies, a bogey and a double on the par-3 eighth, then got under par thanks to three birdies - and a bogey - on Nos. 14-17. But Woods drove his tee shot into the drink on the water-guarded 18th, and took a double.

"I didn't get much out of today's round," the two-time Players champion said during a brief TV interview. "I probably shot the highest round I could."

Woods came into the tournament admittedly emotionally spent. The tabloids were abuzz Sunday with the news that he'd broken up with skiing star Lindsey Vonn; the two had been in a relationship since March 2013. In addition, Woods always experiences emotional upheaval related to his late father this time of the year.

The nine-year anniversary of Earl Woods' death was last Sunday, the same date he and Vonn split, and Tuesday was the anniversary of Earl's memorial service held at the Tiger Woods Learning Center in California.

"Obviously it does affect me," Woods said on Tuesday of his separation with Vonn. "It is tough. There's no doubt. I'm not going to lie about that. It is tough. And on top of that, this time of year is really, really hard on me. This three-day window is really hard. I haven't slept. It's been - these three days, May 3rd and through the 5th, today, is just brutal on me, and then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it."

Other scores included a 73 by 2012 Players champion Matt Kuchar and a 70 by 2011 winner K.J. Choi of South Korea. Phil Mickelson, the winner at Sawgrass in 2007, was under par until he came to the 18th, which he doubled after his tee shot found water for a 73.

Perhaps the strangest round of the day was carded by Brooks Koepka, who's also making his Players debut. The 25-year-old Floridian carded a respectable six birdies, but also had two bogeys, a double and two quads for a 78. The latter scores totaling 8-over par came on the famed island par-3 17th and the 18th.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.