McIlroy Begins Defence of Players Championship but Trails Leaders
Rory McIlroy, recovering from a back injury, started the Players Championship but finished the first round seven shots behind the leaders. Despite only using irons and wedges during Wednesday's practice, he employed a driver on the opening hole, delivering a 329-yard drive down the fairway.
McIlroy arrived at TPC Sawgrass on the eve of the tournament after receiving treatment at home for the injury that caused him to withdraw from last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. He showed no visible signs of discomfort during his opening drive but completed the round with a two-over-par 73. Birdie attempts on the 16th and 17th holes narrowly missed.
Round One Leaderboard Highlights
At the top of the leaderboard, Austrian Sepp Straka leads alongside three Americans, Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, and Sahith Theegala, all at five under par. Straka's bogey-free 67 included an eagle chip-in on the par-five 16th hole.
"We were fortunate to play in the afternoon with hardly any wind and the greens a lot softer," said Straka, referring to the heavy rain earlier in the day.
England's Tommy Fleetwood, playing in challenging weather conditions, briefly reached five under par with an eagle-birdie-birdie sequence on the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes. However, a rain delay of approximately 25 minutes disrupted his momentum, and bogeys on the 4th and 5th holes dropped him back to three under.
Fleetwood shares the three-under position with Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, Norway's Viktor Hovland, and American Xander Schauffele.
Due to the rain delay and fading light, four players, including American Austin Smotherman, were unable to complete their opening rounds. Smotherman will resume on Friday morning with a 15-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, which will be his 18th hole of the round. He chose to mark his ball and wait for better light rather than finish the hole in darkness.
McIlroy's Injury and Outlook
McIlroy's opening round score of 74 places him well behind the leaders, and no player has won the Players Championship after opening with a 74 or worse. His tee time for the second round is 08:52 local time (12:52 GMT), offering less recovery time for his back after a late start on Thursday.
"It's not structural, it's not joint - it's purely a muscular sort of discomfort and fatigue," McIlroy explained on Wednesday regarding his back injury. "Obviously I'll listen to the professionals. But there's nothing that I can do that's going to harm that."
He recorded one birdie on the sixth hole but bogeys on the fourth, fifth, and 11th holes contributed to his two-over-par total.
McIlroy aims to join Jack Nicklaus as a three-time winner of the Players Championship, having previously won in 2019. He also seeks to become the first player to win all three events held at Sawgrass.
Scottie Scheffler's Performance
World number one Scottie Scheffler, who won the Players Championship in 2023 and 2024, is also pursuing a third title. He opened with an even-par 72, recording four birdies and four bogeys. Playing alongside Fleetwood, Scheffler acknowledged some mistakes.
"I did some good things in changing weather, but overall I felt like I gave away some shots, made some mental errors," Scheffler said.
Players Championship Round One Leaderboard
- -5: Sepp Straka (Aut), Maverick McNealy (US), Lee Hodges (US), Sahith Theegala (US), Austin Smotherman (US)*
- -4: Justin Thomas (US), Russell Henley (US), Taylor Moore (US), Cameron Young (US)
- -3: Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor)
- -2: Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)
- E: Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
- +3: Matt Penge (Eng)
* denotes players yet to finish round one
Event Details and Coverage
The Players Championship is taking place at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Live text updates and radio commentary for rounds three and four will be available from 19:30 GMT on the website, app, and . Highlights will be broadcast on BBC4 and from 19:00 GMT on Monday, 16 March.
