As the final round of the 50th Players Championship reached the final holes, there were four players with different contending titles competing to host this week’s trophy.
Xander Schauffele (defending Olympic Gold Medalist), Wyndham Clark (defending U.S. Open Champion), and Brian Harman (defending Open Champion) each needed a birdie to force a playoff against World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was the defending Players Champion.
Harman made par to finish at 19-under.
As a result, it came down to the two players in the final grouping, Schuaffele and Clark.
Clark, from 168 yards, got to 17 feet, and Schauffele, from the pine straw, got to 61 feet, needing to make another long birdie putt to force the playoff against Scheffler.
Schauffele missed just right to end his chances.
The final chance for a playoff came down to Clark, who also finished in second place behind Scheffler last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Clark putt went a full 360 degrees in an ugly lip out, resulting in a par.
As a result, Scheffler became the first back-to-back winner at the Players Championship in the 50-year history of this event.
Scheffler’s score of 20-under par became the highest score at a Players Championship since Greg Norman’s victory in 1994 when he scored -24. Only Scheffler and Norman are the two players to win a Players Championship at 20-under par or better.
Related: Players Championship: Past Champions from 1974 to present
Players Championship Round 4 leaderboard
| Position | Player | Score | Round |
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | -20 | -8 |
| T2 | Brian Harman | -19 | -4 |
| Xander Schauffele | -19 | -2 | |
| Wyndham Clark | -19 | -3 | |
| 5 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -16 | -3 |
| T6 | Si Woo Kim | -15 | -8 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | -15 | -5 | |
| 8 | Ludvig Aberg | -14 | -5 |
| T9 | Sahith Theegala | -13 | -1 |
| Maverick McNealy | -13 | E | |
| T11 | Joel Dahmen | -12 | -4 |
| Taylor Montgomery | -12 | -2 | |
| T13 | Corey Conners | -11 | -4 |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -11 | -2 | |
| Nate Lashley | -11 | E | |
| T16 | Sam Ryder | -10 | -3 |
| Sepp Straka | -10 | -2 | |
| Doug Ghim | -10 | -1 | |
| T19 | Harris English | -9 | -6 |
| Shane Lowry | -9 | -6 | |
| Dylan Wu | -9 | -5 | |
| Kurt Kitayama | -9 | -5 | |
| Alex Noren | -9 | -4 | |
| Adam Schenk | -9 | -1 | |
| Rory McIlroy | -9 | E | |
| T26 | Mackenzie Hughes | -8 | -4 |
| Chris Kirk | -8 | -3 | |
| Nick Taylor | -8 | -2 | |
| Matti Schmid | -8 | E | |
| Matt NeSmith | -8 | E | |
| T31 | Ben Martin | -7 | -5 |
| Mark Hubbard | -7 | -4 | |
| Sungjae Im | -7 | -2 | |
| Taylor Moore | -7 | -1 | |
| T35 | Denny McCarthy | -6 | -3 |
| Jimmy Stanger | -6 | -3 | |
| Lee Hodges | -6 | -1 | |
| Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | -1 | |
| Aaron Rai | -6 | -1 | |
| Jason Day | -6 | E | |
| Brice Garnett | -6 | E | |
| T42 | Grayson Murray | -5 | -8 |
| David Lipsky | -5 | -1 | |
| C.T. Pan | -5 | +4 | |
| T45 | Adam Scott | -4 | -1 |
| Ryan Moore | -4 | E | |
| Jake Knapp | -4 | +1 | |
| Collin Morikawa | -4 | +2 | |
| Tony Finau | -4 | +2 | |
| Austin Eckroat | -4 | +4 | |
| Sam Burns | -4 | +4 | |
| J.T. Poston | -4 | +6 | |
| 53 | Andrew Putnam | -3 | -2 |
| T54 | Min Woo Lee | -2 | -2 |
| Francesco Molinari | -2 | E | |
| Martin Laird | -2 | +1 | |
| Zac Blair | -2 | +1 | |
| Cameron Young | -2 | +2 | |
| Sami Valimaki | -2 | +2 | |
| Tom Hoge | -2 | +3 | |
| Emiliano Grillo | -2 | +5 | |
| T62 | Thomas Detry | -1 | -2 |
| Viktor Hovland | -1 | +2 | |
| T64 | Seamus Power | E | -3 |
| Max Homa | E | -1 | |
| Tyler Duncan | E | +2 | |
| J.J. Spaun | E | +3 | |
| T68 | Rickie Fowler | +2 | -1 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2 | +3 | |
| Chan Kim | +2 | +7 | |
| Peter Malnati | +2 | +9 | |
| 72 | Gary Woodland | +3 | +2 |
| 73 | Keith Mitchell | +4 | +4 |
| The following players missed the cut at -1 | |||
| Stephan Jaeger | CUT | CUT | |
| Luke List | CUT | CUT | |
| Akshay Bhatia | CUT | CUT | |
| Ben Griffin | CUT | CUT | |
| David Skinns | CUT | CUT | |
| Lucas Glover | CUT | CUT | |
| Webb Simpson | CUT | CUT | |
| Ryo Hisatsune | CUT | CUT | |
| Patrick Rodgers | CUT | CUT | |
| Hayden Buckley | CUT | CUT | |
| Beau Hossler | CUT | CUT | |
| Justin Thomas | CUT | CUT | |
| S.H. Kim | CUT | CUT | |
| Brandon Wu | CUT | CUT | |
| Erik van Rooyen | CUT | CUT | |
| Billy Horschel | CUT | CUT | |
| Ryan Fox | CUT | CUT | |
| Justin Suh | CUT | CUT | |
| Tyson Alexander | CUT | CUT | |
| Ben Silverman | CUT | CUT | |
| Nico Echavarria | CUT | CUT | |
| Davis Thompson | CUT | CUT | |
| Eric Cole | CUT | CUT | |
| Troy Merritt | CUT | CUT | |
| Chesson Hadley | CUT | CUT | |
| Carson Young | CUT | CUT | |
| Matt Kuchar | CUT | CUT | |
| Jordan Spieth | CUT | CUT | |
| Russell Henley | CUT | CUT | |
| Steve Stricker | CUT | CUT | |
| Greyson Sigg | CUT | CUT | |
| Justin Lower | CUT | CUT | |
| Kevin Yu | CUT | CUT | |
| Alex Smalley | CUT | CUT | |
| Matthieu Pavon | CUT | CUT | |
| Nick Dunlap | CUT | CUT | |
| Matt Wallace | CUT | CUT | |
| Adam Svensson | CUT | CUT | |
| Chez Reavie | CUT | CUT | |
| Justin Rose | CUT | CUT | |
| Davis Riley | CUT | CUT | |
| Will Zalatoris | CUT | CUT | |
| Andrew Novak | CUT | CUT | |
| Michael Kim | CUT | CUT | |
| Joseph Bramlett | CUT | CUT | |
| Adam Hadwin | CUT | CUT | |
| Byeong Hun An | CUT | CUT | |
| Nicolai Hojgaard | CUT | CUT | |
| Charley Hoffman | CUT | CUT | |
| Sam Stevens | CUT | CUT | |
| Chad Ramey | CUT | CUT | |
| Aaron Baddeley | CUT | CUT | |
| Taylor Pendrith | CUT | CUT | |
| Carl Yuan | CUT | CUT | |
| Ben Taylor | CUT | CUT | |
| Vincent Norrman | CUT | CUT | |
| Scott Stallings | CUT | CUT | |
| Brendon Todd | CUT | CUT | |
| Keegan Bradley | CUT | CUT | |
| Robert MacIntyre | CUT | CUT | |
| Nick Hardy | CUT | CUT | |
| Harry Hall | CUT | CUT | |
| K.H. Lee | CUT | CUT | |
| Kevin Streelman | CUT | CUT | |
| Robby Shelton | CUT | CUT | |
| Callum Tarren | CUT | CUT | |
| Ben Kohles | CUT | CUT | |
| Camilo Villegas | CUT | CUT | |
| Cam Davis | CUT | CUT | |
| WD | Garrick Higgo | ||
| WD | Tom Kim |
4 takeaways from the final round of the Players Championship
1. Scottie Scheffler makes Players Championship history with signature Sunday finish
After a battle between four players inside the top 10 of the world rankings commenced at the flagship event on the PGA Tour, it was the world’s best in Scheffler who came out on top for the second straight week against a loaded field.
Scheffler, who started the day five strokes of the lead, fired a final round bogey-free 8-under 64 in comeback fashion to win that got kickstarted on the fourth hole when he holed out from 92 yards in the fairway for an eagle.
He also made birdies on the fifth, eighth, and ninth holes to close a 5-under 31 on the front nine.
Scheffler had an opportunity to make three consecutive birdies on 11, 12, and 13, but missed his 7-foot putt on the 13th right for one of his only misreads on the green Sunday.
His birdie on the par-5 16th got him to 20-under par and the outright lead before two-putting from 48 feet on the Island Green and nearly making a birdie on the 18th to save par.
Scheffler led the field in driving accuracy, strokes gained off the tee, and strokes gained in total. He also ranked third in greens in regulation while shaving off 1.246 strokes with the putter this week, which has been a weakness for the best player in the world.
The 27-year-old takes home $4.5 million and 750 FedEx Cup points to extend his lead in the standings. With his win last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler has won $8.5 million in the last eight days.
2. Xander Schauffele comes up just short of hoisting the trophy with opportunities
Through the first 12 holes, Schauffele was looking good, playing 4-under par, including a birdie on the par-4 12th to become the first player of the week to reach 20-under par.
However, down the stretch, Schauffele had opportunities to cash in, but could not quite convert, including making back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15.
He also missed a six-footer for birdie on the Island Green at the 17th before his 61-foot attempt on the 72nd hole.
Schauffele could not quite match his performance that he had in the third round when he fired a bogey-free 7-under 65, compared to scoring a 2-under 70 in the final round.
The 28-year-old recorded his best finish of the season and third top-5 finish after a T4 at The Genesis Invitational and a T3 at The American Express. This is also Schauffele’s best finish at the Players Championship since finishing second in 2018.
3. Past two major champions, Clark and Harman, also fall a bit short of winning the Players Championship
Both Harman and Clark were looking to become the first player to win the Players Championship as defending Open Championship and U.S. Open Championship winners, respectively, since Tiger Woods in 2001 after claiming both major titles the year before.
Clark, who held the 36-hole lead, had an eagle putt from four feet on the par-5 second, but settled for a two-putt birdie.
His other birdie on the front nine came on the par-5 ninth to close out a 2-under 34. On the back, Clark gave up a shot on the par-4 10th before getting back on the ensuing hole.
The 2024 AT&T Pebble Pro-Am winner, who went into the water on the 12th yesterday, played more defensive and had to settle for par. On the 14th, he bogeyed and had to play catch up, trailing by as much as three strokes with four holes to play.
He missed an eagle putt on the 16th, resulting in a birdie and gave himself an opportunity on the 17th to need birdie before barely making his putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff, finishing his round at 3-under 69. Clark’s birdie on the Island Green was just the fourth of the day, signifying the wind as well as the pressure on the final stretch.
Harman was like Scheffler in needing to play from behind. Despite playing 1-over through six as a result of pulling his shot left, Harman birdied on three straight and four of next five holes.
The most recent major champion made a clutch 14-foot putt to give himself a shot. However, his tee shot on the 16th to the pine straw put him a tough situation to set up scoring on one of the easiest holes in the final round.
He also made on 17 and 18 where his putt on the 72nd hole came up short, resulting a 4-under 68 final round.
4. Ludvig Aberg stands out among notable first timers at the Players Championship
From the first-time participants teeing it up this week, World No. 11 Ludvig Aberg was the standout, firing three 5-under 67s, including on both days of the weekend, to finish eighth.
He struggled a bit on Friday when he shot 1-over 73, but outside of that, played great in his first start at TPC Sawgrass.
During his final round today, it was a bogey-free performance, highlighted by making an eagle on the par-5 11th where he got his 233-yard approach to five feet. On the next hole, the short, par-4 12th, Aberg birdied that hole to reach 5-under in the final round of the Players Championship.
Throughout the entire week, Aberg ranked inside the top 10 in strokes gained in strokes gained off the tee (7th), approach the green (10th), around the green (ninth) and total (eighth). For a shorter course, he ranked third in driving distance, sixth in sand saves, and ninth in scrambling.
However, his length helped him get three eagles, which led the field.
In a season where Aberg is seeing the PGA Tour’s best courses, seeing him compete is a good sign for years to come, especially against the world’s best. He has yet to miss a cut this season and even has a runner-up finish behind Clark at the AT&T Pebble Beach, one of this season’s signature events, coming off a fall season where he got his first win at the RSM Classic while being a force for Team Europe during the Ryder Cup.
Round 3 takeaways from the third round of the Players Championship
The third round of the 50th Players Championship determined who was going to make a move up the leaderboard and who was going to fall heading into the final round at TPC Sawgrass.
At the top of the leaderboard in the final group, it was a matchup between World No. 6 Xander Schauffele and World No. 5 Wyndham Clark, who had the 36-hole lead.
Schauffele fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Clark as the two will be together again Sunday in the final group, competing for the Players Championship trophy.
World No. 9 Brian Harman recorded the lowest round of the day to jump into third place as World No. 11 Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy round out the top five in a tie for fourth.
1. Xander Schauffele overtakes Wyndham Clark on the Island Green for the 54-hole lead at the Players Championship
When Clark and Schauffele teed off in the third round, Clark had a four-shot lead. However, as the front nine progressed, Clark’s lead was cut to one as Schauffele fired a bogey 4-under 32, and Clark shot 1 under 35 with two birdies and a bogey on the par-3 eighth.
Both players traded par on the 10th, followed by a birdie on the par-5 11th.
Then on the short, par-4 12th, Clark, who had a one-shot lead, hit his tee shot left, into the water. Schauffele, who went before Clark, hit his tee shot to the first cut.
Schauffele made birdie, and Clark made par to cut the lead all square at 16-under par with six holes left to play.
Both players made par on the par-3 13th. Clark two-putted, and Schauffele had to get up-and-down from the right of the green.
Two holes after Clark and Schauffele were knotted up, they faced the hardest hole of the afternoon at the par-4 14th.
Both players hit the fairway, and both landed on the green in regulation. However, Clark got his approach to six feet, and Schauffele was 58 feet away.
Advantage Clark.
However, Schauffele sunk his putt over the ridge for his longest putt this season and Clark missed his putt to surrender the lead for the first time since the first round.
On the par-5 16th, the two would be knotted up again at 17-under after Schauffele made par and Clark birdied heading into the final two rounds.
On 17, Clark found the water on the Island Green and had to re-tee. Schauffele watched Clark’s tee shot into the water and ensured to take advantage by making par. Clark was able to get up and down to save bogey to keep the deficit at one.
On the final hole for the final grouping, both Schauffele and Clark made par, giving Schauffele a one-stroke lead through 54 holes heading into Sunday. Scahuffele, who faced a five-shot deficit after the first hole Saturday, shot a 7-under 65, compared to Clark’s 2-under 70 to take that lead.
2. Brian Harman surges to solo third
Brian Harman, last year’s Open Champion, had a Saturday surge like no other this week at the Players Championship, firing an 8-under 64, the best round of the week.
His lone blemish came on the par-5 ninth when he hit his tee shot left into the pine straw and had some trouble getting out, settling for his only bogey on the afternoon.
That came before he birdied four of his first eight holes and five of the next seven holes.
Harman even reached Clark and Schauffele at one point when he birdied the par-5 16th to reach 15-under par by getting to the green in two and two-putting for birdie on the easiest hole of the tournament this week.
The most recent major champion led the field on Saturday with nine birdies, strokes gained putting, and strokes gained total while hitting 16-of-18 greens in regulation for the second consecutive day.
His putter was the difference in order to make those nine birdies as he ranked fifth in the field on Saturday with 1.44 putts per green in regulation.
3. Saturday movers up the Players Championship leaderboard
There were other players who also made a move up the leaderboard, including Sam Burns, Joel Dahmen, and Doug Ghim.
Sam Burns recorded the second-lowest score of the day with a 7-under 65, which was fueled by a 6-under on the front nine, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 second where he got his 212-yard approach to 16 feet to knock it in and take two strokes off the board early.
After a par on the third, he made birdies on three of his next four holes. After a birdie on the par-5 11th, Burns slowed a bit, playing even par the rest of the way with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18, and birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
Burns, who made the cut on the number at -1, rose 38 spots into a tie for 17th heading into the weekend.
Joel Dahmen also got into 18th place at the Players Championship after recording a 5-under 67 for the second consecutive day. Dahmen, who is looking for his best finish this season, also had one bogey on the afternoon, like Burns, which came on the par-4 10th, where he drove it into the rough followed by a shot into the greenside bunker before missing an eight-foot putt to save par.
Dahmen’s back-to-back 67s helped him go from a tie for 109th all the way up into as high as 10th at one point before ending the day at 18th.
A third player who made the jump up the leaderboard was Doug Ghim, who shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 in Saturday’s third round. His first two birdies came within the first four holes. His final four holes came in back-to-back fashion. Ghim birdied par-5 11th and the par-4 12th, in addition to the par-5 16th and the par-3 17th.
On the 17th, he chipped from the rough from off the green, which was about 63 feet away in the same direction Woods had his infamous “Better Than Most” putt in 2001.
Ghim was able to get up into a tie for 12th, who was at 56th after the first round.
Related: Breaking down Doug Ghim’s 63-foot chip shot on the Island Green
4. Saturday at the Players Championship playing easier than the previous two days
The third round at the Players Championship saw lower scores, compared to the previous two days.
On Saturday, the front nine recorded -0.700 strokes gained, compared to -0.150 strokes gained for all three days. That is six-tenths of a stroke gained today compared to all three rounds combined, showing the success of the field for the third round.
The back nine of the Players Championship has played easier compared to the front nine this week and in the third round alone. On Saturday alone, the back nine nearly two strokes gained at -1.720, compared to -0.450 overall, highlighted by the easiest hole on the par-5 16th, shaving off nearly half a stroke (-0.450).
Although the 16th hole had just one eagle, there were still 37 birdies and just one double bogey or worse score.
The second-easiest hole in the third round of the Players Championship came on the short-par 4 12th as there were three eagles with 33 birdies.
Round 2 takeaways from the 2024 Players Championship
1. Wyndham Clark continues his mojo
On Friday at the Players Championship, Wyndham Clark dazzled once again, firing a second straight 7-under 65 to reach 14-under for the tournament and have the 36-hole lead.
Clark found most of his production on his second nine holes of the day, which was on the front. He birdied the first four holes on Nos. 1-4, which was highlighted by getting his approach on the first to 18 inches, nearly sinking it in for eagle from 109 yards out.
He got back on the birdie train, shaving off a stroke on the short, par 4 sixth, which has been one of the easier par-4s on the course so far. His final of the day, the par-5 ninth, he was able to get in one more birdie to conclude a 6-under 30 on the front nine to round out his 7-under 65.
His back-to-back 7-under 65s tied his career-low, opening 36-hole total on the PGA Tour. In addition, the 130 strokes through the first two rounds at the Players Championship is the second-lowest opening two-round score since Webb Simpson in 2018 and Jason Day in 2016, who would both go on win in those years.
The 14-under par performance through two rounds is also tied for the third-best score with Greg Norman in 1994, who went on to win the Players Championship that year and one shot behind 15-under scores from Day and Simpson during their respective winning seasons at TPC Sawgrass.
After finding 16-of-18 greens in regulation Thursday, Clark found another 15 during his round while leading the field during the second round with 4.785 strokes gained putting.
Clark, who is trying to become the first player to win two events of the 2024 PGA Tour season after hoisting the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month, had to save par on the par-4 fifth after his approach got to 22 feet. He wound making that left-to-right putt to remain bogey-free on the front nine.
He said his par save on the fifth was the shot of the round to keep him afloat for the remainder of his round.
“Making that putt was huge,” Clark said after his round. “That was probably the biggest of the day, momentum wise. Keeping that mojo going and then I went to birdie two of the last four.”
Also read: Past winners at the Players Championship from 1974 to the present
Scottie Scheffler remains in the hunt, aiming for the first Players Championship repeat winner
Clark said he has followed the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler to emulate that success.
For Scheffler himself, he was able to remain in the fight, recording a 3-under 69 in Friday’s second round to reach 8-under par for the tournament.
However, Scheffler had to endure some neck pain as he tries to become the first to hoist the Players Championship trophy in consecutive seasons. He played poised as the round progressed, hitting 11-of-14 fairways and 14-of-18 greens in regulation to remain in the hunt.
Scheffler, who is also trying to win for the second straight week on the PGA Tour after being victorious at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, did not have his putting stroke to the ability he had in the first round or last week.
After shaving off 0.942 strokes with the putter, which ranked 38th in the field Thursday, Scheffler’s strokes gained total was -0.672, which ranked tied for 98th in the field, a 60-player difference. However, he was 14th in strokes gained around the green, shaving off 1.436 strokes that was highlighted by his chip-in for birdie on the par-3 third from just off the front of the green.
The neck pain came after Scheffler took his tee shot on the par-5 11th, and as a result, he had to battle for the rest of his round.
“I did enough I feltlike today to keep myself somewaht in the tournament,” Scheffler said after his round. “So, that;s really all I could ask for. The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to contineu playing. So, yeah, good fight out there.”
3. Brian Harman joins Clark with 7-under 65 on Friday
Brian Harman was able to get in a groove Friday at the Players Championship after an even par-72 in Thursday’s first round.
Harman, who was playing in the same group as Clark, made sure he was going to feed off his energy today after not taking advantage yesterday.
Harman started his round on the back nine and shot a 4-under 32 with only two pars. He birdied hole Nos. 10, 11 13 and 15, including making a 16-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 15th. Despite bogeys on hole Nos. 14 and 17 where he three-putted on the island green, he followed his birdie on 15 with an eagle on 16, highlighted by getting a 45-foot putt to fall for a wild 4-under back nine.
On the front nine, he bogeyed the first but bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 second, which started a stretch of three consecutive bridies, including getting his approach shot on the par-4 fourth from 96 yards out to three feet. After four consecutive pars, he ended his round with a birdie on the par-5 ninth, like Clark.
As a result, both Clark and Harman, the past two major champions at the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, respectively, were able to shoot a combined 14-under par in the same group. With the performance from Collin Morikawa, who rounded out that grouping, that three-man group shot a combined 17-under par.
Harman was able to jump 65 spots into a tie for 10th heading into the weekend as he was atop the field on Friday with eight bridies and total strokes gained, while ranking fourth in strokes gained approach and second in greens in regulation, making 16-of-18.
4. The Island Green reaches a new record
Despite the ambiance of the 17th hole at the Players Championship with the island green surrounded by water on the tee, it does not play as the hardest hole on the course as a result of players being more meticulous with their tee shot.
So far, it is playing as the ninth-hardest hole on the course. The hardest hole so far this week at the Players Championship is the hole after the 17th, the par-4 18th.
More than half of the field (64%) has recorded par in the second round, compared to there being more birdies (18%) than bogeys (13%). There have also been 13 double bogey or worse scores for just 5% of the field.
One of the bright spots to the 17th Thursday included a 60-foot birdie putt by Min Woo Lee during the afternoon wave from the front of the green to the back pin location.
However, a record was reached on Friday for the 1,000th ball going into the water on the 17th hole, dating back to the beginning of the Shot Link era, which began in 2003, courtesy of Beau Hossler during the morning wave of players.
Having more than 1,000 balls finding the drink is the most balls into the water hazard of any hole on the PGA Tour within the last 21 years.
Some shots goes directly into the water, including Sam Ryder’s shot from Thursday’s first round when his ball landed beyond the pin, rolled back next to the cup before having too much spin and going into the water.
2024 Players Championship Round 1 takeaways
Rory McIlroy has not one, but two questionable drops en route to tying tourney record 10 birdies
The Morning marquee group of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, and Jordan Spieth had an uneasy round of golf together Thursday.
As McIlroy recorded birdie after birdie to reach 7-under par and Hovland and Spieth combined for 3-over par together, the Northern Irishman was doomed by the water from scoring better on two separate holes. After recording birdies on six of his first holes on the back nine, the water hazard along the par-5 18th got the best of McIlroy as his tee shot drew left into the water.
However, the discussions came after that as Spieth and Hovland were talking with McIlroy as to where his ball should be dropped. McIlroy went on to bogey that hole. Seven holes later on the par 4 seventh, his tee went left and took a hop before going into the water, a microcosm of his tee shot on 18.
As a result, that led to another discussion with Spieth and Hovland to ensure McIlroy was dropping in the correct position as to where the ball went out of bounds. After about an eight-minute conversation, which includes a couple of caddies and the rules official, McIlroy made a double bogey for his only two blemishes on the day.
“I think so, yeah. I’m comfortable. I think that’s the most important thing,” McIlroy said after his round on the drops that he took.
Despite the drama that ensued, McIlroy fired 10 birdies, including four more on his final nine holes on the front. He tied the Players Championship record for most birdies in a single round and became the fifth player to achieve that feat.
He led the field with 3.616 strokes, gained putt, and tied for first in total strokes gained (6.459) while ranking second in strokes gained approach (3.623).
Xander Schauffele fires his best Players Championship round
Xander Schauffele, who is the current leader in made cuts at 41 straight starts on the PGA Tour, said on Tuesday during his press conference that he is focused more on winning than making cuts.
During Thursday’s first round, Schauffele delivered a bogey-free 7-under 65. Beginning on the back nine, he got his round started with birdies on the par-5 11th and the par-4 12th, before closing his first nine holes with a 3-under 33 with a birdie on the par-4 18th as a result of getting his 175-yard approach shot to two feet.
On the front nine, Schauffele ensured he would not get any blemishes on the scorecard as he continued to make birdies, shaving off a stroke on each of the first three holes on the front nine for four consecutive birdies, which was highlighted by making a 25-footer on the par-3 third to get to 6-under on the day.
Despite his ball getting his ball barely over the water and into the rough on the par-4 fifth, Schauffele was able his approach from about 150 yards to three feet for a top-in birdie.
Even though Schauffele got to seven under with four holes remaining, he still had to battle. Playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, Schauffele’s tee shot went right into the tree outline, and had to scramble his way to save par.
The sixth-ranked player in the world went on to record his first career bogey-free score in 15 rounds at the Players Championship to give him the co-lead heading into the second round.
Wyndham Clark leads the afternoon group to join McIlroy and Schauffele
Among those who teed off during the late portion of the first round of the Players Championship, it was World No. 5 Wyndham Clark, who emerged over the likes of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, to reach Schauffele and McIlroy at 7-under par.
Clark was one blemish away from having a clean, bogey-free round. On the short, par-4 fourth Clark hit his tee shot left of the fairway and had to chip out to set himself up to get over the water and two-putt to save bogey.
This came after he birdied his first two holes of the afternoon on the par-4 first and the par-5 second. After his bogey on four, Clark immediately responded with a birdie on the par-4 fifth by getting his approach to seven feet from 146 yards out.
Rounds at the Players Championship are never easy. Like Schauffele’s escape on seven, Clark had to do the same on the ninth, hitting it into the deep rough. He had to put everything into his 149-yard approach shot onto the green to get up and down to save par.
On the back nine, he made birdie on the 12th, which was highlighted by getting his ball out of the bunker to seven feet to reach 4-under.
He then caught fire with three straight birdies on hole Nos. 15,16 and 17 to reach the top of the leaderboard. His tee shot on 17 landed 13 feet away from the cup to set up his eighth birdie of the day, the second-best mark of Thursday’s first round.
Clark ranked tied atop the field in total strokes gained, third in strokes gained putting an eight in strokes gained approach. He was also tied for first in greens in regulation, making 16-of-18.
An island green ACE
Last year at the Players Championship, the fans at the par-3 17th hole, featuring the island green, were treated to two holes-in-one.
This year, the first ace was courtesy of Ryan Fox, who earned his PGA Tour card this season after being inside the top 10 in the 2023 DP World Tour Rankings. Fox, who was part of the 10th grouping, along with C.T. Pan and Kevin Streelman to reach the island green, made his way to the 137-yard tee shot over the water coming off an eagle on the par-5 16th.
The New Zealander, who was making his second appearance at the Players Championship after placing 27th last year, hit his tee shot a couple of yards beyond the front-left pin location and was able to reel it into the cup.
Fox not only recorded his first ace on the PGA Tour, but he became the first player at the Players Championship, dating back to 1983, to make back-to-back eagles at Nos. 16 and 17.
He went on to score a 3-under 69 to get his round going, in hopes of finishing better than he did at this property 12 months ago.