Former champion Rory McIlroy shared the lead at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, US, with Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele after completing the incomplete first round at 7-under 65 with a record 10 birdies. Canadian Nick Taylor and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick were close behind.
The trio of Hideki Matsuyama, Byeong Hun An, and C.T. Pan led the Asian challenge in T-22nd place. Indian-Americans Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia were also in the mix. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, and Jason Day were tied in the sixth spot with rounds of 67 each.
Debutant Ryo Hisatsune, Sungjae Im, and Si Woo Kim finished at 70 after a sluggish finish, while in-form An, coming off a top-10 finish at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, carded only his fourth round in the 60s. Matsuyama, who won the Genesis Invitational last month, bounced back from an early setback to card five birdies.
Mcllroy, who won in 2019, tied the tournament record with 10 birdies despite finding water twice. “It would be nice to shoot 62 and not have two in the water, I guess,” said McIlroy. He credited his hard work on the range for his performance, stating, “I grinded on the range and figured something out and put the time in, and it’s sort of already reaping benefits, so that’s nice.”
