Miami (AFP) – Austria’s Sepp Straka and American Sahith Theegala were among five players sharing the lead at five-under par 67 when darkness halted Thursday’s opening round of the US PGA Players Championship. Americans Maverick McNealy and Lee Hodges also reached the clubhouse on 67 after 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Austin Smotherman, five-under through 17 holes, had a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet at the par-five ninth to seize the lead when darkness prompted the American to wait until Friday morning to finish his first round. “Just getting so dark,” Smotherman said. “It’s not worth it right now, to get fresh greens in the morning.” A 21-minute afternoon rain delay made the green speeds tricky to read for later players.
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Straka opened with back-to-back birdies, eagled the par-five 16th on a 50-foot chip, and got up and down for par at 18 from 66 yards. “I really did not hit it very well today,” Straka said. “I was able to recover from some errant tee shots and put a good number on the board. I’ve got to hit some fairways. I lived on the edge today. Had a lot of up and downs, some from 90 and 100 yards. You won’t survive long doing that.”
Theegala began with three birdies and holed out from 99 yards for eagle at the 12th. “I got away with one there,” he said. “I landed it so far right that it took a huge hop left. If that didn’t crash the pin there, that was 25 feet down the ridge. That was a huge bonus. It felt great to see one go in.” Hodges birdied four of the first seven holes and sank a six-foot birdie putt at 18 to share first. “I’m honestly just happy to be in the position I’m in,” Hodges said. “I knew my game was there. I was just kind of waiting for it all to come together.”
McNealy had six birdies against a lone bogey. “I just mastered the variability of what the golf course threw at us really well,” he said. “It was a mixed bag of everything.” Justin Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner who missed the cut with back-to-back 79s last week at Bay Hill, shared sixth on 68 with US compatriots Russell Henley, Cameron Young, and Taylor Moore. “Literally every single thing you can imagine I did quite a bit better,” Thomas said.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler opened with a 72. “I did some good things,” Scheffler said. “But overall I felt like I gave away some shots.”
– Rusty Rory shoots 74 –
Second-ranked Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, shot 74 and said he felt no back problems such as those that forced him to withdraw last weekend at Bay Hill. “Just felt unbelievably rusty out there. I’m glad I got through the round,” McIlroy said. “I would say the most discomfort was when the ball was below my feet or with chipping. Just like getting down a little bit to it.”
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa withdrew after injuring his back following a practice swing on the 11th tee. “Teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone,” he said. New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox pulled out with an illness that turned out to be kidney stones, he posted on Instagram.
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