Woods, Fowler and Mickelson struggle in Players tourney

The so-called super group at the Players Championship turned into a super flop as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler fizzled in the first round on Thursday.

Woods was best of the bunch with an even-par 72 but that was hardly what the PGA Tour had in mind when it grouped the best two players of their generation with the popular Fowler at TPC Sawgrass.

What started as a massive early afternoon gallery thinned out to only a few hundred spectators by the 15th hole, though considerably more waited at the island-green par-three 17th for some end-of-day fireworks.

They instead saw damp squibs, as Mickelson and Fowler both found water at the 17th for matching doublebogeys.

Woods, meanwhile, safely negotiated the penultimate hole with a par, only to yank an iron tee shot into the water at the par-four 18th, his safetyfirst strategy backfiring.

He did well to salvage bogey, ending the day six strokes behind the six tied for the lead, who include world No.1 Dustin Johnson and Swede Alex Noren.

Woods at least gave fans one moment of excitement when he rolled in a 20-foot putt for eagle from the fringe at the par-five ninth. “Boy, it was nice to turn the round completely around there,” he said.

“They were into it early. Towards the back nine it started getting a little sparse. I think they might have tipped back a couple and got a little sleepy.”

The quality of the golf did little to keep fans awake.

Fowler shot 74, while Mickelson signed for a 79 after dropping seven shots in four holes from the 14th.