Big finish sends Garcia to big lead at Players
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. — Sergio Garcia has played TPC Sawgrass enough to know that trouble lurks around every turn, and the opening round Thursday at The Players Championship provided another example. Just not for him.
A solid start turned into a brilliant one for Garcia, who finished birdie-birdie-eagle for a 7-under 65, staking the Spaniard to a three-shot lead among the early starters.
Garcia, who won the PGA Tour’s premier event in 2008, holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh, hit a 3-iron to 15 feet on the par-3 eighth, and closed it out with a 5-wood to 18 feet for eagle on his final hole.
The 65 matched his best score on the Stadium Course.
Garcia was among only five players from the morning draw who broke 70 in what appeared to be ideal conditions, with only a mild breeze and a course in immaculate condition. The trouble came from pin positions that required more precision than usual, and the Sawgrass hazards that make this course as entertaining as any.
“For some reason, it just kind of fits my eye,“said Garcia, who has a pair of runner-up finishes to go with his victory. “I see what I want to do pretty much every hole and then it’s a matter of doing it.”
He did it better than anyone, adding another eagle earlier in his round with an approach to 10 feet on the par-3 17th.
Corey Conners, a contender last week at Bay Hill, and Matt Fitzpatrick each had a 68, while Bay Hill runner-up Lee Westwood and Tom Hoge were another shot behind.
Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth were among those playing in the afternoon.
Garcia didn’t have to look far to see what kind of damage Sawgrass can inflict. He played alongside Rory McIlroy, who began his round with a double bogey from the woods on No. 10 and finish a nine-hole score of 43 by hitting two tee shots into the water on the 18th for a quadruple-bogey 8. He finished with a three-putt bogey for a 79, his highest start of any tournament since a 79 at Royal Portrush in the 2019 British Open.