Garcia salvages opening round with 17th hole ace

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Sergio Garcia arrived at TPC Sawgrass’ signature 17th hole amid a languishing round and with mixed bag of success during his career at the par-3 island green.

Garcia added another wild chapter when his 52-degree wedge shot from 123 yards landed six feet shy of the pin, one-hopped inches past the hole and spun back into the cup for an ace as the crowd erupted.

“I hit a good shot, but it can go there, it can go 3 yards past. It can do anything,” Garcia said. “It was nice to see it bounce and kind of spin back into the hole. Maybe because I needed it after the start I had.”

Playing his first tournament since his April 9 win at the Masters, Garcia was 4-over par through six holes. The 17th-hole ace helped him post a 1-over par 73 — six strokes behind leaders William McGirt and Mackenzie Hughes.

“At least we were able to salvage a round there at the end ...,” he said.

Garcia said the ace was his 12th, including five in competition.

The 17th hole delivers drama every year, and Garcia has been in the middle of his share of it.

Garcia won the 2008 Players with a par on 17th hole to defeat Paul Goydos in a playoff. Since 2003, no player has more birdies on the hole than Garcia’s 13.

But tied with Tiger Woods with two holes remaining in 2013, Garcia took aim at the flag on 17 and dumped two balls in the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7.

“We all know what 17 can do,” he said. “It’s tricky. It’s going to be a test throughout the whole week.”

Spieth overreacts

Cellphones on the golf course are no longer a nono.

World No. 5 Jordan Spi- eth took advantage, but later wondered if he should have pocketed his device.

Spieth arrived to his ball on the par-4 first hole to find it in a bunker with a terrible lie. The 23-year-old blamed an earlier group for a poor job raking the bunker.

Prior to hitting the shot, Spieth whipped out his phone and snapped a photo of the lie, planning to show a rules official following the round.

“I overreacted probably a bit, but all in all, you just don’t see that very often,” Spieth said. “Guys are very good 99.9 percent of the time and that was very frustrating. I knew where I was, from a normal lie, it wasn’t too bad; and from that lie I had no chance.

“It was a frustrating time in the round there where I was trying to kind of get some momentum going.”

With his mind racing one of the world’s premier bunker players blasted out to 45 feet. He then three-putted for a double bogey on his way to a 1-over 73.

Spieth now will need a strong second round to avoid missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass for the third straight year.

Withdrawals

Kevin Na and David Toms, two former contenders at the Players Championship, withdrew Thursday.

Na bailed after two holes and two bogeys, citing illness. Na made headlines in 2012 at TPC when he battled full swing yips yet carried a one-shot lead into the final round before stumbling to a 76.

Toms, who has not played since January, did not tee it up during the first round due to back issues. He lost in a playoff to K.J.

Choi during the 2011 Players. At age 50, Toms’ best days likely ahead are on the Champions Tour.