Masters champion Sergio Garcia and world number one Dustin Johnson were among those with late tee times.
If Rory McIlroy is going to win the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, he'll need to stage quite the comeback.
And the move did not seem to do any harm as the left-handed Californian opened with a respectable two-under-par 70 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
With the 24m-long green completely surrounded by water, the 17th, Sawgrass' signature hole, has brought undone many a great golfer in the past, including Garcia.
Fast starts and tough finishes were the norm. What better place to start than the scene of his last victory? Almost 60 yards shorter than in past years, the par-4 gives players more to think about during the round. From the middle of the fairway, Fowler blocked it so badly to the right that his ball hit a cart path and went deep into the pines. They'll be joined by some big names as well - Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and Henrik Stenson round out their two groups.
"No one's going insane low or anything like that", he said.
J.B. Holmes and Alex Noren were at 68.
The reigning FedEx Cup champion got off to a slow start with a bogey on the opening hole, three-putting from 35 feet.
"Dustin Johnson is out there playing pretty well", Day said Tuesday. Besides his Masters win he has 3 top 15 finishes in the 6 tournaments he played, he has not missed a cut and he has only shot 4 rounds over par this season.
William McGirt fully deserved his status as the early pacesetter after producing two back-nine eagles en route to a five-under 67. The biggest change will be seen at par-4 12th hole, which has been No. 12 shortened from 358 yards to 302 to encourage - nearly mandate, in fact - that these golfers try to drive the green.
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He made it sound simple, even though the Players Stadium Course can be anything but that. Check out full Players Championship tee times for Friday's Round 2, follow the action with our leaderboard, and get video highlights and live updates below the leaderboard.
McGirt had three birdies on the front nine and eagled both of the par-fives on the back nine to offset two bogeys.
RAKE JOB: Jordan Spieth was so irritated by a poor rake job in the bunker left of the first green that he wanted to document the evidence. Wenzloff added that the new tee box on the par-4 seventh allows the player to see much less of the fairway than before, so it looks much narrower.
"From a normal lie, it wasn't too bad".
"I want to think that it's just kind of a fluke", Spieth said. I feel like if I'm going to play well here this is the time I will play well here. Harris English never got anything going and wound up with an 84. Hence, there would not be the first repeat player at The Players Championship.
Speaking ahead of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the Irishman declared he's mentally in the best shape of his career and he is on top of his game after impressing at the Masters.
"I would do anything in the world to get back there", he said.
"You know, all the qualities I have", he said with a laugh.
"Six, eight and nine were the only bad holes I played and they weren't really that bad, but the rest of the game was pretty solid so I'm pretty happy with it". He has the most birdies on No. 17 with 26, including the one he made Thursday.
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