Rory McIlroy He spent a good part of 2022 and 2023 defending the investiture of the PGA Tour against the constant attacks of the LIV. He took a decidedly political role, but felt betrayed after a surprise North American tour agreement with the Arab League and, from there, He focused exclusively on the game. This reorientation towards the purest of golf is giving him formidable results: he started as the leader of The Players, with a total of 65 (-7), in the same line as Xander Schauffele and Whyndam Clark.
The Northern Irishman’s card reveals peculiarities, because he made 10 birdies – an absolute record in the history of the tournament since it was played on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass – and went into the water twice, since he paid with a double bogey on the 7th and a bogey at 18. Exactly at 7, the No. 2 in the world He got into a long debate with his playing partners, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland, in which it was argued whether the ball had bounced in or out of bounds before sinking into the lagoon. The rules officials intervened to see where McIlroy should drop the ball and the group ultimately took half an hour to complete the hole; a sometimes harsh conversation that was captured by microphones during the broadcast.
Then, the four-time major champion spoke about the regulatory exchange, especially after Spieth’s questions: “It’s very difficult, right? Because there was no television evidence. I think Jordan (for Spieth) was trying to make sure I was going to do the right thing. In the end, we are all trying to protect ourselves and also the field. “I wouldn’t say it was an unnecessary discussion.”
McIlroy is looking for a second victory in The Players after his consecration in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2019, but this season, fundamentally, he seeks to end the ten-year streak without obtaining majors – too long, for a player of his hierarchy -, since his last major title came at the 2014 PGA Championship. Judging by his performance this Thursday, You can only blame yourself for bad shots with the driver to the left on holes 7 and 18, but it worked perfectly with the irons and putter.
Aside from the Northern Irishman, one of the great moments of the first day came with the hole in one that Ryan Fox achieved on the 17th green-island, the jewel of the course designed by Pete Dye. The New Zealander, who had just finished 3 shots on the par-5 16th, became the first player with a sequence of two eagles in a row since 1983 records began to be kept at The Players. Since then, 17,405 rounds were played in the competition before this Thursday’s. Never seen.
At 37 years old, Fox joined the group of 13 golfers who had conquered the island’s green in one go. In the previous moments, Fox had hit his second 180-yard shot 2 feet, 4 inches from the flag to earn applause on the 16th hole. Thus, with that “eagle-eagle,” he went from +1 to -3 in just 20 minutes and with that score (69) he finished his first round.
Emiliano Grillo, the only Argentine in the competition, also He totaled 69 strokes (-3) and is among the top 25. Although logically he did not have the same impact as Fox, the Chaco native is another of those who left the 17th hole happy, since after landing his ball near the edge of the green-island, he scored from a distance of 5 meters for birdie. Grillo’s notable improvements in statistics with the putter led him to his second title on the PGA Tour last May, in Fort Worth, Texas, and he maintains his precision in the current season, in which he made all eight qualifying cuts.
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