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WeatherThursday: Partly cloudy. High of 72. Wind E 8-12 mph. The first round was suspended due to darkness at 6:32 p.m. ET with 21 players left on the course. Friday: The first round resumed at 7:30 a.m. and was completed at 8:31 a.m. Mostly sunny. High of 73. Wind E 4-8 mph.

First-Round Leaderboard

Sergio Garcia                     65 (-7)

Brian Harman                    67 (-5)

Matthew Fitzpatrick           68 (-4)

Corey Conners                  68 (-4)

Shane Lowry                      68 (-4)

Things to Know

  • 2008 PLAYERS Championship winner Sergio Garcia makes two eagles, holds two-stroke 18-hole lead
  • Garcia also led THE PLAYERS by two strokes after the first round in 2008 before going on to win
  • Garcia cards his tournament-record 25th round in the 60s at THE PLAYERS
  • The players in first place (Garcia) and last place (Henrik Stenson) won THE PLAYERS in back-to-back years (2008, 2009)
  • Brian Harman stands solo-second after a 67 that included four consecutive birdies on Nos. 9-12
  • Defending champion Rory McIlroy records 79, tying the second-highest opening round score of his PGA TOUR career

First-Round Lead Notes

15             First-round leaders/co-leaders to win THE PLAYERS Championship

(most recent: Webb Simpson/2018)

4                First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2020-21

                  (most recent: Patrick Reed/Farmers Insurance Open)

Sergio Garcia (1st/-7)

StatisticEntering the week
Age41 (January 9, 1980)
FedExCup23
OWGR43
Starts at THE PLAYERS20
Wins at THE PLAYERS1
Top-10s at THE PLAYERS6
Career PGA TOUR starts375
Career PGA TOUR wins11
Career PGA TOUR top-10s106
PGA TOUR starts in 2020-2110
PGA TOUR wins in 2020-211
PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-211
  • Has one win (2008) and two runner-up finishes (2007, 2015) in 20 prior starts at THE PLAYERS
  • 25th round in the 60s at THE PLAYERS, most in tournament history
  • Recorded eagles at Nos. 16 and 9 (both par 5s); first career round in THE PLAYERS with multiple eagles (77th round) 
  • Third career round on the PGA TOUR with multiple eagles and first since 2012 The Genesis Invitational (2/R4)
  • Lowest opening-round score at THE PLAYERS and first 65 or better in a round at TPC Sawgrass since 2013 (65/R2)
  • 13th 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and second at THE PLAYERS (first: 2008/Won)
  • 2-for-12 to date with the 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (wins: 2008 THE PLAYERS Championship, 2016 AT&T Byron Nelson)
  • First past PLAYERS winner to hold the 18-hole lead/co-lead at the event since Matt Kuchar in 2018
  • Has one win (Sanderson Farms Championship) and six made cuts in 10 starts during the 2020-21 season
  • Entered the week No. 23 in the FedExCup standings and No. 43 in the Official World Golf Ranking

Brian Harman (2nd/-5)

  • Has competed in THE PLAYERS Championship eight times with top finishes of T8 twice (2015, 2019); in two previous top-10s at THE PLAYERS, opened with 71 (2015) and 66 (2019)
  • Carded four consecutive birdies from Nos. 9-12; the birdie streak was one off his career-best on TOUR of five in a row (four times; most recently: R3/2020 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD)
  • With a back-nine 31, matching his career-low nine-hole score at THE PLAYERS (R2/2012/front nine)
  • Highest 18-hole position since 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (2nd)
  • Entered the week No. 75 in the FedExCup standings and No. 95 in the Official World Golf Ranking 
  • Has one top-10 in 13 starts this season (T8/The American Express)
  • Two-time PGA TOUR champion (2014 John Deere Classic, 2017 Wells Fargo Championship)

Miscellaneous Notes

  • Corey Conners (T3/-4) is the only player in the field to eagle the par-4 14th (461 yards); holed out from the fairway from 154 yards
  • Matthew Fitzpatrick (T3/-4) posts his second sub-70 score in 13 rounds at THE PLAYERS (first: 69, R1/2016)
  • Viktor Hovland (T42/E) was assessed a two-stroke penalty under Rule 14.7 for playing a ball from the wrong place; Hovland marked his ball on the green, moved it one putter-head length for another player, and then moved it again in the same direction rather than replacing it (score changed from 2-under 70 to even-par 72)
  • FedExCup leader Bryson DeChambeau (T6) opens with a 3-under 69, his eighth under-par score in nine rounds at the event;DeChambeau is the only player to win multiple tournaments during the 2020-21 season (U.S. Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
  • Reigning FedExCup champion and World No. 1 Dustin Johnson records a 1-over 73 and stands T58; T5 in 2019 marked Johnson’s first top-10 in 11 starts at the event
  • Defending champion Rory McIlroy opens with 7-over 79, tying the second-highest opening round score of his PGA TOUR career (highest: 80/2018 U.S. Open); with a 43 on the back nine, tied the highest opening nine-hole score of his PGA TOUR career (677th round)
  • Byeong Hun An recorded an 11 at the par-3 17th, tying the second-highest score on that hole since the event moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982; highest: 12, Bob Tway (R3/2005)
  • Kevin Na withdrew after the first round due to a back injury

Course Statistics

Toughest Hole                                          Easiest Hole

R1:        Par-4 18th (4.416)                                     Par-5 16th (4.610)

Scoring Averages                                                       

                  Front 9                     Back 9                       Total                          Cumulative

R1:            36.896                      36.909                      73.805                      –

Bogey-free rounds:

R1 (1): Tom Hoge (69)

Balls in the water at No. 17 (since 2003)

YearR1R2R3R4Total
202135    
201914681745
201824216354
20171929101169
20166917436
201521163545
201412121328
201315971344
201218114639
201112148640
2010785929
20091664632
20082018101664
20075021101293
2006191712957
200578252868
20049104730
200361031029
Average17.2213.248.069.7147.18