Weather: Thursday: 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 25^th 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 (1^st/-7)

Statistic	Entering the week
Age	41 (January 9, 1980)
FedExCup	23
OWGR	43
Starts at THE PLAYERS	20
Wins at THE PLAYERS	1
Top-10s at THE PLAYERS	6
Career PGA TOUR starts	375
Career PGA TOUR wins	11
Career PGA TOUR top-10s	106
PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21	10
PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21	1
PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21	1

 

• Has one win (2008) and two runner-up finishes (2007, 2015) in 20 prior starts at THE PLAYERS
• 25^th 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)
• 13^th 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 (2^nd/-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 (2^nd)
• 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 17^th, 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 18^th (4.416)                                     Par-5 16^th (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)

Year	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
2021	35
2019	14	6	8	17	45
2018	24	21	6	3	54
2017	19	29	10	11	69
2016	6	9	17	4	36
2015	21	16	3	5	45
2014	12	12	1	3	28
2013	15	9	7	13	44
2012	18	11	4	6	39
2011	12	14	8	6	40
2010	7	8	5	9	29
2009	16	6	4	6	32
2008	20	18	10	16	64
2007	50	21	10	12	93
2006	19	17	12	9	57
2005	7	8	25	28	68
2004	9	10	4	7	30
2003	6	10	3	10	29
Average	17.22	13.24	8.06	9.71	47.18