Ponte Vedre, FL …
Rory McIlroy battled a case of post-wedding wobbles while Masters champ Sergio Garcia celebrated his return to competition with an ace on day one of the Players Championship in Florida.
Garcia raised his fist in air with delight after seeing his tee shot take two bounces and spin back into the cup at the famed island-green par three, 17th.
The Spaniard had been three-over par at the time having taken a bogey ‘5’ at 15, a birdie ‘3’ at 16 and then ‘1’ at his penultimate hole.
Garcia, and winner of the event in 2008 and was runner-up two years ago, pared the last in a two-over par 74.
In contrast, McIlroy had little to celebrate just two days after announcing a reputed deal for $US 100m in signing with TaylorMade.
However, and as was evident during the practice rounds, he struggled with the muc-talked about M2 driver managing to hit only six of 14 fairways in his first event since sharing seventh spot in the Masters.
McIlroy was even through his opening nine holes but it all turned pear-shaped on the back nine with two double bogeys in a five-hole stretch on route to signing for a one-over par 73.
At the par four, 1oth hole McIlroy found a fairway bunker with his drive but then stuck his next well left of the green and then horribly three-putting from just under 1o-feet.
McIlroy grabbed one shot back when he chipped to 13-feet at the remodelled par four 13th but two holes on, and at the par four, 14th he took another double.
On this occasion, McIlroy sent his drive left into the water and then put his third into a greenside bunker but then again disastrously three-putted from just three feet.
He set-up a birdie at the par five 16th with a booming 319-yard drive, a second shot to just 23-yards short of the hole from where he chipped to some two-feet for only the fourth birdie of the round.
McIlroy parred 17 to remain at two-par before holing a 33-feet birdie putt that left him lamenting just inside the top-70 in the $US 10.5m event.
Graeme McDowell heads the three-man Irish contingent grabbing four birdies and one less bogey in his 71.
McDowell had been one over par early in his round in taking bogey at the 11th or his second hole but picked-up birdies at his fourth, where he holed a nine-footer, and then also at his eighth to turn at one-under par.
He then played the inward nine in level par with two birdies and two bogeys, and saving the best for last when McDowell landed a 70-yard wedge third shot to just four inches at the dog-leg par five ninth.
“A 71 is a good day’s work considering I didn’t play that fantastic”, he said.
“The breeze was starting to kick-up those last four holes, so looking at the general scoring I think anything under par this morning would seem to be okay.
“I probably should have done better but the pin positions out there today were fairly tough and they seem to be a yard or two closer to the edge of the greens that you are used to seeing them here at Sawgrass.
“I guess that is because the greens are now somewhat flatter and softer, and by that I mean in terms of the undulations so they were a bit tougher to get at.
“So, like I say I didn’t play all that great but I wasn’t 100% at the races and sometimes you have to deal with that to see if you can put a score in because I would have taken one-under.”
And for a second straight week Shane Lowry struggled in posting a two over par 74 but showing some good late form birding 16 and 17.
American William McGirt was the clubhouse leader at five-under par very late in the day but only after Aussie Adam Scott, who led by a shot with two holes to play, double-bogeyed both the 17th and closing holes.
