PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL — The biggest star at The Players Championship was not Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth playing together in the morning. And it wasn’t Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in back-to-back groups in the afternoon.
It was TPC Sawgrass all day long in another round of big numbers, curious shots and endless entertainment.
Charley Hoffman was among four players tied for the lead at 5-under-par 67. He was thrilled with his eight birdies, the most of anyone Thursday. What turned a great day into a very good one was that triple bogey out of nowhere right after he made the turn.
How does one make a 7 on the usually harmless first hole?
“Pardon my French,” Hoffman began, before using a familiar English word not fit for print to describe all seven of his bad shots. In fairness, the seventh shot was good. He made a 4-foot putt to keep it from being an 8.
Former University of Wyoming golfer David Hearn, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Kevin Na each shot a 67 too. It was boring, which never hurts around here.
McIlroy also had a boring round by his standards — two birdies, an eagle and one bogey for a 3-under 69. It’s a rare occasion when he will call that a good day.
“I think that’s what this course is all about,” McIlroy said. “It’s about staying patient. There’s a lot of pars on my card, but I was able to pick off a couple of birdies and a nice eagle on 16. I’m happy with the start, for sure.”
Spieth wasn’t so fortunate. The Masters champion was 40 yards from the green at the par-5 11th and used a wedge three times to get on the green. That doesn’t explain the horrible lie he had in the grass, followed by the lie in the sand just below the lip of the bunker. He shot a 75, matching his worst score of 2015.
Woods hit a tee shot on a par 3 that went into the water, which is not unusual. But it wasn’t on the island green at the 17th. It was at No. 8, with a clunker that found a creek some 40 yards short of the green. Woods, who shot a 73, didn’t even know there was water on that hole.
