Follow our live coverage from day one at TPC Sawgrass as the $25m Players Championship gets underway.

World No.1 Jon Rahm, No.2 Scottie Scheffler and No.3 Rory McIlroy were out together in the morning wave, but failed to really get going. Scheffler's four-under-par 68 was polished by two late birdies while Rahm's 71 was a par-fest. However, it was Rory McIlroy who struggled the most as he carded a four-over-par 76 that was bookended by two sixes.

The afternoon starters have it harder as the course firms up, with Max Homa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the marquee group struggling to make inroads into the clubhouse lead. For all the tee times, check out the round 1 and 2 groupings.

Earlier today, we saw a hole-in-one as Hayden Buckley aced the iconic 17th in one of the first groups of the morning. Kelly Kraft and Nick Watney have racked up the worst score of the day on the 17th so far, with two very different quadruple-bogey sevens.

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We will be covering the tournament over all four days, with our team making sure you keep up to date with who is leading, and all the drama that is bound to happen.

The Players Championship Leaderboard

• -8 Ramey

• -7 Morikawa

• -5 Pendrith, Svensson

• -4 M.W Lee, McCarthy, Bezuidenhout, Svensson, Scheffler, Griffin

• Star groupings:

• McIlroy +4 (F), Rahm -1 (F), Scheffler -4 (F)

• Homa E, Thomas +1, Spieth -2

Useful Links

• The Players Championship Betting Odds

• The Players Championship Betting Tips

• The Players Championship Round 1 and 2 Tee Times

• How To Play TPC Sawgrass

• How To Watch The Players Championship

• Staff Picks - Who Will Win At TPC Sawgrass?

Live coverage being updated by...

There may be no defending champion (Cameron Smith), and Tiger Woods isn't in the field, but there is a lot to be very excited about at The Players Championship from TPC Sawgrass.

The first groups are off in just five minutes.

Check out all the Players Championship Round 1 and 2 Tee times

Our Staff's Favorite Bets

Geoff Fienberg, Brian Kirschner, Bradley Todd, Andy Lack, Sam Eaton and Tom Jacobs break down their best bet for The Players Championship.

FIRST GROUPS ARE OUT

Good morning/afternoon folks. Elliott Heath here to bring you the first five hours of coverage today at TPC Sawgrass.

The featured trio of McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler go out in around 50 minutes' time so I'll be live blogging them all the way until around their 14th or 15th hole I'd imagine.

They're starting from the 10th tee so will be standing on the iconic 17th tee in around about 2hrs 45mins I'd guess.

NO MORE GOLD MAN?

Reports state that the divisive Players Championship gold man has been dropped from this year's coverage. Shame.

BIG NAMES TO WATCH THIS MORNING

As well as McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler (7.56am local time/12.56pm GMT), there are plenty of other big names out this morning at TPC Sawgrass.

Tommy Fleetwood has just teed off from the 10th and we've also got big names like Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama and Tyrrell Hatton out amongst the morning wave.

Players Championship round 1 tee times

WEATHER WATCH

Gorgeous morning in Florida (isn't it always?) but the breeze is certainly up at times, with winds scheduled to peak at around 16-21mph throughout the day. Going to make things interesting.

WHAT'S A GOOD SCORE?

Aside from Hideki Matsuyama's ridiculous 63 (-9) in 2020 when the tournament was cancelled after day one due to Covid-19, the first round leader tends to shoot between 6-7 under par on Thursday.

Anything under par on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is a good score, though.

Last year's cut line came at +2 so I guess we can expect something similar this year.

AUSTIN SMOTHERMAN THE EARLY LEADER

Smotherman, the World No.366 who has gone MC-MC-MC-MC in his last four starts, opened his round birdie-eagle to take the early lead at three-under! Fair play. Let's hope he can keep it up and have the week of his life.

SMOTHERMAN IN TROUBLE

I appear to have cursed Austin Smotherman as he found the bunker right on the par-3 3rd and will have a good 25ft to save par.

Tyrrell Hatton has just teed off the 10th, pulling his drive a little left on the dogleg-left.

SMOTHERMAN BOGEY

Did not think I'd be giving Austin Smotherman updates today but he has just bogeyed the 3rd and is back to two-under alongside playing partner Min Woo Lee.

Here's Smotherman's eagle on the 2nd by the way:

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TYRRELL HATTON UPDATE

We're two holes in and Hatton is already angry after bogeying his 1st (the 10th) and then a poor iron into the 11th.

"Mick's in for a long day," Andrew Coltart says on Sky, referring to Hatton's caddie.

STAR TRIO HAVE BEGUN

Rahm straight down the middle with a fairway wood on the dogleg-left 10th, Scheffler does the same and McIlroy just pushes it down the right into the rough.

MCILROY STRUGGLING FOR PAR ON 10

His lie was very thick in the right rough and his second shot goes well left. Looks to be a very tricky up-and-down ahead.

Scheffler safely aboard the green in regulation, while Rahm comes up just short after finding a fairway divot off the tee.

MCILROY'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

He looks to catch a rocket with his third shot, from 20 yards, and it rolls well past and down off the green. Going to have a cute up-and-down to save bogey here.

Rahm's flop shot from a sidehill lie is stunning. He'll have a tap-in for par.

MCILROY WAS BUNKERED

His ball eventually came to rest in the bunker and he kind of chunked it out, coming up a good 15ft short. Nightmare start here with a double-bogey looking likely.

DOUBLE BOGEY START FOR MCILROY

Ouch.

On what is a fairway wood and a wedge, that was a bit of a shocker there. Luckily for him, though, he has a par-5 coming up next where he should be able get a shot back.

KEITH MITCHELL JOINS THE LEAD

The 2019 Honda Classic champion, who was 5th at the Genesis Invitational recently, has joined the early lead at two-under-par.

I suspect a lot of bets this week will have gone on the American.

MCILROY BOMBS IT DOWN 11

186mph ball speed and 323 yards of carry with a baby draw. Wow.

Will surely give himself an eagle look after that poor double bogey start.

AUSTIN SMOTHERMAN BACK TO THE TOP

After his birdie-eagle start, Smotherman gets back to three-under after a lovely birdie at the short par-4 6th.

Looks to have a beautiful swing.

The 28-year-old Californian has wins on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and the Korn Ferry Tour.

HOW MUCH?!

Want to play TPC Sawgrass? It'll cost you.

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KEITH MITCHELL JOINS THE TOP

The World No.47 goes birdie-birdie-birdie to reach the top of the leaderboard.

362 YARDS

That's how far McIlroy's drive went on the 11th. A total of 38 yards past Scottie Scheffler who also hit a beauty.

EAGLE PUTT FOR MCILROY AT 11

From 204 yards, he pulls an 8-iron and comes up around 30ft short. Should be a simple birdie.

564 yards with a drive and an 8-iron.

BOUNCEBACK BIRDIE FOR MCILROY

He lags it up and taps in for birdie to get back to one-over.

SLOW START FOR THE STAR TRIO

Rahm and Scheffler both star par-par and McIlroy is one-over after two.

Not the best of starts from the three, but plenty of golf left.

SI WOO KIM TO TWO-UNDER

The Korean, winner here in 2017 at the age of 21 (!!), is up to two-under-par.

Kim, winner of the Sony Open in January, has four PGA Tour victories to date, and he knows a thing or two about winning around Sawgrass.

STAR TRIO LOOKING GOOD ON THE 12TH

McIlroy is in tightest at the 360 yard 12th, with probably just inside 10ft for birdie. Scheffler and Rahm are both inside 20ft.

FIRST GROUP REACH THE 17TH!

Danny Willett, Brandon Wu and Davis Thompson have the honor of being the first to play the 17th this year. Will there be any balls in the water? Let's find out.

Willett and Wu are short but have nice uphill birdie chances while Thompson goes well long. All dry though!

STAR TRIO ALL PAR THE DRIVABLE 12TH

The slow start continues. All three miss their birdie efforts. McIlroy seems quite angry after what was a fairly wide miss from inside 10ft.

WILLETT BIRDIES 17

The 2017 Masters champ holes a beauty up the hill for birdie on the peninsula after his ball awkwardly came to rest right against the collar of the rough.

UNIQUE FROM SI WOO KIM

He just hit a greenside bunker shot with the flag out... That's confidence! The Korean went for a parachute-style splash shot and hit a beauty to around 4ft.

BALL IN THE WATER AT 17!

We have our first victim of the 17th this week folks. Taylor Montgomery, who was two-under-par after seven, finds the drink.

HOLE-IN-ONE!!!

Hayden Buckley aces the 17th!! He gets to three-under-par.

A beautiful wedge lands long, spins back and rolls perfectly to find the bottom of the cup. A great celebration too as he jumps up, launches his cap and celebrates with his playing partners and the cheering crowd!

BUCKLEY'S HOLE-IN-ONE

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PENDRITH JOINS THE TOP

The big-hitting Canadian, who had an impressive Presidents Cup debut last year, eagled the par-5 16th to get into a four-way tie at the top at three-under.

TAYLOR PENDRITH TO THE TOP

The Canadian birdies the par-3 17th after his eagle on 16 to become the first man to reach four-under-par. The World No.114 is yet to win on the PGA Tour but does have two PGA Tour Canada victories. Could be a big week for him at TPC Sawgrass.

His playing partner Callum Tarren also birdies 17 to get to two-under.

STAR TRIO UPDATE

McIlroy still one-over with Rahm and Scheffler both still level. They're through five holes, having just finished up on the 14th.

MCILROY IN TROUBLE ON 15

The stunning dogleg-right par-4 catches McIlroy out after an over-faded tee shot finds the pine straw. He attempts a cutty, 8-iron over the trees with his second and it comes up short in the rough. Will be a tricky up-and-down to remain at one-over.

BUCKLEY TO FOUR-UNDER

He rolls in a 22-footer from just off the green on 18 for a birdie to reach four-under-par for his front nine.

He just played the 17th and 18th holes in four shots. Wow.

BUCKLEY'S BIRDIE ON 18

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MCILROY BACK TO TWO-OVER

He wasn't able to get it up-and-down from short, right on 15.

Drive to blame.

HAYDEN BUCKLEY ON FIRE

The American has under 6ft for birdie on the 1st to reach five-under!

STAR TRIO ON 16

Surely there are some birdies to come here. Scheffler and Rahm have both made six consecutive pars up to this point, with McIlroy two-over thanks to a double, a single and a birdie.

BUCKLEY TO FIVE

He holes from 6ft on the 1st to get to five-under-par.

He's just gone: hole-in-one, birdie, birdie.

Not bad!

WHO IS HAYDEN BUCKLEY?

10 things you didn't know about Hayden Buckley

MCILROY SETS UP AN EAGLE PUTT ON 16

After a pushed drive, he had an awkward angle over the water into the par-5 16th from the pine straw and pulled it off to perfection. Anything right or a bit heavy was wet, but he looked to execute a punchy, faded long iron that will set up a long eagle chance.

MCILROY THREE-PUTT PAR

From 28ft, McIlroy runs it 7ft by and his left-to-righter misses on the low side. Poor par there as his struggles continue. The 17th up next.

Jon Rahm birdies to get to one-under after his 13ft eagle putt slides by, while Scheffler makes his seventh-consecutive par of the day.

STAR TRIO ON 17

Rahm just about finds grass, missing the green by a foot or so to the right but he'll be fine from there.

Scheffler pulls it left and is just on the green/fringe around 25ft away, and McIlroy eventually hits after much deliberation - the wind is definitely swirling.

He punches one down and it lands a little long and somehow stays there! It looked to be on that hole-in-one trail where it would pull back but instead he'll have a very quick 15 footer.

MCILROY'S BRAVE APPROACH INTO THE PAR-5 16TH

This was so good. Shame he three-stabbed it but still, so good.

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MIN WOO LEE JOINS THE TOP

The Aussie, brother of World No.5 Minjee and winner of the 2021 Scottish Open, joins the lead at five-under-par.

He's through 12 holes, having just gone birdie-birdie at 11 and 12. A beauty into the par-3 13th sets up a 12 footer to reach six-under.

BEZUIDENHOUT GOING WELL

The South African has just eagled the par-5 11th to get to three-under-par.

Bezuidenhout has ten pro titles to his name and currently ranks 81st in the world.

Meanwhile, Pebble Beach winner Justin Rose has just birdied 16 to get to two-under-par. I really like him this week. Not sure why, but can see him going well and cementing his place in Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team over the summer.

BUCKLEY BOGEY

The American fails to convert his long par effort on the par-3 3rd to drop back to four-under. He missed the green left with his tee shot there and failed to get it up-and-down.

MIN WOO LEE TO SIX-UNDER

The Aussie is now top of the leaderboard on his own after converting a lovely right-to-left swinger on the 13th from 12ft.

He's bogey-free today. Seven pars, six birdies. Very, very good golf.

HAYDEN BUCKLEY'S HOLE-IN-ONE REACTION

So good.

RAHM BIRDIES 18

The World No.1 moves to two-under with a lovely putt on the 18th. It was very straight and it looked in all the way.

He's just gone birdie-par-birdie through the last three to turn a slow-ish day into a very good one.

Scheffler pars his ninth-consecutive hole, while McIlroy has turned in two-over-par.

MIN WOO LEE BACK TO FIVE

Lee found the bunker left on the difficult 14th and ended up dropping a shot, falling back to five-under and in a tie with Pendrith.

MORIKAWA TO THREE-UNDER

The two-time Major champ joins the party on three-under after birdieing the 1st (his 10th). He had made three birdies in his last five and is bogey-free for the day.

MCILROY IN TROUBLE ON THE 1ST

After missing yet another fairway, this time to the right, McIlroy comes up short on the 1st and is in danger of dropping to three-over.

GOOD BUNKER SHOT FROM MCILROY

He's one of the very best from the sand and shown it once again there. Should have inside 4ft to save his par on the 1st and get to the par-5 2nd tee still at two-over.

MORIKAWA!

From 235, his approach into the par-5 2nd nestles to within 4ft and he's going to tie the lead at five-under.

SCHEFFLER BIRDIE

After nine consecutive pars, Scottie Scheffler rolls in a 15 footer at the 1st to get it into the red.

OH DEAR RORY

His par putt was 5ft7in in the end and it had a sneaky bit of left-to-right on it, just lipping out on the right side.

He's three-over now. Will need to make some birdies or at least play some solid golf over the next 26 holes to make the cut.

MORIKAWA'S APPROACH FOR EAGLE ON THE 2ND

He's now tied for the lead at five-under.

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PENDRITH BIRDIES THE 5TH

The Canadian joins the top of the leaderboard, which is turning into a bit of a logjam at five-under. Low scoring from the morning wave so far!

SCHEFFLER BIRDIES AGAIN

After nine pars in a row, Scheffler has just gone birdie-birdie to get to two-under. Rahm is also two-under, with McIlroy down at three-over.

MCILROY BUNKERED AT 3

The Northern Irishman pulls his tee shot on the par-3 3rd and left is really not the place to miss.

Going to have very little green to work with from a bunker shot well down below the surface. Would still expect him to get it up-and-down but four-over-par is possibly looming.

MIN WOO BACK ON TOP

Lee birdies the par-5 16th and is on the 17th tee now at six-under-par, top of the leaderboard once more.

BIG PUTT COMING UP FOR RORY

McIlroy pitches up (he managed to avoid the sand) and will have 11ft left back for par after it ran by a little.

A big putt, you feel, as dropping to four-over would leave him quite a bit of work to do.

BEAUTIFUL WEDGE INTO 4 FROM COLLIN

Morikawa has set up a great birdie chance up the hill on the 4th after zipping a wedge back into the short par-4.

CHAD RAMEY JOINS THE TOP

The 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship winner reaches the top after a birdie at the 11th, his sixth birdie of the day. Putting together a beautiful round.

MCILROY FOUR-OVER

His 11 footer for par slides by on the right side and he's now four-over-par.

If he pars his way in after 36 holes he's going to miss the cut so is going to need to kick-start his tournament somehow. Now ten shots back of the lead just three-and-a-half hours after teeing off.

MORIKAWA JOINS THE LEAD

The two-time Major champ converts his birdie chance at the 4th to get to six-under.

He's just gone birdie-eagle-par-birdie to start his back nine (which is the front nine).

MIN WOO LEE FINDS THE WATER ON 17

The co-leader found the drink on 17 but hit a great wedge from the drop zone so should be able to save a bogey and drop just one shot to five-under.

ROSE WITH A BEAUTY

The Englishman has stuck it to within 5ft on the par-3 3rd hole, where the hole is back-left just a few paces away from the bunker down below.

Rose will have that to get to three-under.

BIRDIE CHANCE FOR RORY

McIlroy flights his wedge from 65 yards on the 4th to just 3ft so he's going to get back to three-over-par.

Scheffler and Rahm also have great birdie looks, too, on the short par-4.

ROSE TO THREE-UNDER

Brilliant birdie 2 from Rose there as he converts from 5ft on the 3rd hole.

MCILROY BIRDIE

The Northern Irishman converts from 3ft after both Rahm and Scheffler miss short birdie chances.

He's back to +3 and gets a big cheer from the crowd, hopefully that'll give him some momentum to finish strong.

IT'S BEEN A TOUGH DAY FOR RORY SO FAR (+3 after 13 holes)

BEZUIDENHOUT TO FOUR-UNDER

The South African is putting together a very nice round this morning at TPC Sawgrass and gets to four-under after holing a 12ft right-to-lefter down the hill on the par-5 16th.

DECENT BIRDIE LOOK ON 5 FOR MCILROY

From 144 in the left semi-rough, McIlroy's wedge gets up pin-high to the front pin and he'll have around 15ft to pick up another much-needed birdie.

BOGEY-BOGEY FINISH FOR MIN WOO LEE

The Aussie taps in for his 5 on the 18th and that's a poor finish but he's in the house at four-under after a 68.

Great round nonetheless.

MCILROY'S BIRDIE CHANCE SLIDES BY

It was 21ft in the end and he gave it a good go but it just hung out on the right side. Got about 3ft back so should be a par to remain at three-over.

His final four holes will be a short par-4, a medium-sized par-4, a long par-3 and then the long, double dogleg par-5 9th.

HANDING OVER TO DAN PARKER

GM's resident lefty Dan Parker will now take you through McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler's finish over the next three hours before Troon's finest Andy Wright brings us home.

MORIKAWA TO SEVEN-UNDER

Thanks Elliott, great work this morning! I'll be in the driver's seat for the next few hours to guide you through the coverage.

Speaking of driver's seat, Collin Morikawa now finds himself at seven-under-par and leading the tournament by one shot - settle in folks!

BUCKLEY IN THE CLUBHOUSE 

Hayden Buckley has had a day he'll never forget after a hole-in-one on the 17th hole.

A scrappy 41 on the front nine (his back nine) means he finishes at one-over for the day. I doubt he'll care one iota about that after his sensational ace earlier.

RAHM, RORY & SCHEFFLER WITH THREE TO PLAY 

Our star group have just three holes left to play today. Rahm and Scheffler have been solid, if unspectacular, today and are both two-under par. Rory is still languishing at three-over par however - can he get back to level before the end of his round?

PENDRITH IN THE CLUBHOUSE

Taylor Pendrith's 67 is now the best score of the day so far. Collin Morikawa and Chad Ramey will try their very best to beat that though, and both have a few holes left to play while currently being seven and six-under respectively.

MORIKAWA SETTLES FOR PAR

On the 7th hole, Morikawa has yet another great look at birdie. It sneaks by on the high side however and he settles for par. Two holes to go for the 2021 Champion Golfer Of The Year who sits at seven-under.

RAHM RULING

Jon Rahm has managed to negotiate himself a drop near a drain cover on the 7th fairway. I'm no rules expert, so I'm not entirely sure why he got a free drop there when neither his ball or his feet were near the drain. After all that, he misses the green from 124 yards...

RAHM REMAINS BOGEY-FREE

Despite his mistake with wedge in hand, Rahm makes an up-and-down from the bunker to maintain his blemish-free card at stay sat two-under par.

In his group, Scheffler has just made back-to-back birdies to get to three-under par.

WHERE IS THE WIND?

There is barely a breath of wind out on the golf course at the moment. Some cloud cover means the greens aren't getting too baked either. Will someone from the afternoon starters be able to shoot something in the low 60s?

AN OLD FAVORITE? 

We've just spotted that Collin Morikawa is actually using the old TaylorMade SIM driver this week. He was using the new Stealth 2 driver last week and this represents a fairly significant change in equipment from the American...

RAMEY TIES THE LEAD

Chad Ramey joins Morikawa atop the leaderboard thanks to a birdie on the par-5 16th. Just behind him, Canadian Adam Svensson has now got to five-under on his day.

Rahm cards his first bogey of the day to drop back to one-under and frustration continues for Rory who can't make his way up the leaderboard.

RAMEY TAKES THE LEAD

Nearly an ace for Chad Ramey! After the birdie on the 16, you'd think the nerves would be right up as he stood on the 17th tee. Seemingly not though, and his tee shot lands a few feet behind the pin and trickles down hole side. It'll be a kick-in birdie to take the outright lead for the American. This is Ramey's first-ever appearance at the Players, and what a first impression he's making on this championship.

MORIKAWA SHOOTS 65

But it should've been a 64! Morikawa misses a guilt-edged putt on the par-5 9th hole and has to settle for a seven-under-par 65. With the putt missed on the 7th and 8th too, it could've been even better for the American. Ramey needs to par the 18th for the clubhouse lead...

FOWLER BATTLES BACK

After a slugglish start this morning, Rickie Fowler has battled back well to end up carding a level par round of 72.

Elsewhere, the marquee afternoon group of Max Homa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are underway.

HOVLAND, LOWRY, FITZPATRICK UNDERWAY

Another group worth keeping an eye on today is the all-European grouping of Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick. Hovland has started the fastest of the three with a birdie on the first.

RAHM, SCHEFFLER & MCILROY FINISHED

Our marquee morning group are off to sign their cards after a mixed first day. Rahm cards a 71, Scheffler a 68 and McIlory a very, very sluggish 76 that was bookended by two sixes on his card.

RAMEY TAKE CLUBHOUSE LEAD

It's a par down the last for Chad Ramey. He's pretty much the last of the morning starters to finish his round and its an eight-under 64 for the Sawgrass debutant.

THOMAS CHIPS IN!

It's an eagle for JT on the par-5 second hole. After a lip on for birdie on the first hole, that'll feel great for the 2021 winner. Two holes played, two under par.

SPIETH JOINS THE PARTY

Playing alongside Thomas, Spieth has opened up his account for the day with a birdie on the 2nd hole. Can the afternoon marquee group find a spark that McIlroy and co. couldn't find this morning?

TWO IN THE WATER FROM KRAFT

Kelly Kraft, who was already four-over for the day, has just dunked two balls in the water on the 17th hole. His third attempt has found the middle of the green and he'll have a putt for a six...

KITAYAMA STARTS SLOWLY

Last week's winner has come crashing back down to earth here at TPC Sawgrass. He's four-over-par through four holes and has just carded a triple bogey seven at the 4th.

THOMAS FINDS THE WATER 

He was looking in such fine form through the first few holes, but Justin Thomas has just chipped into the water on the fourth hole.

He missed the green short right from just 90 yards, leaving him a devilishly difficult chip he ultimately could only put in the water on the other side of the green. He's currently working out where to drop his ball and whether he wants to try that delicate chip all over again...

THOMAS SETTLES FOR DOUBLE

JT ended up chipping from the same location, but this time he had a much better lie and nearly chipped it in for the bogey! He settles instead for a double bogey to go alongside his two pars and eagle to balance the books for the day.

KEEGAN BRADLEY STARTS QUICKLY 

Two birdies in his first three holes means Keegan Bradley is one of the faster starters of the afternoon. Can he continue his fine 2023 form at one of his favorite courses?

THOMAS BOUNCES BACK

After his scrappy double bogey on the fourth, Justin Thomas bounces straight back with a birdie on five. He looked in fine rythmn before the double bogey and he looks favorite to go lowest out of the marquee group.

People bounce back, Lynne.

HOW MUCH?!

This a reminder that the field is playing for the biggest purse in PGA Tour history this week. While the afternoon starters are struggling to make a charge on the current clubhouse leaders, a lot of money will await Sunday's winner.

ANYONE MAKING A CHARGE?

No, not really. Scoring seems tricky for the afternoon starters, with only two players bothering the top 10 of the leaderboard. Justin Lower and Ryan Brehm are three-under on their respective front nines...

The weather isn't much different to this morning, so its hard to work out why the players are struggling to get into a groove this afternoon.

SPIETH BOGEYS

Spieth looks a little hot under the collar here. He's forced to chip out sideways from a fairway bunker and then misses the green short with a wedge in hand. He's unable to chip in for par so settles for a bogey, putting him back to level par.

His playing partners Max Homa and Justin Thomas are one-over and one-under respectively.

HANDING OVER...

It's been a pleasure to guide you through the last few hours on the opening day of The Players Championship. I now leave you in the very capable hands of Andy Wright to take you through to the close of play.

Will any of the afternoon starters make it to the top page of the leaderboard?

HELLO

Thanks Dan. Good evening to everyone tuning in. Still plenty of drama to unfold from day one of The Players so let's get stuck in!

JT IN THE WATER

No, not that one. Fitting that my first shot is a water ball on 17. JT Poston is the guilty party. It's his eighth hole of the day having started on the 10th so plenty of time to recover.

His recovery effort from the drop zone is a good one so he'll have around 10ft to salvage a bogey.

MOLINARI IN THE DRINK

The Italian takes on too much on Pete Dye's brutal 18th and sticks it in the water. He's a long way back for his third but arrows a fairway wood to about 8ft for what would be an incredible par to stay +1.

RILEY AND LOWER TO -4

Davis Riley continues his stunning start, converting from just over 3ft for his fourth birdie in six holes.

Justin Lower joins his compatriot on that mark with a birdie at the first having started at the 10th. Those two seem the most likely to challenge the leaders but it's still early days in the afternoon wave.

DAY TO -1, WOODLAND WET

Former World No. 1 Jason Day does what he does best and sinks a slippery putt. It gets him back on the right side of par after doubling the 7th.

It's bad news for his fellow Major champion Gary Woodland, who takes a trip to the water on the 17th. He was -1 but will drop at least a shot before taking on the 18th (his 9th).

BOGEY FOR RILEY

It's a first bogey of the day for Riley at the 7th. He gets himself out of position and can't save par from 8ft and drops to -3. Not ideal but no drama.

HOMA BIRDIES, JT BOGEYS

Not much happening in this marquee group. All three of them are in decent position to attack the par-5 9th in two but only Homa takes advantage. He converts from 10ft to get back to level.

Spieth salvages a par after a wild second to remain level while JT's clumsy bogey drops him to +1.

THE OMINOUS STAT BEHIND MORIKAWA'S QUICK START

In putting together his opening seven-under 65, Morikawa gained more than four strokes against the field with his approach play. Unsurprisingly, that has him ranked first per Data Golf.

A sign he is getting back to his best?

BETTER FROM THOMAS AND SPIETH

From 155 yards on the 10th, JT gives himself an uphill look from about 10ft for birdie to get back to level.

Spieth flies his second past the pin and will have about 8ft for his three.

WE FEEL YOU, SCOTTIE

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THOMAS AND SPIETH CONVERT

The American duo make the most of their good approach play on 10. The birdie gets JT back to level and takes Spieth to -1.

Elsewhere, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick remain level after failing to birdie the par-5 11th.

DAY TO -2, SCHAUFFELE EAGLES

The Aussie is picking off the birdies. That's three in four holes now as he converts from 4ft on the par-4 12th to get to -2.

On the par-5 11th behind, Xander Schauffele holes a monster across the green for a much-needed eagle to get back to +2. That could be the spark he needs to haul himself back into this.

17TH HOLE UPDATE

Jerry Kelly and Nick Watney are the latest to foul foul of the par-3 17th. That makes it 13 balls and counting in the water at the iconic short hole.

STOP THAT, JORDAN

Spieth does Spieth things on the par-5 11th. His second comes up short, leaving himself a 37-yard bunker shot. Treacherous for most but the American sticks it to 17 inches for a kick-in birdie to get to -2. Ridiculous!

GLOVER TO -2

The 2009 US Open champ holes from distance on the 2nd (his 11th) for his fourth birdie in five holes to move into a tie for 14th at -2. He is swiftly joined by Justin Suh.

In the marquee group, Thomas three-putts for a disappointing par on the 11th.

PINBALL FOR WATNEY ON 17

Having safely found the 17th green from the drop zone, Watney proceeds to four-putt for a silky quad. He's +6 through eight holes and only has three of the 144-man field in his rear view mirror.

RAI BACK TO LEVEL

The Englishman birdies the 16th (his 7th) to get back to level as he heads to the tricky 17th and 18th. He's safely aboard the island green but has a quick putt down the hill coming up.

WATNEY WATER WATCH

Nick Watney might just chuck himself in the water after sending his tee shot into the drink up the left-hand side of 18. To make it worse, his ball landed on dry land. He'll be wishing he could call it a day but he's still got nine to go.

ANOTHER BIRDIE FOR JAY DAY

Day is on a charge. He picks up another shot on the 14th, curling in a 30-footer to get to -3.

In other news, Schauffele's momentum is halted on the 13th when he pulls his tee shot on the par-3 into the water.

THAT SPIETH BUNKER SHOT

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THREE IN A ROW FOR SPIETH

From nowhere, really, Spieth has conjured up three birdies in a row. His latest on the par-4 12th came courtesy of a delicious wedge shot to 21 inches. Can he challenge the clubhouse lead with six holes to play?

WHAT?!

There are some shots the pros hit that just don't seem possible. This is one of them. Take a bow Viktor Hovland!

(He made the putt to get back to level.)

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WATNEY UPDATE

The American does well to salvage a bogey at the 18th to make the turn at +7. Hopefully he can have more success on the less water-heavy front nine.

Here are putts two, three and four from his four-whack on 17 for those who missed it...

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OUCH!

That's going to sting for JT. Having given himself a good look for birdie on the par-3 13th, he walks off with a bogey to drop to +1. One of those days for the two-time Major champ.

Elsewhere, Spieth and Day make great par saves to remain at -3.

CLUB SNAP

Shane Lowry is not happy! The Irishman takes on an ambitious recovery shot from the trees on the par-4 15th and fails to pull it off. His ball hits various bits of timber and ends up who knows where.

The classic club snap over the knee is a touch of class, though. It's not been a good day for him at +5 with three to play.

HOVLAND TO -1, DAY FINDS WATER

It's better news for Hovland, who makes it back-to-back birdies with a 22-footer on the 15th to get to -1.

Up ahead, Day takes on an ambitious second at the par-5 16th and finds the water. He drops and wedges to 20 feet but can't convert. That's a disappointing bogey that takes him back to -2.

WHAT A SHOT!

Ben Griffin gets to -4 in the best way possible, hoisting a flop shot up and into the hole for an unlikely birdie at the par-3 8th.

BOGEYS FOR SPIETH AND HOMA

The marquee group continues to struggle. Spieth and Homa fail to get up-and-down from right of 14 to drop to -2 and +1 respectively. JT holes from 5ft to salvage his par and remains +1.

A big final four holes coming up for this trio.

HOW BEN GRIFFIN GOT TO -4

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WATNEY!!!!

That's more like it. The American, who made a quad at the 17th, chips in for eagle on the par-5 2nd to get back to +5. Let's go!!