Lucas Glover, JJ Spaun and Camilo Villegas formed a tie for the lead with World No 2 Rory McIlroy lurking one stroke off the pace after Thursday's opening round of The Players Championship.
Former US Open champion Glover, fellow American Spaun and Colombian Villegas each fired 6-under-par 66s on a sun-splashed day at TPC Sawgrass, where the fairways ran fast but the greens were receptive to approach shots.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy was among many players who also took advantage of the conditions, mixing seven birdies with two bogeys for a 67. McIlroy was level with Billy Horschel, winner of the 2014 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, as well as Akshay Bhatia and Australian Min Woo Lee.
Glover, enjoying a new lease on life since he switched to a long putter in 2023, played in the early wave and moved one stroke clear of the elite field when he sank an 18-foot birdie putt at the iconic par-3 17th.
After benefiting from a tailwind as he teed off at the par-4 18th, the 45-year-old then struck a 9-iron to 7 feet before draining the putt.
"I played nice," said Glover, whose first-round scorecard included nine birdies and three bogeys. "... The margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry.
"So I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great. But any time you get off to a good start, it gives you confidence."
VILLEGAS' UP AND DOWN SEASON
Villegas, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who is currently ranked 254th in world, is making his sixth Tour start. It has been an up-and-down early season which has featured three missed cuts and a best finish at The American Express in January when he was tied for seventh.
"I kept it in play, gave myself good chances, made some nice putts," said Villegas, who briefly got to 7-under before he slipped back with a bogey at the par-4 seventh – his 16th hole of the round. "A couple nice par saves, too.
"You've got to be cautious here. It's a tricky golf course. You've got to keep it in play. Aggressive, reckless can bring big numbers quick, and you've got to avoid those."
McIlroy, who won the Players Championship in 2019 and owns four top-10s at the venue, signed off in magical style with a brilliant and unexpected birdie at the par-4 18th.
After his drive ended up on pine straw among trees to the right of the fairway, he conjured a superb second shot with a 5-iron which finished 8 feet from the cup before he buried the putt.
"You're just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those," McIlroy said about the task facing him from the pine straw before he made his final birdie of the day.
"I was just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up around the front of the green and make 4, and get out of there. It was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely way to finish."
MCILROY - UNEVEN START BEFORE CATCHING FIRE
McIlroy experienced an uneven start to the day, offsetting birdies at the first and second with bogeys at Nos. 3 and 7. He caught fire after the turn with birdies at No 9, 10, 11 and the par-4 12th.
"I certainly didn't drive it the way I wanted to, didn't hit it in as many fairways as I would have liked," said the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland. "I think with the greens being so receptive, you can get away with it a little bit. I'm not going to be able to get away with it for the rest of the week. Sort of rode my luck out there a little bit."
Huge galleries followed McIlroy, who played in a marquee grouping on Thursday alongside World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Xander Schauffele.
Reigning champion Scheffler, who is bidding for an unprecedented third successive Players victory, returned a 69 while Schauffele endured a topsy-turvy day on his way to a 72 that included four birdies, two bogeys and a double at the last.
"I feel okay about the round," said Scheffler, who is bidding this week to become the first player since Steve Stricker, at the 2011 John Deere Classic, to win the same PGA Tour event in three consecutive years. "Overall, felt like I did some decent things out there and gave myself some chances."
Scheffler had a solid start to his day, pocketing birdies at the third, fourth and ninth to reach the turn at 3-under 33. However, he bogeyed the par-4 10th after pulling his tee shot into the tree line on the left and was forced to chip out just 50 yards into the fairway.
He rebounded with a birdie at the par-5 12th but was unable to make up any further ground.
"Felt like I could have holed a few more putts," Scheffler said. "I stayed patient out there. I didn't try and force anything around the golf course. I gave myself enough opportunities to shoot a better score, I just wasn't able to score as well as I would have hoped to."
Fan favourite Rickie Fowler carded a 68 and was part of a massive 11-player tie at 4 under.
Due to darkness, the first round was suspended with five players yet to complete their round.
The elite Players Championship field is one of the strongest in the game with the top 10 golfers in the world rankings – and 48 of the top 50 – assembled at the TPC Sawgrass for the tournament's 51st edition.
Jason Day of Australia, ranked No 33, withdrew just one hour before he was scheduled to tee off on Thursday morning due to an illness.