PGA Tour

The Players Championship 2021 – R-1 Review/Preview

Note: The first round was suspended due to darkness at 6:32 p.m. ET with 21 players left on the course and will resume at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The early Round Tee Times will go as planned (they started at 6:45am).

The 2008 Players Championship winner Sergio Garcia made two eagles and held a two-stroke lead, after partial completion of Round One. His (65) was a tournament record 25th round in the 60s.

Brian Harman stands in solo-second after a (67) that included four consecutive birdies on Nos. 9-12.

Matthew Fitzpatrick (T-3) at (-4) posted his second sub-70 score in 13 rounds at The Players (first: 69, R-1/2016).

FedExCup leader Bryson DeChambeau opened 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).

Reigning FedExCup champion and World No. 1 Dustin Johnson recorded a 1-over (73) and stands T-60.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy recorded a (79), tying the second-highest opening round score of his PGA Tour career.

Coincidentally, the player in first place (Sergio Garcia) and in last place (Henrik Stenson) won The Players back-to-back in 2008 and 2009.

(Partial) First Round Leaderboard

Sergio Garcia 65 (-7)

Brian Harman 67 (-5)

Matthew Fitzpatrick 68 (-4)

Corey Conners 68 (-4)

Shane Lowry 68 (-4)

The first round was suspended due to darkness at 6:32 p.m. ET with 21 players left on the course and will resume at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The second round will begin as scheduled at 6:45 a.m.

The Players Championship 2021 – Opening Round

From 2007 to 2018, The Players Championship was staged in the month of May. The tournament has been played at Ponte Vedra Beach ever since 1977. From 2011-to-2014, the winning scorecard read (275) each year as KJ Choi (2011), Matt Kuchar (2012), Tiger Woods (2013) and Martin Kaymer(2014) all hit the winner’s circle with that magic score.

Golf Channel noted: The past five winners (and 11 of the last 13) have been in the early-late wave (Thur-Fri) to begin The Players. Some of the most intriguing guys in that group this year: Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton, Tony Finau, Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler.

The Top 10 Career Money Winners at The Players: (events) (money)

1. Sergio Garcia (20) – $5,466,153.43

2. Tiger Woods (19) – $4,724,366.90

3. Jim Furyk (23) – $4,081,763.72

4. Adam Scott (18) – $3,507,107.62

5. Rory McIlroy (10) – $3,333,787.50

6. Henrik Stenson (14) – $3,305,908.93

7. Matt Kuchar (15) – $3,097,894.27

8. Jason Day (9) $3,075,269.29

9. Phil Mickelson (26) $2,900,485.65

10. Stephen Ames (13) $2,781,333.34

The 2021 Players Championship marks the one-year anniversary since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the USA 9and world), sports and professional golf for a solid three months. Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record with a (63) before the tournament was called-off last spring.

Rory McIlroy was nine strokes behind Matsuyama when the tournament was cancelled after the first round last year as the coronvarius pandemic gripped the world. “I think I feel a bit better about that than Hideki does,” joked McIlroy when asked on Tuesday (March 9) about not chasing nine shots to defend his title this year. McIlroy enters The Players Championship with consecutive top 10 finishes.

Last spring, Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Si Woo Kimwere T-2 behind Matsuyama after R-1 (65s). Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood were the first round leaders in 2019.

#DriveOutHunger – Five-time PGA Tour winner, 2014 FedExCup champion and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Billy Horschel once again will host his #DriveOutHunger campaign to help feed the people of Northeast Florida. He will donate $1000 for every birdie and $5000 for every eagle that he makes during THE Players to the fund.

First Look at The Players

The 2021 Players Championship marks the one-year anniversary since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the USA 9and world), sports and professional golf for a solid three months. Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record with a 63 before the tournament was called-off last spring.

Rory McIlroy is the defending champion from the 2019 Players Championship. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is the favorite.

The 2021 Players Championship field will featured 48 of the top 50 in the world, with only Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff not scheduled to play. It is the PGA Tour’s “Fifth Major” and an “All-Star Game that Counts” all-in-one.

The 2021 Players will allow for 20% of capacity at TPC Sawgrass. Players volunteer chairman Troy Smith said the number of volunteers has been reduced from 2,200 to around 1,500. The Players will be only the fifth PGA Tour event to allow fans since golf resumed. Fans were permitted in Houston, Bermuda, Scottsdale, and last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.

THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: The Players

COURSE: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye.

YARDS/PAR: 7,189 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $15,000,000/$2,700,000

DEFENDING Champion from 2019: Rory McIlroy  (2019 Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS of Event: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Available/Winner Share: 3,375/600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedEXCup @ThePlayersChamp

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12: 12:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14 – 1:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC.

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday from 6:30am to 6:00pm (ET); and on Saturday (7:45am-6:00pm ET) and Sunday (7:45am-6:00pm ET), PGA Tour Live will stream Featured Holes on Saturday (3:00pm to 6:00pm ET) and Sunday from 2:30pm to 6:00pm (ET).

PGA Tour is also offering “Every Shot Live” on Thursday and Friday from 6:45am to 8:00pm ET and on Saturday and Sunday from 7:50am to 6:00pm (ET).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Thursday, March 11 – Friday, March 12 – 11:00am to 6:00pm (ET); then Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14: (12:00pm to 6:00pm (ET)) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

Remember: Eastern Standard Time switches to Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday night. (clocks will “Spring Ahead” one hour.

TOURNAMENT SITE (link)