A late bogey on Thursday saw Christiaan Bezuidenhout finish the first round of the Players Championship at one-under-par 71 on the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Bezuidenhout made an early bogey too, on the fifth hole, but then picked up shots on the eighth, 11th and the 14th to move to two-under. At that point, during the morning field’s play, he moved inside the top 10, but he dropped a shot on the par-five 16th to slip back to a share of 47th by the time the end of the day came around.
He was five strokes off the lead which was shared by the surprising trio of Americans JJ Spaun and Lucas Glover and Colombia’s Camillo Villegas at six-under-par. Glover, 45, the 2009 US Open champion, was impressive for his 66, with a brilliant closing stretch of four consecutive birdies helping him overcome three bogeys in his round up to the 12th. Villegas made five birdies on his front nine after starting on the 10th, and three on his way home together with two bogeys down that stretch. Spaun was bogey-free.
In a share of fourth on five-under lurked Rory McIlroy, who shook off two bogeys on the front nine on his way to his 67. With McIlroy were Australia’s Min Woo Lee, and Americans Billy Horschel, Akshay Bhatia and Max McGreevy.
Defending champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who played with McIlroy, carded a three-under 69 for a share of 20th.
Erik van Rooyen opened with a level-par 72 for a share of 62nd, while Aldrich Potgieter, in the Players Championship in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, carded a two-over 74 for a share of 99th.
