PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Former world No. 1 amateur Maverick McNealy reeled off five birdies in his first 12 holes before seizing an early one-shot lead in a weather-hit opening round of The Players Championship on Thursday.
The 30-year-old McNealy, who won his lone PGA Tour title at the 2024 RSM Classic, briefly moved two strokes clear of the elite field after hitting a superb approach to 5 feet at the par-4 12th and knocking in the birdie putt.
McNealy then offset a bogey at No. 15 with another birdie at the 16th hole en route to a 5-under-par 67 on a blustery and occasionally rain-swept day at TPC Sawgrass.
“I just mastered the variability of what the golf course threw at us really well,” McNealy said.
“It was a mixed bag of everything, felt like four different seasons out there. When that wind flipped, I knew 16 was going to be kind of my last birdie opportunity, so I had 8-iron into that hole and I was glad to take advantage of that, and then hung on really well the last two.”
As thunderstorms moved in from the west, play was suspended at 12.09 p.m. ET before being resumed at 12.30 p.m. Consequently, afternoon tee times were pushed back by 30 minutes.
World No. 6 Russell Henley and fellow American Justin Thomas, who won this event in 2021 and is making his second PGA Tour start of the year after undergoing back surgery in November, opened with 68s on a tightly bunched leaderboard.
World No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood of England, American Tony Finau, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and Norway’s Viktor Hovland carded 69s. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, bidding for a rare third victory at The Players Championship, produced a mixed bag as he opened with an even-par 72.
“I did some good things, changing weather out there, but, overall, I felt like I gave away some shots,” said Scheffler, who clinched his 20th career victory on the PGA Tour at The American Express in January. “Hoping to clean it up a little bit the next few days.
“It can get very challenging when you get some high winds like we had this morning. It can get even more challenging when you’re playing from the rough, which I felt like I was doing a bit too much of today. … I struck it better on the back nine. Just made a few mental errors and just need to be a little bit sharper the next few days.”
The elite field is one of the strongest in the game with the top 10 golfers in the world rankings — and 47 of the top 50 — assembled at TPC Sawgrass for the tournament’s 52nd edition.
However, World No. 4 Collin Morikawa withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury after playing just one hole. After teeing off on the 10th hole and making a par, he experienced some discomfort while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box.
“I felt fine in warm-up,” Morikawa said. “Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. Like I just had the feeling before when it’s happened. And I just, I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”
Also on Thursday, Ryan Fox withdrew due to illness prior to the start of the opening round. He was replaced in the field by David Ford.
