The Players Championship hardly got underway as inclement weather took over TPC Sawgrass on Thursday
Round 1 of the 2022 Players Championship was extended by five hours on Thursday after two separate rain delays. It transformed the TPC Sagars from the fast and firm conditions into a point-and-shoot track mile that generally makes it famous at this time of year.
Golfers took advantage as the scoring average fell to a flat 71, and even though half the field has yet to finish its round, there are already a pair of 66s atop the leaderboard. Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge co-led with 6 under and after Day 1 there were four players behind them at 5 under.
Another strange case is going to happen on Friday. Golfers like Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Colin Morikawa - all on the third hole - will likely play all day as they try to get to their next 33 holes before sunset. Fleetwood, Hoge and others who finished Thursday evening will either barely get their second round or will probably be completely discharged before starting Round 2 on Saturday.
There is a possibility of even worse weather with the possibility of thunderstorms throughout the day on Friday and strong wind on Saturday. The goal, as always, will be to try and finish by Sunday evening, but a messy first day and a second that doesn't look much obvious can make that impossible.
Let's take a look at the Round 1 leaderboards and try to understand what we saw and what could happen from here to the end.
T1. Tom Hoge, Tommy Fleetwood (-6): Fleetwood was fantastic on and around the greens and drove it great, but he wasn't even in the top 100 in approach shots, which is going to be a problem at a place like TPC sawgrass . If the wind is blowing. "It's a great first day," Fleetwood said. "I'm happy to stay on that score. I felt like I got the ball off a couple of times, and I felt like I chipped and hit great. Sure, I could get out the most . Round."
Hoge, on the other hand, led the field from tee to green. He was a good little sleeper pick coming into the week considering his history here (two top 30s in his last two starts) and his 2022 win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. The only flaw on his card was a three-put on the 17th hole. And when it comes to winning he probably doesn't have the firepower to hang with most of the field - Morikawa is due to be 2nd down three holes early Friday, which is a problem - he still has a big The chance is there to get into the top 10 and post or even get yourself into controversy on Sunday.
T 3. Kramer Hickok, Joaquin Neiman, Keith Mitchell, Anirban Lahiri (-5): It's a great track for Neiman, and he was positive in the strokes he received in every class on Thursday. If he gets into a flying competition on Saturday with heavy winds, he will be a complete success. If his small game continues to show, he could win two of his biggest events of 2022 so far (TPC Sawgrass and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club).
T7. Brian Herman, Sam Burns, Abraham Anser, Taylor Pendrith (-4): Harman has had one T8 and one T3 in the last two years and always seems to be in the mix in this tournament. He wasn't impressive off the tee on Thursday (not unusual), but after playing his first five holes in 2 overs, he closed the next 13 at 6-under to burst onto the leaderboard. Burns and Anser were top 10 in approach shots on Thursday if you're looking for some consistency.
T11. There are some horses in this group: Jon Rahm, Harold Warner III, Will Zalatoris, Louis Osthuizen, Cameron Smith and three others (-3). Zalatoris hit the ball so well (in the third approach and fourth in the green off the tee) but again struggled with the putter. He also got into some trouble at the end and made a double there or he could have scared the lead by the end of the day. His ball striking magic made him watch TV for the rest of the week to relieve his misery. Rahm looked uncomfortable throughout the day and didn't hit the ball particularly well. However, returning to his old Odyssey putter, he was awesome on the greens and put together a chuckle when it looked like he didn't have much in the tank. According to Kaiser Sportsbook, only Morikawa has little chance of going into Friday's action.
T19. Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Justin Rose (-2): All of these players are remarkable because none of them have played more than four holes. DJ and Koepka are both after 2 under three holes and have a ton of golf in front of them on Friday. If conditions are soft and easy on Thursday like Friday, it wouldn't be surprising to see either of them on a 9- or 10-under lead on Friday evening.
T40. Victor Hovland, Scotty Scheffler, Colin Morikawa (-1): As mentioned earlier, Morikawa is close to 2 under when she makes a short birdie put on the third hole on Friday morning. Scheffler is also at the start of his first round. Hovland held the lead all day on Thursday and faded in the last four holes with a pair of 6 seconds of late. He hit the ball so well and got nothing out of it because his short game didn't cooperate.