Bob MacIntyre makes steady start as Collin Morikawa suffers early injury KO in The Players Championship
Bob MacIntyre matches Scottie Scheffler’s opening effort at TPC Sawgrass
Collin Morikawa, the FedEx Cup leader, lasted just one hole in The Players Championship after injuring himself as he took a practice swing at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
World No 4 Morikawa, winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month, knew straight away that something was amiss after teeing it up on the 11th then taking his practice swing.
“I just knew it was gone,” he admitted after withdrawing from the PGA Tour’s flagship event in Ponte Vedra Beach. “I felt fine in the warm-up and there’s not been any signs of back problems.
“But I just had the feeling before when it’s happened. I just can't swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It's just the worst thing in the world.”
‘It’s a fun course to play’
In his second event after back surgery, having missed the cut by a mile in the first one, Justin Thomas was delighted to open with a four-under 68, one less than FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood.
“Just feels great to get off to a great start at a big tournament, a tournament that I love,” said Thomas, a two-time PGA champion. “I always enjoy playing this place. I just feel like it's just a fun course to play.”
On a day when defending champion Rory McIlroy was able to shrug off the back issue that forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend to be among the later starters, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a 72.
“I did some good things, but, overall, I felt like I gave away some shots,” said Scheffler. “Hoping to clean it up a little bit the next few days.”
Bob MacIntyre also carded a level-par opening effort, dropping a shot at the par-5 second before getting it back three holes later. The rest of his card contained only pars.
McIlroy had to settle for a 74, leaving him seven shots off the lead, which is shared by a group of five players, including in-form Austrian Sepp Straka.
“Honestly, overall it was fine,” replied McIlroy to being asked if his back had been an issue, having delayed his arrival until Wednesday and then being restricted to hitting balls on the range. “Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but it was actually all pretty good.”
The first round was suspended due to darkness at 7.37 p.m local time. with four players left to complete their round on Friday morning.
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