Rory McIlroy returned to action at the Players Championship after recovering from a back injury but ended round one seven shots off the lead.
The world number two arrived at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday, skipping the Arnold Palmer Invitational to continue treatment. He opened with a 329-yard drive but struggled to a two-over-par 74. Birdie putts on the 16th and 17th holes narrowly missed.
“It was fine,” McIlroy said of his back. “The most discomfort came when the ball was below my feet or with chipping. I felt unbelievably rusty out there.”
Austrian Sepp Straka, along with Americans Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, Sahith Theegala, and Austin Smotherman, set the pace at five under par. Straka eagled the par-five 16th and finished a bogey-free 67.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood made a strong start despite playing in heavy rain. He briefly reached five under after an eagle-birdie-birdie finish on Sawgrass’ 16th to 18th holes. However, a rain delay and bogeys dropped him back to three under, alongside Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, Norway’s Viktor Hovland, and American Xander Schauffele.
McIlroy’s tee-time for round two is 08:52 local time, giving him less time to rest after a late start. “It’s not structural, it’s purely muscular discomfort and fatigue,” he said, confident it won’t worsen before the Masters in four weeks.
World number one Scottie Scheffler also struggled, opening with a level-par 72 after four birdies were offset by four bogeys.
Justin Thomas returned to form with a four-under 68, sharing second place with Americans Cameron Young, Russell Henley, and Taylor Moore. Collin Morikawa withdrew after one hole due to injury.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick posted two under, while Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose finished at level par. Shane Lowry endured a quadruple-bogey eight on the 18th, finishing round one in disappointment.
