Maverick McNeely hits the rough on the 18th hole during the first round of the Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. March 12, 2026. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union) PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, Sahith Theegala and Sepp Straka tied for the lead in the opening round of the Players Championship, which was halted Thursday due to poor weather clouding the action.
Surprise Package Austin Smotherman, one of four players yet to complete the opening round, has a chance to take a clear lead when play resumes Friday as he faces a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole, the par-5 ninth.
Smotherman finished 5 under par with a mix of four birdies and a bogey on the back nine, but regretted his decision to mark the ball on the green after chipping a shot from 40 yards out and return the next morning to complete his round.
“It was getting too dark,” said Smotherman, a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour who was runner-up at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach last month. “The greens are getting bigger, which means the rain has softened them to the point of adding spikes, footprints, etc.
“So whatever I have, 15 feet, 16 feet, whatever. I mean, it’s not worth it now. (And he’s) going to get fresh veggies in the morning. That’s the advantage. Do you want me to hit chips in the morning too? It went back and forth. The fact that I was questioning that, I probably should have backed off.”
McNealy, Hodges, Theegala and Straka shot matching 5-under-par 67s at TPC Sawgrass on a day of mixed weather conditions. The course here was relatively firm in the morning, then softened by early afternoon thunderstorms.
McNealy, a former world No. 1 amateur, teed off in the morning waves and grabbed five birdies in the first 12 holes to take an early one-stroke lead. He was then caught late by fellow Americans Hodges, who birdied two of the final three holes, and Austrian Straka, who eagled the par-5 16th with a chip in from 50 feet.
“It was a very simple chip,” said Straka, who has four wins on the PGA Tour, most recently last year’s Truist Championship. “The first cut was uphill off the green. It was as easy as it came and I was able to take advantage.”
America’s Theegala was in a four-way tie at the top after shooting 3-under-par 9, holing out eagle on the par-4 12th hole, hitting a 99-yard approach from the right fairway, his ball bouncing sharply to the left off the fringe and disappearing into the cup.
“I hit it a little thin and it came out a little right,” said Theegala, whose only PGA Tour win came at the 2023 Fortinet Championship. “It got a good bounce. It probably turned left on that slope and probably went about 20, 25 feet down that slope, just left of the hole. So it’s pretty cool to hit the pin and go in. It’s a nice bonus.”
World No. 6 Russell Henley, who won the event in 2021 and is making his second PGA Tour start this year after undergoing back surgery in November, and fellow American Justin Thomas were among a group of four players who opened with 68s on a packed leaderboard.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, seeking a rare third win at the Players Championship, had a mixed bag as he opened with an even-par 72. He followed up with back-to-back bogeys and a birdie on the final hole, the par-5 9th.
“I did some good things, like changing the weather, but overall I felt like it was a little disappointing,” said Scheffler, who won his 20th PGA Tour victory at the American Express in January. “I’d like to get things sorted out over the next few days.
“When there’s a strong wind like it did this morning, it can be very difficult. It can be even more difficult when you’re playing in the rough. I felt like I did too much today… I played better on the back nine. I just made a few mistakes mentally and just need to be a little sharper over the next few days.”
World No. 2 and defending champion Rory McIlroy had a frustrating day, shooting a 74 as he attempted to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a back injury. He often slowed the pace, mixing three bogeys and one birdie off the tee for a seven-stroke performance.
Asked if he has any back problems, McIlroy said, “I would say the most uncomfortable thing is when the ball is under my feet or when there’s chipping.” “I think I was a little down. Honestly, overall I was fine. I was a little tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually pretty good.”
The elite Players Championship field is one of the strongest, with 47 of the world’s top 10 and top 50 golfers converging on TPC Sawgrass for the 52nd edition of the tournament.
However, World No. 4 Colin Morikawa (pictured) withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury after playing only one hole on the 1st. After teeing off on the 10th hole and hitting par, I felt uncomfortable while taking a practice swing at the tee box on the 11th hole.
–Mark Lamport-Stokes, Field Level Media
