Rory McIlroy one behind three surprising leaders after Round 1 of the Players Championship

Behind the leaders are five players at 5 under par: Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Min Woo Lee, Akshay Bhatia and Max McGreevy. Eleven players, including Rickie Fowler and Aaron Rai, finished with 4-under 68s. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Jake Knapp lead a pack of 11 players at 3 under. 

As is the case every year at tricky TPC Sawgrass, some of the best players in the world struggled out of the gate. Viktor Hovland is in last place after an 8-over 80, and Max Homa barely beat him out with a 7-over 79. Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick limped to 6-over 78s. Sam Burns (+1), Hideki Matsuyama (+2), Tony Finau (+4) and Sungjae Im (+4) will also need strong second rounds to make the cut. 

The most eventful round of the day came from Players debutant Chandler Phillips. In his first competitive round at TPC Sawgrass, Phillips made three eagles and a triple bogey to finish with a 4-under 68. According to Justin Ray of The Athletic, Phillips is the first golfer in Players Championship history to make three eagles in a single round.

The forecast calls for perfect weather again on Friday, so we should be in store for a fun second round leading up to the cut.