FLORIDA — Austria’s Sepp Straka and American Sahith Theegala were among five players sharing the lead at five-under par 67 at the opening round of the US PGA Players Championship.
Americans Maverick McNealy and Lee Hodges also reached the clubhouse on 67 after 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Austin Smotherman, five-under through 17 holes, had a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet at the par-five ninth to seize the lead.
“Just getting so dark,” Smotherman said according to AFP. “It’s not worth it right now, to get fresh greens.”
A 21-minute rain delay made the green speeds tricky to read for later players.
Straka opened with back-to-back birdies, eagled the par-five 16th on a 50-foot chip and got up and down for par at 18 from 66 yards.
“I really did not hit it very well today,” Straka said. “I was able to recover from some errant tee shots and put a good number on the board.
“I’ve got to hit some fairways. I lived on the edge. Had a lot of up and downs, some from 90 and 100 yards. You won’t survive long doing that.”
Theegala began with three birdies and holed out from 99 yards for eagle at the 12th.
“I got away with one there,” he said. “I landed it so far right that it took a huge hop left. If that didn’t crash the pin there that was 25 feet down the ridge. That was a huge bonus. It felt great to see one go in.”
Hodges birdied four of the first seven holes and sank a six-foot birdie putt at 18 to share first. “I’m honestly just happy to be in the position I’m in,” Hodges said. “I knew my game was there. I was just kind of waiting for it all to come together.”
