Rory McIlroy makes wayward start to The Players Championship, sits 12 shots off lead at TPC Sawgrass

Rory McIlroy went straight from the final green to the driving range in a bid to find the solution to the issues that saw him slump to an opening round of 76 at The Players Championship. McIlroy arrived at TPC Sawgrass in a positive frame of mind after coming up just short in a final-round charge at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last weekend. Ad Bay Hill has a reputation for sapping energy from those fighting it out at the finish on Sunday, while a seven-hour board meeting to discuss the future direction of the PGA Tour would not have been the ideal preparation for The Players.

Hero Dubai Desert ClassicMcIlroy says he would 'expect a lawsuit' if he threw a golf tee back at Reed25/01/2023 AT 13:45 Whether he was drained, mentally or physically, was not clear but he was way short of his best — particularly off the tee. McIlroy is one of the finest drivers in the game, but he hit only six of 14 fairways on Thursday. Sawgrass is not a course to be playing when out of position, and McIlroy paid for his wayward form off the tee.

First Round Leaderboard 1. Chad Ramey — eight-under 2. Collin Morikawa — seven-under T3.

Taylor Pendrith — five-under T3. Ben Griffin- five-under T3. Justin Suh- five-under T6.

Min Woo Lee — four-under T6. Denny McCarthy — four-under T6. Christiaan Bezuidenhout — four-under T6.

Adam Svensson — four-under T6. Scottie Scheffler — four-under T6. Sam Burns — four-under He bookended his round with a pair of sixes, a double-bogey on his first hole and a bogey on his final hole.