Camilo Villegas and Lucas Glover
among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day
[March 14, 2025]
By DOUG FERGUSON
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Camilo Villegas was on the phone the
day before The Players Championship trying to sort out his swing
with a coach who is in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf event. He
wound up tied for the lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled
with them.
Thursday was no exception.
Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving
him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the
TPC Sawgrass without a bogey.
Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score
two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5
under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was
suspended by darkness.
Rory McIlroy made four birdies from tee shots that found the rough
or the pine straw, including the 18th hole when he punched a shot
off the pine straw and out of the trees to 7 feet, putting him in
the group at 67.
“You’re just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of
those,” McIlroy said. “Just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up
around the front of the green and make 4 and get out of there. It
was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely
way to finish.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few
shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but
was satisfied enough with a 69.
Villegas was on the verge of losing his card two years ago when he
connected with Jose Luis Campra, a respected Argentine professional
who caddies on the side. He currently is looping for Sebastian Munoz
on LIV, which is in Singapore this week.
“It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there,” Villegas said. “We worked
for a couple hours. He's a very, very hard worker. Very few guys
give more golf lessons than Jose Campra, and he's always available
for me. So it's great.”
It was a small tweak on the downswing, and Villegas took that to the
dangerous Stadium Course and promptly made five birdies on the back
nine to start his round. There were a few mistakes, typical for most
players.
That's what this course does. Slight misses can turn into big
numbers.
Chandler Phillips experienced both. He set a Players Championship
record with three eagles. He also had four birdies, an astonishing
performance wiped out by a triple bogey on the par-3 eighth hole
that started with a tee shot into a palmetto bush.
Justin Lower had the best par of all. He was one of 10 players to
hit their tee shots into the water on the island green at the par-3
17th. He was the only player to walk away with par, going to the
drop zone and holing his wedge.
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Rory McIlroy watches his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first
round of The Players Championship golf tournament Thursday, March
13, 2025, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Max Greyserman wasn't so fortunate. He put two in
the water and had to make a 12-foot putt for his quadruple bogey.
Glover isn't sure what to make of his record at the TPC Sawgrass, 10
times missing the cut with only two top 10s. But there was no big
secret on this day. He hit it where he was aiming and made putts,
with birdies on his final four holes.
It stood out amid some surprising scores on a gorgeous day. Justin
Thomas hit four tee shots into the water and had to birdie the last
two holes for a 78. Viktor Hovland had three double bogeys in his
round of 80.
Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey in
his opening six holes. He played far boring golf — which he prefers
— with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on the back nine and it
added to a 70.
“That's the thing about this place,” Glover said. “There's always
some really good scores and always some really bad scores. The
margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You
get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry.
“I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of
good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great.”
Glover was not immune. He was too aggressive on the par-5 11th with
a wedge and wound up in a pot-shaped bunker for bogey. He dropped
another shot on the next hole.
But it was the finish that set him apart — an approach to 5 feet on
the 15th, a chip to tap-in range on the par-5 16th, an 18-foot
birdie putt on the island green par-3 17th and a shot that caught
the slope and fed down to 8 feet for birdie on the 18th.
The 45-year-old former U.S. Open champion is having a late
resurgence in his career, particularly impressive from having
overcome the putting yips about a decade ago. He never gave up the
grind and finally cashed in by winning the Wyndham Championship and
the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in consecutive weeks in 2023.
“Just don’t want to be done at 45, honestly,” Glover said. “I deep
down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don't want to
stop anytime soon.”
McGreevy was among five players who didn't finish before darkness.
He was to resume at 8 a.m., and then everyone gets to do it all over
again.
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