Rory McIlroy Fires Opening 65 at the Players Championship, But Not Without Controversy

The 2019 champ twice found water off the tee and one led to an extended discussion with Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland on where to drop.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Hitting two tee shots in the water can typically lead to disastrous consequences, but the scoreboard does not offer that detail about Rory McIlroy’s first round at the Players Championship.

The four-time major champion who won the PGA Tour’s flagship event in 2019 got hot early, made 10 birdies around the TPC Sawgrass course, and saw his name atop the leaderboard on Thursday despite those two water balls that led to a bogey and a double bogey.

All in all, that’s pretty good, right?

“It would be nice to shoot 62 and not have two in the water, I guess,” was McIlroy’s sheepish reply after he finished with a 65.

Rory McIlroy (left) shot 65 Thursday at TPC Sawgrass but had an extended conversation with Jordan Spieth surrounding a drop at the 7th hole :: Corey Perrine/USA TODAY Network

McIlroy birdied his final hole, the par-5 9th, to get one of those wayward strokes back and tie Xander Schauffele for the early lead on a near-perfect weather day.

But it wasn’t one without at least a little bit of controversy for McIlroy.

Both of his water balls—at the par-4 18th, his ninth of the day, and the par-4 7th—brought into question where he crossed the penalty area and the location of his drop.

It was particularly pronounced at the 7th, where he hooked his tee shot into the water but where television replays could not capture the exact landing spot. Determining that would impact how far up he could take his penalty drop.

Both playing partners Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland questioned the entry point and a rules official became involved with the ensuing drama taking some eight minutes before McIlroy played from what he believed was the correct spot. Spieth is heard saying on the broadcast that word from television personnel was that the ball hit below the penalty line—which would mean a drop from well back to where the ball first crossed the water.

Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland discuss McIlroy's drop on No. 7.

Rory makes double bogey to move from solo leader to T2. pic.twitter.com/dkV6a5Q22W

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2024

“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing,” McIlroy said. “I mean, I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It's so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But I think, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing.

“If anything, I was being conservative with it. I think at the end of the day we're all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well. I wouldn't say it was needless. I think he was just trying to make sure that what happened was the right thing.”

Neither Spieth nor Hovland spoke to reporters after the round.

McIlroy was asked if he felt the exchange was awkward.

“I mean, I guess I started to doubt myself a little bit. I was like, O.K., did I actually see what I thought I saw,” McIlroy said. “But as long as I was comfortable, and I was just making sure that Jordan and Viktor were comfortable, too.”

With no cameras able to definitively show where McIlroy’s ball crossed the red hazard line, McIlroy said “the best view was from the tee, which was the view that we had. ... It was just a matter of whether it was above the line or below, and I thought I saw it pitch above the line.”

As it played out, McIlroy still made a double bogey on the hole (he made a bogey at the 18th where he found the water) as his approach came up short and he was unable to get the ball up and down for bogey.

And yet, even with a negative strokes-gained number off the tee, McIlroy saw strong improvement in his irons, ranking eighth in the field in strokes-gained tee to green and second in approach to the green.

After a disappointing tie for 21st finish Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he began on the fringe of contention, McIlroy said he got to work on Monday to try and figure out some issues with his swing.

He has lamented the fact that his driver and wood club swings have been good, while he can’t get comfortable with his irons.

“It’s probably been one of my best days in a while, which is really nice,” McIlroy said. “The feeling is really good with the irons, and the feeling with the driver and the 3-wood is just a little bit different, but as long as I remind myself on the tee box that O.K., this is a wood, and I get on the fairway, and this is an iron, and I've got two different feels and two different thoughts, then it's O.K.

“Yeah, much, much improved on the approach play today, which was nice to see.”

It’s been an odd year so far for McIlroy, who started in the Middle East playing two tournaments in Dubai. He let the first one at the Dubai Invitational get away when he hit his tee shot on the final hole into the water, made bogey, and lost to Tommy Fleetwood.

The following week, McIlroy captured the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for his 17th DP World Tour title (to go along with 24 on the PGA Tour).

But since coming back to the United States, the results have been mediocre. A tie for 66th at the weather-impacted AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a tie for 24th at the Genesis Invitational and back-to-back ties for 21 at the Cognizant Classic and Arnold Palmer.

“I needed to clean up the technique a little bit, needed to clean up some things,” he said. “Honestly, just needed to put the time in. I think when you play—I've wanted to play a lot to start this year, and I have, but when you play a lot, you don't maybe get the time to practice all that much.

“At the same time, say I had a decent day on Sunday at Bay Hill and shot 70, for sure I would have taken Monday off here. But because of not shooting a decent score, I grinded on the range and figured something out and put the time in, and it's sort of already reaping benefits, so that's nice.”