Florida: Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley continued their recent strong form to set the pace with seven-under-par 65s in the first round at the Players Championship in Florida on Thursday.
Six days after sharing the halfway lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Englishman Fleetwood and American Bradley renewed acquaintance atop the leaderboard.
Fleetwood set a target when he piled up six birdies on the more difficult front nine for his bogey-free 65 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
“You can only play yourself out of it in round one. I’ve done a good job of keeping myself in it,” Fleetwood told reporters.
Bradley matched the score with an eagle, six birdies and single a bogey in the afternoon.
The pair led by one stroke from South Korean An Byeong-hun and American Brian Harman.
Another American, Ryan Moore, made the ninth hole-in-one in tournament history at the famous island-green 17th, where he slam dunked a sand wedge from 120 yards.
The effort helped lift him to within two shots of the lead, along with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and compatriot Vaughn Taylor, after a 67.
Tiger Woods was equal 35th after an entertaining 70 that included six birdies and four bogeys. He had only one par on the back nine. Fleetwood, who played the back nine first, did not take advantage of still conditions early, instead making his move after the wind had started to make its presence felt. — Reuters
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