Rory McIlroy opens Players Championship defence seven shots behind leaders

Rory McIlroy began his defence of the Players Championship after recovering from a recent back injury, but the Northern Irishman finished the opening round seven shots behind the leaders at TPC Sawgrass.

The world number two arrived at the tournament only a day before the first round, having chosen to remain at home for treatment. The injury had forced him to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Despite the limited preparation, McIlroy showed flashes of power during his opening round.

His first drive travelled 329 yards straight down the fairway, indicating that the injury had not significantly affected his ability to generate distance off the tee.

However, the rest of the round proved more challenging.

McIlroy completed the round in 75 strokes, finishing two over par and well behind the early leaders in the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

Several birdie opportunities narrowly slipped away during the closing stretch. Putts on the 16th and 17th holes both grazed the edge of the cup but failed to drop, denying him the chance to reduce the damage.

Speaking after the round, McIlroy said the injury itself had not been the main problem.

“It was fine,” he said when asked about the condition of his back.

“The most discomfort was when the ball was below my feet or when chipping.”

Instead, the four-time major champion admitted he felt rusty after his disrupted preparation.

“It’s weird,” McIlroy added. “I played on Friday; it’s not as if I’ve taken a ton of time off. I just felt unbelievably rusty out there.”

While McIlroy struggled to find momentum, several players took advantage of calmer conditions to post low scores.

Austria’s Sepp Straka shared the early clubhouse lead on five under par alongside Americans Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges and Sahith Theegala.

Straka produced a bogey-free round of 67, highlighted by a chip-in eagle on the par-five 16th hole.

He said the afternoon conditions helped players post strong scores after heavy rain earlier in the day.

“We were fortunate to play in the afternoon with hardly any wind and the greens a lot softer,” Straka said.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood was among those who battled the worst of the weather.

Fleetwood briefly climbed to five under par after producing an impressive stretch of eagle, birdie and birdie on the notoriously difficult closing trio of holes at Sawgrass, the 16th, 17th and 18th.

The Englishman described the sequence as a “complete bonus”.

However, his momentum was interrupted when torrential rain forced a temporary suspension of play lasting about 25 minutes.

After the restart, Fleetwood dropped shots with successive bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes, leaving him at three under par.

He shares that score with several high-profile players, including Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg, Norway’s Viktor Hovland and American Xander Schauffele.

The weather also prevented some competitors from completing their rounds before darkness fell.

Four players were forced to return the following morning to finish their opening rounds.

One of them was American Austin Smotherman, who still has a chance to claim the first-round lead.

Smotherman will resume play with a 15-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, the final hole of his round.

His third shot on the par-five reached the centre of the green in fading light, but while his playing partners finished the hole, he chose to mark his ball and wait for better visibility and fresher greens in the morning.