PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | The scene outside the scoring area early Thursday afternoon at the Players Championship was open to interpretation.
The star-stuffed trio of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland had finished their first round, signed their cards and gone their separate ways, quickly in Spieth’s case, quietly in Hovland’s.
McIlroy shot 7-under-par 65 in the first round at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course, a performance sprinkled with 10 birdies and two water balls, which led to a bogey, a double bogey and much discussion.
Spieth shot 2-over par 74 and, having been involved in two rulings regarding where McIlroy should drop his ball after his tee shots at the seventh and 18th holes wound up in the water, he elected to sprint away from the waiting media and into the quiet of the clubhouse.
Was it because Spieth, who appeared to question the spot of McIlroy’s drop on the left side of the par-4 seventh hole (their 16th hole), didn’t want to talk about their extended discussion that included Hovland and a rules official, or was he merely excited about lunch?
Spieth opted not to say.
Hovland, meanwhile, could be excused for running hot, having double-bogeyed his closing hole Thursday for an opening-round 73 that had some ragged edges before the disastrous conclusion. Upon exiting the scoring area, Hovland paused briefly to be introduced to former Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams, the presumed No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, then walked away without making himself available to the media.
So, it was left to McIlroy to tell his side of the story, which he willingly did while acknowledging that his playing competitors expressed doubts about exactly where his tee shot on the seventh hole landed before it bounced into the water.
“I obviously don’t try to do anything wrong out there, and play by the rules and do the right thing. I feel like I obviously did that on those two drops,” said McIlroy, who held a share of the early lead with Xander Schauffele.
The events unfolded like this:
Playing in the morning, McIlroy started with birdies on his first three holes (Nos. 10-12). By the time he reached the 18th tee, he was 6-under.
It was a dream-like start for McIlroy, who left the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday frustrated by a final-round 76 stained by his struggle to hit his irons as consistently as his driver. Rather than take Monday off, McIlroy came to the Stadium Course and worked until he found something that he brought into the first round.
At the 18th, McIlroy’s tee shot found the water that defines the left side of the hole. After a discussion on the tee with Spieth about where his ball had last crossed land, it was determined that McIlroy could drop alongside the water, 293 yards from the hole.
He hit a brilliant third shot that reached the green and escaped with a bogey that could have been worse.
“Adamant it crossed; it’s just a matter of where it crosses. I think this golf course more than any other, it sort of produces those situations a little bit,” McIlroy said.
By the time McIlroy’s group reached the seventh hole, he was 8-under and flirting with the course record of 62 set by Tom Hoge last year. Similar to what happened at the 18th, McIlroy pulled his tee shot at the seventh, and it ended up in the water after bouncing on the strip of turf between a bunker and the water.
“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing. 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.” –Rory McIlroy
McIlroy said he saw his ball hit outside the red line defining the penalty area, allowing him to drop near that spot. Hovland and Spieth appeared to question the spot. It was complicated because there was no television replay to verify where McIlroy’s ball landed, which would affect from where he would play his next shot.
McIlroy could be heard on television telling his playing competitors, “I’m pretty comfortable I saw it above the red line.”
“I thought it was pretty close,” Hovland said.
Spieth then said, “Everyone that I’m hearing that had eyes on it, which, again, is not what matters, they are saying they are 100 percent certain it landed below the line.”
“Everybody, Jordan?” McIlroy responded.
That’s what TV and media people said, Spieth answered. Spieth later said he did not see the ball land and was, therefore, uncertain about exactly where McIlroy should play from.
“It’s what you guys think,” Spieth said.
McIlroy ultimately dropped in the rough, 225 yards from the hole. His third shot came up short of the green and he failed to get up and down, leading to a double bogey.
After the round, McIlroy said he felt good about the drops he took.
“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing. 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,” McIlroy said.
“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.”
McIlroy acknowledged the element of uncertainty involved in his drop at the seventh hole.
“I guess I started to doubt myself a little bit. I was like, OK, did I actually see what I thought I saw?” McIlroy said.
“I was comfortable, and I was just making sure that Jordan and Viktor were comfortable, too.”
With Spieth and Hovland having not offered their perspectives after the round, McIlroy had the final word.
“I’m comfortable,” he said. “I think that’s the most important thing.”