PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- It was the best of times and the worst of times Thursday in the opening round of THE PLAYERS Championship, and tee-off times largely determined which fate each of the 144 competitors would encounter.
"It absolutely mattered what time you were on the golf course," Alex Cejka, who played in the more difficult afternoon wave, said after scraping his way to 72, level par on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass. "For those of us who played this afternoon, we had to put everything into it to get it around."
While conditions were hardly what one would consider easy in the morning -- the layout already was fast and the greens firm -- increasing winds dried out the layout, put more trepidation into club selection, and generally messed with players' minds.
Players with morning starts recorded seven of the top eight scores; the lone exception was former British Open champion Todd Hamilton with a 3-under 69.
Hamilton was one of just eight players who broke par out of the afternoon wave and the field scoring average in the later half was 74.50, nearly two strokes higher than the 72.83 average submitted by morning starters. That latter group, led by overall leader Sergio Garcia's 66, posted 26 sub-par scores.
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