PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Jason Day created a far better memory Thursday than his last round at the TPC Sawgrass. Not only was he 18 shots better, the world's No. 1 player tied the course record with a 9-under 63 that gave him a two-shot lead in The Players Championship.
In a game that can defy logic, and on a course that can be perplexing, Day had a simple explanation for bouncing back from last year's 81.
"I'm playing a lot better than I was last year," he said.
The 28-year-old Australian was in such control that he putted for birdie on every hole. He made half of them, and his longest par putt was 30 inches.
"Tee to green was pretty decent -- was actually really good -- and then once I got on the green, I felt like I could hole everything," he said.
It helped that there was hardly any wind on a steaming morning that made Sawgrass more vulnerable than usual.
The wind began to increase in the afternoon and it made a big difference. Of the 40 rounds in the 60s, 29 of those were in the morning. Boo Weekley had the low score in the afternoon at 66. The 40 rounds in the 60s and 82 rounds under par were the most for an opening round since 1993 at The Players.
"I don't know what the guys were doing out there this morning, but I don't think we saw the same golf course this afternoon," Rory McIlroy said after a 72. "It was a little firmer, the wind got up a little bit and those guys made the course look awfully easy this morning."
Day's 63 was only the fifth time that happened on the Stadium Course in the 35 years of The Players Championship.
Shane Lowry became the first player to shoot 29 on the back nine. He was in the group at 65 that included Justin Rose and Bill Haas. Ernie Els, who just last month started the Masters with a six-putt quintuple bogey, ran off six birdies and an eagle to lead the group at 66.
Not everyone took advantage of the morning, including Jordan Spieth.
Spieth, in his first tournament since he lost a five-shot lead on the back nine at Augusta National, played alongside Day and labored his way to a 72. Spieth says he has put the Masters behind him. Now he has to get rid of the poor finishes.
With three consecutive birdies, he was trying to at least stay in Day's neighborhood. Then Spieth made bogeys on two consecutive holes, answered with a birdie, and then ended his round of 72 with a double bogey by taking five shots to get up-and-down from a bunker behind the green on the par-5 ninth.
"I hit it seven times," Spieth said. "I hit two fantastic shots, and then not really sure after that."
Masters champion Danny Willett opened with a 70 in his first competition since slipping on the green jacket.
Rose looked at the pin positions and had a good feeling, especially on the island-green 17th. It was at the front, with a ridge serving as a backboard. By mid-afternoon, only four shots found the water. And with hardly any wind and greens still moderately soft, good scores were available.
"If there was a day to get the course, today was it," Rose said.
Day wasted no time.
He knocked in a 30-foot putt on his first hole, caught a good break on the par-5 11th by having a clear gap out of the pine trees that set up a birdie from the bunker, and made it three consecutive birdies with a wedge into 6 feet on the 12th.
He felt tired. But there was no stress.
Day only got into what looked like trouble on two occasions. He had a stick behind his ball from the pine straw on the par-5 second hole and sent that shot well out to the right. But he hit a perfect pitch that just landed on the green and rolled down to a foot for a birdie.
On the seventh, Day's drive hit the back end of a bunker and kicked forward down a slope and just inside the red hazard line of a pond, about a yard from the water. He worried about his wedge going long, but it settled 15 feet away for a birdie.
That's when he started thinking about the course record, last matched by Martin Kaymer two years ago in the opening round of his victory.
"Then I'm like, 'OK, I think I can birdie 8 and 9, and that'll clip the course record.' It would be nice to shoot 10 under," he said.
His 40-foot birdie attempt on the par-3 eighth looked good ball the way, and Day began to backpedal as the ball got closer to the cup, a move he first made famous when he won the PGA Championship last year. He threw up his head in disbelief when the ball caught the right lip, and he tapped in for par.
And then on the par-5 ninth, he hit another great bunker shot that curled back toward the cup and settled inches away for his ninth birdie and a 63, allowing him to join Kaymer, Roberto Castro (2013), Greg Norman (1994) and Fred Couples (1992).
WEB.COM
Spaun leads by 1
J.J. Spaun was the leader Thursday with an 8-under 63 after the first round of the Rex Hospital Open at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C.
Spaun had an eagle on No. 15 and six birdies in his opening round, one stroke better than Chris Wilson and Ryan Yip, who shared second place with 64s. Brady Schnell, Chase Marinell, Grayson Murray and Jason Millard are tied for fourth at 5-under 66.
Scott Gardiner (Farmington) shot a 68. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Matt Atkins (Henderson State) each had a 69. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) shot a 70 and Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) had an even-par 71.
EUROPEAN
Dodt has advantage
BEAU CHAMPS, Mauritius -- Andrew Dodt began with back-to-back birdies and posted a 6-under 66 Thursday for the lead in the first round of the Mauritius Open.
Dodt had six birdies and an eagle at the Ernie Els-designed Four Seasons Golf Club on the east coast of the Indian Ocean island. He has an early 2-shot advantage over Rashid Khan and Siddikur Rahman.
Defending champion George Coetzee opened with a 71, tied for ninth.
Dodt's success came on a day of tough conditions, with the wind swirling through the Four Seasons course. Only 21 players managed to shoot under par.
Dodt chipped in for birdie on his opening hole and scrambled again on his second for another birdie after finding a fairway bunker.
Sports on 05/13/2016