PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The weather’s been horrible for the 48th Players Championship but look who’s taking to the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass like, well, ducks to water.
Tom Hoge, for one. He’s been laboring on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour for eight years and went more than Tour 200 starts before scoring his first victory at Pebble Beach last month.
Brice Garnett, for another. The 38-year-old seven-year Tour veteran won in the Dominican Republic in 2018 for his career highlight.
Despite those thin resumes, they were tied for first in The Players Championship with Tommy Fleetwood of England at 6 under when the field was pulled in at 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday because of unplayable course conditions. Play was officially called for the day shortly after 3 p.m. ET and play will resume no earlier than 11 a.m. ET on Saturday.
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Hoge and Fleetwood shot 66 on Thursday and Garnett was 6 under through 13 holes on Friday, capping his day with an eagle 2 at No. 4.
Other contenders such as Kramer Hickok, Anirbarn Lahiri, Taylor Pendrith and Doug Ghim are looking for their first Tour titles. Of the 17 players tied for ninth or higher, eight have won one or no PGA Tour titles and only one, Dustin Johnson, has won a major championship.
And where is defending champion Justin Thomas? Rory McIlroy, the 2019 champion? Other major champions such as World No. 1 Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa or Brooks Koepka?
Back in the pack. But not out of it.
Through two stop-start days at the Players, the biggest stars seem to have had the most trouble negotiating the wet grounds during the worst weather pattern to hit the week of the PGA Tour’s marquee event in 17 years.
Tour says a Tuesday finish possible
How bad? Already 4.25 inches of rain have fallen on the course since Wednesday night, 2.5 on Friday. Of the 143 players who started (Luke List pulled out on Friday after seven holes with a neck injury), only 96 have been able to complete their first rounds by the time of the suspension on Friday.
TPC Sawgrass agronomy staff had to squeegee greens of standing water between groups (the par-5 11th green seemed especially problematic) and the combination of wet hands and gloves led to some comical shots, such as Morikawa’s squirting fairway wood at No. 11 and Spieth’s yank at No. 17 that came to rest on the footpath leading to the Island Green.
Just before the horn blew …@JordanSpieth will have this for par at the 17th. pic.twitter.com/jiAd4jX81g
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2022
“It’s highly unusual to have this pattern this prolonged at this time of year,” said Gary Young, the PGA Tour’s chief referee this week.
Young seemed to concede the eighth Monday finish in tournament history (and fifth at the Stadium Course) and also didn’t dismiss the possibility of the first Tuesday finish in the history of the Players.
“There is that potential,” he said.
As bad as the weather has been the first two days, it could get worse on Saturday morning. Not only are storms forecast but there is the possibility of high enough winds to require the grounds crew to not only get the playing surface in shape but remove debris such as tree limbs.
Brice Garnett will be patient
But a player such as Garnett wouldn’t mind how long it takes if at the end of proceedings, as long as he’s the guy holding the Gold Man Trophy and has $3.6 million heading to his bank on direct deposit.
“We knew it was going to be a long day,” he said “We were just trying to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of ourself with all the rain. It’s something exciting. Something that you kind of wish you would keep playing and keep the momentum going, but the course is unplayable.”
Hoge, who eagled the second hole and birdied three of his last five to shoot 31 on the Stadium’s front nine, his back nine Thursday, said he’s feeling content with his performance and has enough experience to draw on to keep it going — once he does get back on the golf course.
“This is my fourth Players Championship, and I just got a little bit more comfortable being here,” he said. “Certainly, nice to come back and have a little familiarity with the tournament and the golf course and the area. I feel like it’s a golf course that suits me really well, so I’m always excited to show up here.”
Tommy Fleetwood loves course
Fleetwood hasn’t won on the PGA Tour but he’s captured eight European Tour titles and has been a Ryder Cup star for Europe. He also has some recent muscle memory, having contended in 2019 before dumping a ball in the water at No. 17 on Sunday and tying for fifth.
“I think my strengths over the years have always been hitting it in play off the tee,” he said. “Very consistent, hit a lot of greens with my irons and never really put myself in too much trouble and have a very sort of patient attitude and mindset. I love this golf course. I really, really do. If you play well, you get rewarded, and if you play poorly, you’re going to struggle to make a score. I think it’s major-like in that sense.”
Behind them are only three players who have won four or more events: Johnson, who is certifiably Hall of Fame-bound, with 24 victories and two major championships; and Daniel Berger (5 under through 16 holes to tie for fourth) and Kevin Kisner (who shot a 4-under 68, a tie for ninth), who have each won four.
Hickok, Joaquin Niemann, Keith Mitchell and Lahiri all shot 67 in the first round completed Thursday to tie for fourth. Brian Harman, Sam Burns, Abraham Ancer and Players rookie Taylor Pendrith finished with 68s.
Don’t sleep on Kevin Kisner
Kisner is one to watch. He lost to Rickie Fowler in a playoff in the 2015 Players, and his tie for second remains the best performance by a first-time Players participant since Craig Perks won in 2020. Kisner eagled No. 16 but also had three bogeys.
“The ball’s going nowhere, but it’s calm, so it’s good,” he said. “You’ve got to really be aggressive with your iron shots to make sure you’re hitting enough club for the spin, and getting the ball on the fairway is paramount so you can get your hand on it [under the preferred lies rule in place for the first two days of the tournament].”
And where are marquee players? The good news is they’re not in a position to panic just yet. Rahm shot a 69 Thursday and with a U.S. Open title behind him, has a passion to win the Players.
“It’s the closest win you can get without it being a major,” he said. “If they ever were to do a fifth major, this should be it.”
Scottie Scheffler, who is 4 under through 15, has won twice in his last three starts. Koepka is 3 under through 15 holes, Spieth 2 under through 16 (but facing that chip off the footpath at 17 when he returns), Thomas is 2 under through 15, Hovland shot 71 on Thursday, Morikawa is even through 13 and McIlroy is 1 over through 15.
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