A spectacular debut

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This article was published 10/05/2013 (4841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Tiger Woods was nine shots out of the lead, not the best position at The Players Championship, especially since he had not even started his round. Perhaps the bigger surprise was the guy who posted the record-tying round Thursday.

Roberto Castro had only played the TPC Sawgrass in a practice round. He made a debut he won’t soon forget.

There was the 9-iron to a foot on the island-green 17th and a 4-iron to about the same tap-in range on the 18th, the hardest hole on the course. He hit a 3-iron to three feet for eagle and twice hit wedge so close he didn’t even have to read the putt.

When his memorable day was over, Castro had a 9-under 63 and his name in the record book twice. He tied the course record held by Fred Couples and Greg Norman, and his three-shot lead was the largest margin after the opening round at The Players in 21 years. Welcome to Sawgrass.

“I hit it close a lot,” said Castro, making it sound as easy as it looked.

He led Rory McIlroy, who broke par for the first time in his fourth appearance with five birdies after the turn and conservative play off the tee on the front nine for a bogey-free 66. Zach Johnson also had a 66 while playing in the pristine morning conditions.

Woods had to work a little harder in the afternoon. Not only did he spot Castro nine shots, Woods had never broken 70 in the opening round in his 15 previous tries.

“It was a day that I felt I had to shoot something in the 60s,” Woods said.

He ran off four straight birdies around the turn. He was on the cusp of his first bogey-free round at The Players until his 8-iron from 200 yards went just over the green and he flubbed his chip. The bogey gave him a 67, a strong effort considering he knew he had a lot of ground to make up before hitting his first shot.

Vijay Singh, playing one day after he sued the PGA Tour for its handling of his doping case, was largely ignored while playing in the group behind Woods.

At one point, Singh let out a hearty laugh walking off the tee with Robert Garrigus and J.J. Henry. His golf wasn’t the subject of the laughter. Singh hit into the water on the last hole and made bogey for a 74, leaving him in danger of missing the cut.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., opened with a 1-under 71. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot an even-par 72.

So ended a first round filled with plenty of action — a record-tying score by a player hardly anyone knows, McIlroy breaking par for the first time at Sawgrass, 17 balls in the water around the island-green 17th and 33 rounds in the 60s. Padraig Harrington followed an eagle with a double bogey. Michael Thompson made a hole-in-one.

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But it all started with Castro, a 27-year-old who felt like he couldn’t miss. “I don’t think anyone has figured out what the secret is to this place,” he said.

Woods, Webb Simpson and Ryan Palmer each had a 67, the lowest score from the afternoon.

McIlroy also played in the morning, in the same group as Masters champion Adam Scott (69) and Steve Stricker (67). The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland had never made the cut or even broken par at The Players, but he figured it out on a gorgeous morning by dialing it back off the tee and letting his iron play take over. McIlroy never came seriously close to a bogey, and he didn’t hit driver once on the front nine.

— The Associated Press