Rory McIlroy continues to sit on the front page of the leaderboard, but TPC Sawgrass still finds ways to put its claws into him at The PLAYERS Championship.

Going home early is always disappointing when you’re playing on the PGA Tour. Going home early in one of the biggest events of the year with $25 million on the line and a tractor-trailer FedEx Cup points available is even more frustrating.

A tale of two waves took place Thursday in the opening round of the 2025 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Pete Dye's devilish design gave early goers everything they could handle before conditions eased in the afternoon and gave way to a trio of surprising first-round leaders in Camilo Villegas,