Frustration for McIlroy and Lowry at The Players Championship

Sawgrass, Florida – Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both encountered difficulties during the first round of The Players Championship on Thursday, March 12, 2026. McIlroy struggled with his tee shots, while Lowry experienced a late-round collapse.

Leaderboard Update

A five-way tie for the lead emerged after Day 1, with Austria’s Sepp Straka and Americans Sahith Theegala, Maverick McNeely, Lee Hodges, and Austin Smotherman all carding five-under par rounds. Austin Smotherman, who recently tied for second alongside Lowry at the Cognizant Classic, had a chance to grab the outright lead but play was suspended before he could complete his final hole.

Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, and Cameron Young are among a group of five players one stroke off the lead. Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and Tony Finau are two strokes back.

McIlroy’s Difficult Day

The defending champion, McIlroy, managed only one birdie and battled to a two-over par 74. Persistent issues off the tee plagued his round, potentially exacerbated by a recent back injury sustained during training at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he was forced to withdraw before the third round.^RTE He repeatedly pulled tee shots to the left, notably on the 11th hole, resulting in three bogeys.

Despite the struggles, McIlroy demonstrated impressive scrambling ability, including a notable recovery from a bunker on the sixth hole.

Lowry’s Late Implosion

Lowry’s round took a dramatic turn on the 18th hole, where he found the water twice, resulting in a quadruple bogey and a final score of four-over par. ^RTE

Prior to the disastrous finish, Lowry had been blemish-free through 13 holes, with birdies on the fourth and 11th. He had opportunities for further gains but narrowly missed birdie chances on the 12th and 13th. He had briefly returned to even par after a superb tee shot on the island 17th before the troubles on 18.

Earlier in the day, Seamus Power similarly struggled on his final hole, the ninth, finishing with a double bogey to end at two-over par.

Scheffler and Koepka’s Rounds

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka both carded even-par 72s.