Day Leads PLAYERS after Record Tying 63

The PLAYERS Championship opened just as one would expect…sort of.

If you put the best golfer in the world on a firm fast course with soft greens and only a slight breeze he’s going to go low. But a 63…amazing.

Jason Day played up to his ranking as the top golfer in the world and scorched TPC Sawgrass with a course record tying round that had him in the lead by two strokes on a day that let dozens of golfers go low.

Day’s card was clear of bogeys and had nine circles as he joined four other golfers who shot 63 on Pet Dye’s masterpiece. Martin Kaymer was the last to do it in 2014 preceded by Roberto Castro (’13), Greg Norman(’94) and Fred Couples (’92). Of those record holders only Kaymer and fellow Aussie and mentor Norman went on to win that year.

It’s only round one but Day is well positioned to join them with a PLAYERS Championship.

He was powerful and accurate all day a lethal combinations anywhere but on a testing layout like Sawgrass certainly an advantage. He was hitting driver and eight irons into par fives and taking advantage of soft, receptive greens.

He out drove the field by 28 yards, hit fifteen greens in regulation and gained over three strokes on the field in on the greens.

Plenty of golfers went low with an even dozen finishing at six under or better.

You’s expect the top golfers to go low on a day like this but few could keep pace with Day.

Number two ranked Jordan Spieth spit the bit with a double bogey on his last hole (9). Rory McIlroy (3) still looked a bit out of sorts with a balky putter and could only manage a pair of birds to go with a pair of bogeys. And Rickie Fowler (5) had his own double bogey on eighteen.

All of their escapades totaled three rounds of even par and left them nine shots back of Day’s sensational 63.

They all will have to dig deep to keep pace with the leaders and the course is surely bound to get tougher as the week goes on and the powers that be bring them all back down to earth.