THE PLAYERS Championship Round 1: Glover, Villegas and Spaun Share the Lead on a Wild Thursday

TPC Sawgrass did what it always does on a Thursday at THE PLAYERS Championship. It handed out birdies with one hand and took them back with the other, and by the time darkness shut things down, three players who were nowhere near the top of anyone's preview list were sharing the lead.

Lucas Glover, Camilo Villegas and J.J. Spaun each shot 6-under 66 on the Stadium Course to sit one clear of a loaded group at 5 under. That group includes Rory McIlroy, Min Woo Lee, Billy Horschel and Akshay Bhatia. Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a 69 and is three back. Five players could not finish before play was halted by darkness and will complete their rounds Friday morning.

Glover Finishes on Fire

Glover's card was the most dramatic of the three. The 45-year-old former U.S. Open champion made nine birdies and three bogeys, and he saved the best for the end, closing with four straight birdies. He knocked an approach to 5 feet at 15, chipped to tap-in range at the par-5 16th, rolled in an 18-footer at the island-green 17th and watched a shot kick down to 8 feet at 18 for one more.

It was not all clean. An aggressive wedge at the par-5 11th found a pot bunker and led to bogey, and he gave another shot back at 12. But Glover's 66 was his second-lowest score in 44 rounds at TPC Sawgrass, a course where he has missed the cut 10 times.

"Just don't want to be done at 45, honestly," Glover said, per the AP.

His read on the course was just as blunt. "That's the thing about this place," Glover said. "There's always some really good scores and always some really bad scores."

A Swing Fix From Singapore

Villegas got to 6 under with help from the other side of the world. The day before the tournament, the Colombian was coached over the phone by Jose Luis Campra, the Argentine pro who was in Singapore caddying for Sebastian Munoz at a LIV Golf event. Campra suggested a small tweak in the downswing. Villegas started on the back nine and made five birdies on that side, finishing with eight birdies and two bogeys.

"It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there," Villegas said.

Spaun's 66 was the quietest of the three and maybe the most impressive. Spaun played bogey-free, which on this course is its own kind of statement. "Bogey-free anywhere is really nice, good way to start the week off," Spaun said.

McIlroy and Scheffler Settle In

The marquee grouping featured the top three players in the world, and McIlroy won it comfortably. The 2019 champion opened with a 67 for the second straight year despite hitting only four fairways. He birdied the first two holes, gave both back with bogeys at 3 and 7, then reeled off four straight birdies from 9 through 12.

The shot of his day came at the last. From the pine straw and trees right of the 18th fairway, McIlroy punched a low shot that ran up inside 8 feet and made the putt. He gained nearly 3.5 strokes on approach and 2.7 on the greens, per the PGA TOUR, which is how you shoot 67 while missing fairways all afternoon.

"You're just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those," McIlroy said.

Scheffler, chasing an unprecedented third straight PLAYERS title, was steadier off the tee with 10 of 14 fairways but never got hot. He made four birdies and one bogey for a 69. "I feel okay about the round," Scheffler said.

Phillips Makes History, Then Gives It Back

The strangest card of the day belonged to Chandler Phillips, who became the first player on record to make three eagles in a round at THE PLAYERS. Phillips added four birdies, but a tee shot at the par-3 8th settled in a palmetto bush and turned into a triple bogey. Phillips still signed for a 68, a reminder of just how wild the swings were out there.

The 17th Takes Its Toll

The island green collected its usual tax. Ten players found the water at the par-3 17th, and Justin Lower was the only one to escape with par, holing a wedge from the drop zone. Max Greyserman hit two balls in the water there and made a quadruple bogey.

Justin Thomas had the roughest day of the big names. Thomas hit four tee shots into the water during the round and needed birdies on the last two holes just to post a 78. Viktor Hovland shot 80 with three double bogeys. Jordan Spieth packed an eagle, a birdie, a par, a bogey and a double bogey into his first six holes before settling down for a 70.

Unfinished Business Friday

Max McGreevy was the only player still out who had a real say in the lead. He was 5 under and had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th green when the horn sounded. McGreevy, Ryan Gerard, Frankie Capan III, Kevin Roy and Jackson Suber will all finish Friday morning before the second round gets going.

Nearly 20 players sit within two shots of the lead, and the trio at the top is a 45-year-old trying to extend his career, a veteran who fixed his swing over a phone call and a 34-year-old looking for a second TOUR win. With McIlroy one back and Scheffler lurking, Friday's cut day should sort out who is for real.

Full scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's first-round wrap (opens in a new tab) has more on the leaders.

Sources: PGA TOUR (first-round wrap, McIlroy and Scheffler round story, leaderboard), AP, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.