Sergio Garcia fired off a 7-under 65, capped off by a birdie-birdie-eagle finish, for a two-shot lead over Brian Harman Thursday in the Players Championship. Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, opened with a double bogey from the trees. He hit two in the water on the 18th and made a quadruple-bogey 8. He wound up with a 79, his worst score since his opening round at Royal Portrush in the 2019 British Open.
When darkness brought the first round to a halt — 21 players didn’t finish — there already were 13 scores of 80 or higher.