Bronson Burgoon leads CIMB Classic after Round 1

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy will have an MRI on Monday when he returns to Northern Ireland after completing THE PLAYERS Championship. McIlroy has been dealing with back pain this week while competing on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He is expected to make the cut after shooting 73-71 in the first two rounds. “It’s obviously not 100 percent, but it’s good enough to get myself around here for the next couple of days,” McIlroy said about his back. He said the pain is coming from the same area as the stress fracture in his ribs that sidelined him for the start of the year. “If that injury was an 8 or a 9 in terms of pain and soreness and stiffness, this is around a 4 or 5,” he said. “It might just be a flare-up of what happened previously and I just need to rest for a few days and it might be OK. Hopefully that’s what it shows in the scan next week.” The pain he’s feeling this week feels like muscular discomfort instead of pain in a bone or joint, he said. McIlroy suffered a stress fracture in his ribs while testing golf equipment during the offseason. The injury sidelined him from mid-January until March. McIlroy, who announced this week that he has signed an equipment endorsement deal with TaylorMade, said his current discomfort may have been caused by a rapid return to practice after taking time off for his wedding. “I took three weeks off and then I went back at it again on Friday and instead of maybe gradually building it up again, I hit balls for four or five hours on Friday and did the same on Saturday,” said McIlroy, who got married on April 22. “I felt a bit of stiffness on Sunday, hit a couple of drives that didn’t quite feel right. Maybe I should have just taken it a bit easier over the weekend, but I was excited to get back, excited to play again.” McIlroy, who ranks 48th in the FedExCup, has finished in the top 12 in the past four PLAYERS. This is his first start since finishing seventh at the Masters.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Caddies should’ve been compensated with hazard pay. They may need to re-sod the drop area before Sunday. RELATED: Remembering five toughest days at TPC Sawgrass High winds – including gusts up to 35 mph – hit TPC Sawgrass on Saturday and nowhere were their impact more strongly felt than at the course’s trademark hole. One of Richard Branson’s private islands had a higher population density than the 17th hole on Saturday. Just hitting the green was cause for celebration. Twenty-one players had to play the 17th hole Saturday afternoon as they completed the weather-delayed first round. An extra 48 hours wasn’t enough time to prepare for what awaited. Those 21 unlucky souls combined to put 10 balls into the lake that surrounds No. 17. They played the hole in an average score of 4.1 strokes. There were calls from some on social media, most notably Golf Channel commentator and former TOUR winner Brandel Chamblee, to suspend play because of what was happening at 17. They wanted a rules official to step in, like a boxing referee protecting an overmatched opponent from being pummeled by Mike Tyson. But, after two days of heavy rains that soaked the Stadium Course, the show had to go on. The sun was finally shining on TPC Sawgrass, and the wind wasn’t blowing hard enough to move balls on the greens, the one condition that would have necessitated another suspension of play. The difficulty was apparent right from the start, as the first three players to play the hole Saturday all hit it into the water. These guys were no slouches, either. It was the star-studded group of Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. An innocuous wedge shot under calm conditions, players were debating between 7- and 8-irons at 17 on Saturday. They needed to calculate the perfect combination of trajectory and force to find the putting surface. Hit it too high and your ball could be knocked down by the wind, which was blowing into the players and from the left. Hit it too low, however, and it may not take enough yardage off. That’s exactly what happened to Billy Horschel. His ball was still in the air when he barked, “That’s over the green.” He was right, as his ball bounced off the back of the island and into the lake. “I knew it. I knew it,” he barked at his caddie. “I told you I flight it better than everyone else.” Matt Kuchar hit a 6-iron, his ball sailing over the water and onto the walkway that leads players on and off the island green. “At least it’s dry,” someone said after Kuchar’s ball landed in that awkward position. Many players took a detour to the drop area before arriving at the walkway. Five of the first nine players to visit 17 found the water. The group of Matt NeSmith (4), Brendan Steele (6) and Emiliano Grillo (7) played the hole in a combined 17 strokes. The wind was blowing so hard that there were ripples on the lake. It was strong enough to nearly topple a staff bag. Jim Mackay had to hold Collin Morikawa’s bag upright while Morikawa’s caddie, J.J. Jakovac, discussed the tee shot at 17 with his boss. The hat of Matt Kelly, the caddie for Marc Leishman, was whisked off his head and into the crowd by the wind. Kelly’s boss was one of the fortunate ones, hitting his tee shot to 7 feet. Leishman raised his fist to the crowd when his ball found the green, earning an enthusiastic ovation from the fans. Zach Johnson, the next man to hit, offered Leishman a congratulatory fist bump. It was reminiscent of the hardest day in the 17th hole’s history, the first round of the 1984 PLAYERS, when it played to a 3.85 scoring average. “It’s the easiest par 5 on the course,” John Mahaffey joked about TPC Sawgrass’ 17th. Let’s be fair. It was at least a tough par-4 on Saturday.

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