PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Each day at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Spoiler alert — we don’t always agree. Dustin Johnson has never had a top-10 finish at THE PLAYERS. Will he remain in contention after his co-leading 6-under 66? Mike McAllister (Managing Editor) – Difficult to think the world No. 1 won’t stay in the hunt but consider me skeptical. Track record’s just not there. But if he shoots another 66 on Friday… Sean Martin (Senior Editor) – I think so. He’s the No. 1 player in the world, so there’s no reason to think that he won’t. He just has to remain disciplined and stick to his game plan. Ben Everill (Staff Writer) – Contention… Yes. Will he win? No. I don’t think his putting will stay as solid over the next three rounds. Cameron Morfit (Staff Writer) – It seems likely. He believes he’s found something with his putting with the new putter and his new use of the Aimpoint system of green-reading. And that self-belief should carry him through to some more solid rounds. What kind of odds would you give Si Woo Kim to repeat after his opening 67? McAllister – Still not good, but he continues to impress me at the TOUR’s signature course. Hit 12 fairways and 14 greens on Thursday. Martin – No one has ever repeated at this event, so history is against him. This course is so penal, and field so strong, that it’s no surprise that no one has gone back-to-back. Everill – I’ll offer 30-1. Si Woo certainly loves this place and is an almost robotic talent at times but history and the quality of others who also started well are against him. Morfit – Around here I’d say maybe 5-10 percent. No one has ever repeated. Kim played well enough to win at RBC Heritage, and he looks imminently comfortable at TPC Sawgrass, but we were reminded how quickly the course can strike back when he made those back-to-back bogeys on 7 and 8. In 10 words or less, describe the Tiger-Phil-Rickie performance. McAllister – Misconceive, underachieve and long sleeves. Martin – Underwhelming. Everill – A tough day at the office. Morfit – A mild letdown, but the afternoon conditions were tougher. Biggest surprise of the opening round? McAllister – The kneejerk reaction is Steve Stricker but he talked me off the ledge after his 67. “I’m not surprised,â€� he said. “I feel like I’m capable of putting up a round like this.â€� Gotta love the last-man-in shoots 67 story. Nice job, Keith Mitchell. Martin – Phil’s 79 is definitely up there, but I think that Keith Mitchell’s 67 deserves this honor. The rookie was the last man in the field. He didn’t get in the event until Wednesday. Nice debut. Everill – The obvious one is Keith Mitchell but to be honest Adam Scott’s 69 surprised me a bunch given his recent lack of form. The former PLAYERS champ is free-falling down the world rankings but now has a chance to arrest the slide. Hope he does. Morfit – Given the fact that Dustin Johnson had no top-10 finishes in nine starts here, his 66 was pretty surprising. Funny how quickly we forgot about the world No. 1. Keith Mitchell’s 67 was unexpected, as well. Biggest non-surprise of the opening round? McAllister – Matt Kuchar off to a strong start. He’s won here before, and though he denies it, I suspect he wanted to make amends for his last trip around TPC Sawgrass (an 81 in third round last year). Martin – Sergio Garcia’s 68. Playing the final three holes in 3 over par was a surprise, but the guy is a perennial contender at TPC Sawgrass. Everill – That Phil Mickelson struggled while wearing his new button-down office shirt. I just can’t get used to it. Morfit – This is a tie between past champions Sergio Garcia (68) and Matt Kuchar (66). They love TPC Sawgrass, and they showed it yet again.
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