Early struggle for Irish hopefuls
McIlroy, who electrified the golfing world with his remarkable closing round of 62 that earned him a four shot victory in the Quail Hollow Championship last Sunday and who celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday, again played very solidly but the birdie blitz had dried up.
He did pick up a shot at the 11th, his second, but a string of pars followed until he ran up a bogey at 18 to drop back to level par. McIlroy went on to rim the hole on a number of occasions for birdie before hooking his tee shot wildly off the tee at the short 8th, his 17th, and did well to escape with a bogey. The youngster bunkered his drive on the last but played a great third shot to four feet at the last and sank the putt for par
The par five 2nd and 11th holes at Sawgrass are normally a birdie haven for the top pros but Harrington bogeyed both and parred elsewhere until picking up his first birdie at the difficult par three 13th. He missed a three foot birdie putt on the 16th and also finished one over.
McDowell, out in the second last group, was even par after 13.
With 87 players under par and the cut likely to come at one or even two under par, the Irish trio were facing a tricky task to be around for the week-end.
Meanwhile Tiger Woods dug deep to avoid a repeat of his Quail Hollow horror show.
Six days after the dreadful 79 which sent him crashing out by eight shots, Woods produced a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly and yet somehow was two under par after 13 holes.
That put him level with Masters champion Phil Mickelson, the man who could take his world number one spot if he finishes outside the top five, but five behind Robert Allenby.
The Australian turned in 32 and then had a hat-trick of birdies from the second to take over at the top from JB Holmes and Davis Love.
Donald, runner-up in 2005, returned a five-under-par 67 and shared third spot, while Westwood was one further back with seven holes still to go.
But while Donald was all smiles, compatriot Greg Owen was all seething fury after becoming yet another victim of one of the most famous holes in the sport.
A quadruple bogey seven on the tiny 137-yard 17th left the Englishman ready to explode after he handed in a one-over 73.
“I’m not saying a word about the 17th – I’m fuming at the moment,” said Owen when asked by a US Tour official to speak to reporters.
“Forget the 17th please. This is The Players Championship. I’ve not had a great year. I was playing nicely and I go and do that.”
Owen’s nine-iron tee shot to the near island green failed to carry the water and then from the drop zone his next attempt was nowhere near making it over.
“I hit two bad shots. There’s no wind, the greens are soft, it’s easy – what more do you need to know?”
Woods, inevitably, had more eyes on him when he tried to hit back from the worst performance of his entire career.
His first shot did not bode well – a three wood that flew into the left-hand trees. But escaping with a par was a taste of things to come.
A poor approach to the long second did not cost him a shot either and nor did a shocking 190-yard three wood that popped up in the air off the seventh tee.
With the same club he produced a wonderful shot into the heart of the green on the par-five ninth – this time it carried 270 yards – and he two-putted for his first birdie in 19 competitive holes.
Another came on the 558-yard 11th thanks to a chip to six feet, but there was still the dangerous finish to come – including, of course, Owen’s nightmare hole.
Donald had four birdies in five holes around the turn and after bogeying the 15th hit a superb approach to six feet on the formidable 462-yard last and made the birdie putt.
“You don’t often get to see this course with hardly any wind and soft greens and it was nice to take advantage,” he said. “At the 18th you’d take four pars every time.”
Mickelson three-putted it for bogey, but happily accepted his 70 given how poorly he felt he played.
“I didn’t have it today, but I can still get right back into the tournament,” said the left-hander.
Woods’ playing partner Ian Poulter was level par after 14, fellow Englishman Ross Fisher and defending champion Henrik Stenson were both in with three under 69s and Oliver Wilson on the same mark after 16.
Owen was not the only player to have a seven on his card. Paul Casey had one too on the long ninth – three of them were bunker shots – and also returned a 73, one better than Scot Martin Laird and one worse than Brian Davis and Justin Rose.
Graeme McDowell found the lake at the 16th, his seventh, for a double-bogey seven that dropped him from two under to level par and he then became another to bogey the 18th.
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