Roberto Castro of the US watches his tee shot on the eighth hole during the first round of The Players Championship PGA golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Thursday. — Reuters
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — Unheralded Roberto Castro fired a 63 to tie the course record for a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson with Tiger Woods lurking after Thursday's first round of the Players Championship. The world class leaderboard also included US Open champion Webb Simpson, US Ryder Cup players Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan in a group with Woods another shot back on 67, but it was Web.com graduate Castro who stole the spotlight. Staging a clinic with his irons to receptive greens, Castro, ranked 267th in the world, made seven birdies and an eagle to match the mark shared by Greg Norman and Fred Couples in his debut on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. “It gives me proof that when you play great, you're good enough,” Castro, 27, said about the confidence boost he gained from a brilliant round that set the bar in the morning wave. Castro's playing partner, Jason Bohn, said he had never seen anything quite like the red-haired American's round. Castro had six birdie putts within five feet, including four within two feet and did not make a single putt of more than 10 feet in his 63. World No. 2 McIlroy also took advantage of greens softened by last week's heavy rains to reverse a trend of poor results for him at Sawgrass, where he had never broken par or made the cut in three prior appearances in the tournament. Top-ranked Woods, the 2001 winner, led the way among the afternoon starters, making four consecutive birdies from the ninth hole and adding another at the 16th and appeared poised to tie for second on 66. But Woods' approach aimed at the back right pin at 18 trickled over the edge of the green and down a slope. He hit a weak chip that hung in the fringe and needed two strokes to get down, ruining his bid for his first bogey-free round at Sawgrass in 56 tries. Also in the group that included Woods was Casey Wittenberg and Ryan Palmer, with Bohn and Swedes Henrik Stenson and David Lingmerth, Australian Greg Chalmers, Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Spaniard Sergio Garcia another shot back. Defending champion Matt Kuchar was eight shots off the pace after opening with a one-under 71, while four-time major winner Phil Michelson was a further shot back after mixing four birdies with two bogeys and a double-bogey. Kim Hyung-sung takes lead in Korea Korea's Kim Hyung-sung fired a five-under-par 67 to take a one-shot lead after the second round at the OneAsia GS Caltex Maekyung Open near Seoul Friday. Kim had six birdies and a bogey around the hilly 6,349m course at the Namseoul Country Club to stand at 10 under for the $900,000 tournament. Kim Gi-whan also shot 67 to finish in second place, while Kim Dae-Sub was a stroke further behind after posting 66 in drizzly conditions. The course lived up to its reputation as a graveyard for foreigners, with Australian overnight leader Terry Pilkadaris (75) the best of the non-Koreans in joint 10th place and five shots off the lead. Cho Min-gyu (73), who shared the first round lead, was seven under. — Agencies
