World number one Jon Rahm was seven shots behind early first-round clubhouse leader Chad Ramey at The Players Championship on Thursday, March 9, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where Rory McIlroy struggled to find his groove.
Ramey, who missed the cut in his last three PGA Tour starts and is making his Players Championship debut, opened with a bogey-free eight–under-par 64 that left him one shot clear of twice major champion Collin Morikawa at TPC Sawgrass.
Canadian Taylor Pendrith was a further two shots adrift.
Ramey, who won his lone PGA Tour title last year in Punta Cana and is 225th in the world rankings, showed no nerves as he birdied four of his first seven holes and added another four across the back nine to set the early pace….