Austin Smotherman left one shot on the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12.
He returned, missed and the first round officially ended the next morning with the Dallas resident among a five-way tie for the lead in The Players Championship with Maverick McNealy, Sepp Straka, Lee Hodges and Sahith Theegala.
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It’s the most players tied at the top since 2018, when there was a six-way tie at 6-under 66.
Smotherman, who was playing in the final first-round group to start at the 10th hole, opted to mark his ball for a birdie-putt attempt of 14 feet, 5 inches when the horn blew to suspend the first round because of darkness. His playing partners, Matthiew Pavon and S.H. Kim, finished the hole with bogeys and both shot 3-over 75.
Austin Smotherman watches his birdie-putt roll towards the hole at No. 9 on March 13. It missed and he remained in a five-way tie for the first-round lead at 5-under 67.
After returning just over 12 hours later, Smotherman hammered his first putt 4 feet, 2 inches past the hole. He made the comebacker for par and had about 30 minutes before he started his first round at No. 1.
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One group finished at No. 18
Also finishing their first rounds were Zach Bachou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and A.J. Ewart, the final group in the first round who teed off at No. 1. They were all short of the 18th green with their second shots and also elected to return the next morning.
Yellamaraju got up and down for his par, making a putt of 2-4 for a 75. Bachou and Ewart both missed par-putt attempts and made bogey, Bachou from 10 feet and Ewart from 7 feet. Bachou shot 74 and Ewart 78.
The second round began as scheduled at 7:40 a.m., with players facing chilly temperatures in the high 50s and brisk wind that should play some havoc as they get to Island Green at No. 17. Soon after, three players, Sahith Theegala, Alex Smalley and Sepp Straka, jumped to 6 under.
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Among the early starters are defending champion Rory McIlroy, who posted a 74 in the first round, Straka, Theegala and Hodges. McNealy will play in the afternoon, along with two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Smotherman ties for lead at The Players
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