The 2013 Players Championship is underway at TPC Sawgrass in Florida and Rory McIlroy is already off to a great start at five under while Tiger Woods will tee off later in the day with Matt Kuchar, last year's champ, and Brandt Snedeker on Thursday.
Woods is back in action for the first time since his drop controversy at the Masters at Augusta that saw him get hit with a two stroke penalty and he eventually finished fourth in the standings. Woods spoke to reporters about the incident before starting play on Tuesday and said that he would not call in the rules violation on television and said that it was something the sport is forced to accept.
Woods compared the calling in of rules to calling about Kobe Bryant travelling or a player in the NFL holding, but said that there wasn't much anyone could do about it. Woods had his trouble at Augusta after hitting an amazing shot on 15 that knocked off the pole and into the water, forcing him to take a drop, which is where it all got messed up. After taking an improper drop, Woods was cleared by officials after the phone call, but later was assessed a two stroke penalty but was not disqualified for signing a wrong scorecard due to a new rule.
The Players Championship has not always been kind to Woods, as he has one win in 15 appearances and last year he finished tied for 40th after missing the tournament the previous two years. Woods is back at number one in the world after winning three times on tour this year and he appears to be back to his old ways when it comes to winning.
A number of other players are paired together on Thursday for the first round, with Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson in one group and Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk in another, while Woods, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker will tee off at 1:49 PM. Rory McIlroy is with Adam Scott and Steve Stricker, while Phil Mickelson is paired with Justin Rose and Webb Simpson on the first day.
