Exploring the golfers holding the record for most 31 or better scores at The Players Championship 

The 2024 Players Championship is currently underway at TPC Sawgrass, Florida. The tournament is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the field features 144 of the top golfers in the world. Being an elevated event on the 2024 circuit, the Players Championship boasts a prize purse of $25 million.

The first day of the Players Championship has started, with Rory McIlroy managing to wow the audience by setting a record on the back nine already. He carded a 5-under 31 on the back nine, a feat which has been achieved by only two other players.

Following are the three golfers who have scored a 31 or better on the back 9 of TPC Sawgrass at the Players Championship (via PGA Tour on X):

• 6, Rory McIlroy
• 3, Sergio Garcia
• 3, K.J. Choi

After 13 holes of the first round, it is Xander Schauffele who leads, while McIlroy sits in second place. With the likes of Scottie Scheffler yet to tee off, fans are in for an intense weekend of golf.

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2024 Players Championship: Round 1 tee times and pairings explored

Following are the pairings and the tee times for round 1 of the Players Championship (via CBS Sports):

Tee 1

• 7:40 a.m. — Ryan Moore, Chesson Hadley, Zac Blair
• 7:51 a.m. — Brandon Wu, Ben Taylor, Carson Young
• 8:02 a.m. — Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Joseph Bramlett
• 8:13 a.m. — Camilo Villegas, Lee Hodges, Tom Hoge
• 8:24 a.m. — Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey, Adam Schenk
• 8:35 a.m. — Vincent Norrman, Sepp Straka, Chez Reavie
• 8:46 a.m. — Brice Garnett, Russell Henley, Steve Stricker
• 8:57 a.m. — Emiliano Grillo, Taylor Moore, Scott Stallings
• 9:08 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Sungjae Im, Webb Simpson
• 9:19 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, K.H. Lee, Adam Hadwin
• 9:30 a.m. — David Lipsky, Justin Lower, Tyson Alexander
• 9:41 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Ben Silverman, Ryo Hisatsune
• 12:45 p.m. — Doug Ghim, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Yu
• 12:56 p.m. — Peter Malnati, Beau Hossler, Alex Smalley
• 1:07 p.m. — Cam Davis, Sam Ryder, Stephan Jaeger
• 1:18 p.m. — Jake Knapp, Matthieu Pavon, Nick Dunlap
• 1:29 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa
• 1:40 p.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas
• 1:51 p.m. — Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman
• 2:02 p.m. — Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris, Shane Lowry
• 2:13 p.m. — Austin Eckroat, Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia
• 2:24 p.m. — Garrick Higgo, S.H. Kim, Andrew Novak
• 2:35 p.m. — Ben Martin, Eric Cole, Harry Hall
• 2:46 p.m. — Charley Hoffman, Sam Stevens, Sami Valimaki

Tee 10

• 7:40 a.m. — Troy Merritt, Taylor Pendrith, Taylor Montgomery
• 7:51 a.m. — Michael Kim, Aaron Rai, Carl Yuan
• 8:02 a.m. — Joel Dahmen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee
• 8:13 a.m. — Jason Day, Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar
• 8:24 a.m. — Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood
• 8:35 a.m. — Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth
• 8:46 a.m. — Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott
• 8:57 a.m. — Nick Taylor, Tom Kim, Justin Rose
• 9:08 a.m. — Erik van Rooyen, Lucas Glover, Brendon Todd
• 9:19 a.m. — C.T. Pan, Kevin Streelman, Ryan Fox
• 9:30 a.m. — Martin Laird, Justin Suh, Greyson Sigg
• 9:41 a.m. — Nate Lashley, Robby Shelton, Ben Kohles
• 12:45 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, Patrick Rodgers, Matti Schmid
• 12:56 p.m. — Denny McCarthy, Matt NeSmith, Nicolai Hojgaard
• 1:07 p.m. — Keith Mitchell, Mark Hubbard, Dylan Wu
• 1:18 p.m. — Grayson Murray, Seamus Power, Francesco Molinari
• 1:29 p.m. — Nick Hardy, Matt Wallace, Adam Svensson
• 1:40 p.m. — Nico Echavarria, J.T. Poston, Harris English
• 1:51 p.m. — Davis Riley, Corey Conners, J.J. Spaun
• 2:02 p.m. — Luke List, Gary Woodland, Cameron Young
• 2:13 p.m. — Chris Kirk, Mackenzie Hughes, Andrew Putnam
• 2:24 p.m. — Aaron Baddeley, Ben Griffin, Davis Thompson
• 2:35 p.m. — Tyler Duncan, Maverick McNealy, Callum Tarren
• 2:46 p.m. — Chan Kim, David Skinns, Jimmy Stanger

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion and the favorite to win the Players Championship, while the likes of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele are also favored to win.