While Covid-19 has not fully loosened its grip on the sports world, golf is faring far better in March 2021 than it was in March 2020, and the Players Championship, the first big golf event of 2021, feels like a beacon of hope for the PGA Tour slate this year. The 154-player field highlights 48 of the top 50 players in the world.
The first round got underway Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with featured groups including Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland (7:29 a.m. ET, off the 10th hole); Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson and Sergio Garcia (7:40 a.