Billy Horschel looked on the bright side of his day.
He made six birdies on Thursday in the first round of The Players Championship, at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, which means $6,000 goes to Feeding Northeast Florida as part of his annual pledge at the Players to donate $1,000 for each red number.
But Horschel also made a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 sixth hole, which knocked him off the front page of the leaderboard, and had a bogey at the par-3 eighth.
Horschel managed to work in two more birdies, at Nos. 7 and 9, and finished at 1-under 71, his seventh sub-par score at The Players in his last nine rounds.
More: Billy Horschel helping to drive out hunger in Northeast Florida
“Nobody’s running away with this yet,” he said. “Anything under par is a good score.”
The good news about his pledge is that following a birdie with a bogey doesn’t erase the money he donates to the cause that has become his passion.
Horschel said that $6,000 translates into a huge number of meals for food-insecure persons served by Feeding Northeast Florida.
“Six birdies, 6K, which means feeding people 36,000 meals,” Horschel said. “A really good day.”
But the rules of golf require that players give back strokes when they make bogeys or worse, and Horschel accepted the blame for the big number he took on the usually tame sixth home.
He split the fairway but at 152 yards into the green, he said he was between an 8- and a 9-iron.
Players Championship: Leaderboard | Photos
Horschel took the 9-iron, downwind, but the ball got up in the air and didn’t cover the false front on the green, a subtle design ploy by architect Pete Dye.
The ball spilled back off the green and he hit two pitches that didn’t clear the false front. Horschel then over-cooked his fifth shot 40 feet past the hole and two-putted from 26 feet.
“I probably should have hit the 8-iron [into No. 6], put it 30 feet past the hole,” Horschel said. “It’s a little sour because I had a good round going. But I’m happy with how I battled back.”
Horschel birdied No. 7 on a 12-foot putt, bogeyed No. 8 after missing the green short-right, but birdied No. 9 on a 10-foot putt.
He had birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 17 in succession on his front nine to come within one shot of the lead at that point, with putts of 13 feet at No. 15, less than 2 feet at No. 16 and an 18-footer at No. 17.
Horschel took the time to praise TPC Sawgrass director of agronomy Jeff Plotts for the course conditions.
“I texted him [Wednesday night] to let him know what an incredible job he and his staff have done,” Horschel said. “The guys have raved about the course all week.”
