Sergio Garcia nailed a hole-in-one on the 17th on his way to a one-over-par round of 73 on the opening day of the Players Championship in Florida.
The Masters champion, competing for the first time since his memorable victory last month, started the day slowly - including a double-bogey on the fifth - but recovered across the remaining 12 holes to remain in contention.
Defending champion Jason Day and 2015 winner Rickie Fowler ended in a tie for 18th, each carding two-under on a day that saw the big names falter.
William McGirt and Mackenzie Hughes finished the first round at the top of the leaderboard on five-under, trailed by a pack of four players one stroke back, including Alex Noren.
Another former champion in Adam Scott looked likely to end the day at the summit, but he double-bogeyed the final two holes to finish in 18th.
Daniel Lewis
