The Players Championship 2014: Martin Kaymer matches course record to top TPC Sawgrass leaderboard

Much of the discussion preceding Thursday’s first round at The Players Championship centered on the four players going for the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but after 18 holes, it’s a former No. 1 who fell into obscurity that’s now the headliner.

Martin Kaymer, one of multiple Euros to rise to No. 1 during that revolving door stretch in 2011, matched the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course record on Thursday with a 9-under round of 63. The German is a major champion, a former No. 1, and super talented, but it’s still a surprise to see him rocket to the top of the leaderboard like this. He’s slowly working his way back to the world force he once was, after some bungled swing changes. Kaymer typically hits a high fade, but started working on a swing that would draw it better to compete at the Masters. That didn’t work out real well, and he tumbled from the top of the rankings, and became a non-factor the past couple years.

This season, he’s slowly started to move back up leaderboards, and that culminated with Thursday’s course record-matching loop. The course was open to low scores all day, with the wind down and the greens softer and receptive. But Kaymer took things to a different level, becoming the first ever to shoot 29 on either nine at Pete Dye’s masterpiece. He joins Fred Couples, Greg Norman, and last year’s out-of-nowhere round from Roberto Castro as course record holders.

Kaymer started well enough, going off the back side with a 2-under 34. That put him in the middle of the pack, as much of the AM wave took advantage of the most benign scoring conditions to post rounds in the mid 60s. But once he made that turn onto the front, he was flawless, pouring in seven birdies to overwhelm the course.

All phases of the game were clicking, as he kept it in play off the tee, a must at this design that rewards accuracy more than length. And then he repeatedly dropped his approach shots right on top of the pin for makeable birdies, which came at par-3s, par-4s, and par-5s. Everything was working from tee-to-green, and he finished the day T3 in driving accuracy and 1st in GIR. That’ll do it on almost any course, but especially here.

At the par-5 ninth, he needed one more birdie to match the course record and set the new nine-hole record. And on the gettable par-5, he left little doubt and needed only a tap-in to join Norman, Couples, and Castro. He pulled this red number together with a little work out of the sand, using every club to make this round work.

Kaymer said he didn’t know he was putting for a share of the course record on the 9th, but he did know he just played one of the best rounds of his life.

Of course, this round doesn’t guarantee a win, with the strongest field of the year chasing and scores expected to stay low. Norman is the only one of the four course record holders who went on to win on Sunday (via Justin Ray).

Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, and Jason Dufner are among that loaded group of chasers. A large group posted rounds at 5-under in the AM wave, which Russell Henley finished at 7-under. Henley is still in second, and had a comparable ball-striking round to post his 65. He’ll have to wait until the afternoon and watch Kaymer go out in the morning trying to post another number and push the lead higher on Friday.

Here’s the leaderboard after the first round of the season’s “fifth major.”