Players Championship 2018: Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, More Tied for Lead

The competition for the 2018 Players Championship title is tight, with six golfers tied for first place following the opening round Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar are among those with a share of the lead at six under.

Johnson might lament the fact he only finished at six under, considering he was already at five under when he made the turn onto the front nine. He had just one birdie over his final nine holes.

Since this is Johnson's first event in nearly a month, he didn't start the tournament with significant expectations. Sports Illustrated's Daniel Rapaport wondered if that benefited the No. 1 golfer in the world:

Kuchar didn't exactly have momentum on his side, either, as he made the trip to Florida. His last top-10 finish was at the Houston Open on April 1, and his last Players Championship appearance ended with his placing last among those who made the cut.

Mike McAllister of PGATour.com highlighted how much changed for Kuchar at Ponte Vedra Beach:

Having missed the cut at the Masters and Wells Fargo Championship, Alex Noren appears to be getting things back on track.

Noren didn't excel in any one area but was solid across the board. According to PGATour.com, he had a 71.43 percent driving accuracy and reached 14 greens in regulation. Noren also gained 3.045 strokes on the green, which is eighth-best after the opening round.

As a result, Noren is tied for the lead.

Over his final two holes, Sergio Garcia went from potentially being the sole leader after the first round to slipping into a tie for 13th instead.

Sitting at seven under, Garcia double-bogeyed No. 17, a victim of TPC Sawgrass' famed island green. His tee shot landed in the water, which meant he basically needed a hole-in-one just to save par. The 2017 Masters champion instead had to two-putt after getting on the green. Garcia compounded his bad luck with a bogey on No. 18 to fall to four under.

Still, Garcia had a far better day than a number of golf's top stars. The Action Network's Jason Sobel noted the golfers hovering near the bottom of the Players Championship leaderboard:

Prior to the round, no group attracted more attention than the trio of Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. None of the three broke par, with Mickelson (seven over) the biggest struggler. The PGA Tour showed both Fowler and Mickelson missing the mark on the 17th tee:

Mickelson in particular melted down on the back nine. The five-time major champion lost seven strokes between the 14th and 17th holes, carding three double-bogeys and a bogey.

The Guardian's Ewan Murray placed the blame squarely on Mickelson's long-sleeve button-down shirt, which raised some eyebrows Thursday:

Woods is probably out of the title hunt already. Unlike Fowler and Mickelson, he's at least on pace to make the cut. Woods is tied for 69th at even par after a somewhat inconsistent round.

Some fans might be disappointed to see so many marquee names likely too far back to contend, but drama shouldn't be in short supply at the Players Championship. In addition to the six golfers tied for first, another six are in a tie for second at five under.