Jason Day Ties Course Record at 2016 Players Championship

World No. 1 Jason Day tied a course record at TPC Sawgrass during Thursday's opening round at the Players Championship in Florida, shooting a nine-under 63, per the PGA Tour.

Here's a look at the live leaderboard:

Just four other players have shot a 63 at TPC Sawgrass, according to Justin Ray of the Golf Channel, and two of them went on to win The Players Championship.

Day, 28, is golf's hottest player at the moment, with two wins and five top-10 finishes this season and six wins total since July 2015, including his triumph at the PGA Championship. 

But even for Day, Thursday's round was incredibly impressive. As Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press noted, "Easiest way to sum up Day's round: He putted for birdie on every hole."

He started his day with a birdie on No. 1 after this impressive approach shot, per the PGA Tour:

But his finest moment of the day may have come at No. 9, after he deftly played himself out of the bunker:

In the past, Day probably wouldn't have hit those shots so perfectly, at least not at TPC Sawgrass, where he's traditionally struggled.

As Jason Sobel of ESPN.com noted, Day went from an 81 at his last round at the course, with a triple-bogey and two double-bogeys, to a round with nine birdies and nine pars. While Day has finished tied for sixth at the event, he has also missed the cut three times. 

But after his dynamic opening round, he certainly won't be missing the cut this time around.

In fact, he's now in the driver's seat to win the event. While he has a number of talented golfers nipping at his heels, the world's top golfer at the moment is going to be very hard to beat if he continues to play anywhere near the way he performed Thursday.

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