Players Championship 2017: William McGirt, Mackenzie Hughes Share Round 1 Lead

Through 18 holes, William McGirt and Mackenzie Hughes claimed a share of the lead at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 

McGirt and Hughes shot five under in the first round. They have plenty of competition for the top spot, with four golfers tied for second and another 11 tied for third.

McGirt was in the ninth group to tee off, so he had to sit in the clubhouse for a large chunk of the day and hope his lead held.

The PGA Tour's Teryn Schaefer shared McGirt's thoughts after the round:

Adam Scott briefly enjoyed sole possession of the lead after birdieing No. 15. Two holes later, though, he gave it right back to McGirt. His tee shot on the dreaded 17th hole landed in the water, and he settled for a double-bogey, dropping him to four over for the round.

Hughes made a late charge, birdieing No. 16 to tie McGirt atop the leaderboard. He was unable to make any more progress, though, carding pars on the last two holes.

"It wasn't perfect golf, but I managed my game really well," Hughes said of his round, per TSN's Bob Weeks.

Weeks was only among a small handful of reporters on hand to hear Hughes' remarks, which Brian Chojnacki of First Coast News showed on Twitter:

That crowd will grow bigger the longer Hughes remains in the hunt for the title.

Parity hasn't been a trademark of the Players Championship in recent years. PGATour.com's Mike McAllister noted no golfer ranked outside the top 75 has won the event since Craig Perks in 2002.

However, Thursday offered mixed returns some of golf's top stars. Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy both shot one over. CBS Sports' Kyle Porter compared the fortunes of McGirt and Spieth:

Dustin Johnson fared slightly better but still has plenty of work ahead to catch up to McGirt and Hughes. A bogey on the 14th hole dropped him back to one over before he eagled No. 16 to move to one under.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia needed late-round heroics to come back from a brutal front nine and get to one over. He was sitting at four over before making the turn and remained there with three holes left in the round.

Then Garcia birdied the 16th hole and aced No. 17. The PGA Tour shared a replay of his hole-in-one:

Jason Day, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler are all within striking distance of the leaders after shooting two under. It wasn't quite the same as Garcia's ace on the 17th hole, but Day delivered one of the best shots of the round when he holed out from 66 feet on the No. 1 green.

Considering how tightly packed the leaderboard is, McGirt and Hughes' chances of making it a wire-to-wire victory appear slim. One misstep could prove costly with so many golfers within a few shots, and even the likes of Johnson, Spieth and Garcia can't be counted out completely.

Fans should prepare themselves for what's shaping up to be an entertaining weekend in northeast Florida.