Players Championship 2018: Tee Times, Pairings and Predictions for Friday

While most of the attention was paid to the group of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler for Thursday's opening round, Dustin Johnson took advantage of near-pristine conditions in the morning and fired a six-under 66 and has a share of the lead after the opening round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass, Florida.

Johnson still maintains the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but his status is shaky. He has never had his way with this tournament, so his bogey-free opening round has put him in a positive state of mind.

"I haven't had the best record here, but it's a golf course that I like," Johnson said, per Bob Harig of ESPN.com. "I enjoy playing it, and I feel like I should play well here."

Johnson is playing with Bubba Watson and Brooks Koepka, and that group will tee off at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday. Here's a link to the pairings for the second round from the Players.com website.

Here's a look at the tee times for some of the featured groups for Friday (All times ET):

7:21 a.m.: Bill Haas, Chesson Hadley, Matthew Fitzpatrick
7:54 a.m.: Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar
8:05 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama
8:16 a.m.: Jason Day, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia
8:27 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler
1:08 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton
1:30 p.m.: Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka
1:52 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth
2:14 p.m.: Keith Mitchell, Russel Knox, Alex Noren

Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose have a chance to overtake Johnson in the rankings if he does not have a solid showing at this tournament.

Johnson was joined at six under by Matt Kuchar, who had the lead going into the 18th hole. Kuchar overshot the green on his approach and his par putt just missed the right edge of the cup. 

Kuchar, who has won the Players before, had his career-best opening round at the tournament Thursday.

Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Alex Noren and Chesson Hadley are tied with Johnson and Kuchar atop the leaderboard. Six other players, including Steve Stricker and Jhonattan Vegas, are tied for second at five under. Here's a look at the leaderboard after 18 holes.

The threesome of Woods, Mickelson and Fowler didn't play well for the majority of the round. Woods fired an eagle on the ninth hole and that allowed him to go from two over to even par, but he was unable to gather much momentum in the back nine. He finished with an even-par 72.

Mickelson, looking uncomfortable throughout the round in a long-sleeve shirt, struggled on the closing holes and had to settle for a seven-over 79. Mickelson shot three double bogeys and a bogey during a four-hole stretch from the 14th through the 17th holes.

Fowler was able to hit the ball fairly well, but making birdies was not part of his game and he shot a two-over 74.

Mickelson and Fowler both hit the ball in the water on the island green at the 17th hole, while Woods barely avoided that fate after hitting the ball to back of the green. Woods was able to two-putt successfully from 65 feet, but he hit his drive on the dangerous 18th hole into the water and had to settle for bogey.

Friday Predictions

Look for Johnson to pick up where he left off Thursday and command the course at TPC Sawgrass. It's almost impossible to beat Johnson when he is on his game, and he appears to be in sharp form.

Kuchar can't hit the ball as far as Johnson, but he stays cool under fire and takes what TPC Sawgrass gives him. He should be able to stay close to Johnson and stay within two strokes.

Cantlay was quite solid in his opening round and should stay close, but Simpson, Noren and Hadley will likely have difficulty matching what they did in the opening round.

Look for Vegas and Stricker to continue their solid play by limiting mistakes.

Fowler will have to be at his best to find a way to make the cut, while that ship has apparently sailed for Mickelson. Unless he puts a record-low number on the board in the second round, Lefty will not be around for the weekend.

Woods played well until the 18th hole of the opening round, and he should be able to make the cut and perhaps become a factor during the weekend.