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Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger off to strong start at Players

AP photo by Chris O'Meara / Chattanooga resident Stephan Jaeger, a former Baylor School and UTC standout, putts on the 14th green of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Jaeger opened The Players Championship with a 4-under-par 68 and was two shots behind the co-leaders.
AP photo by Chris O'Meara / Chattanooga resident Stephan Jaeger, a former Baylor School and UTC standout, putts on the 14th green of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Jaeger opened The Players Championship with a 4-under-par 68 and was two shots behind the co-leaders. AP photo by Chris O'Meara / Chattanooga resident Stephan Jaeger, a former Baylor School and UTC standout, putts on the 14th green of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Jaeger opened The Players Championship with a 4-under-par 68 and was two shots behind the co-leaders.

By DOUG FERGUSON / The Associated Press 6 min read

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Camilo Villegas was on the phone Wednesday, the day before The Players Championship began, trying to sort out his swing with a coach who is currently in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf League event.

Villegas wound up tied for the first-round lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled with them throughout its history.

Thursday was no exception.

Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under-par 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the dangerous Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass without a bogey.

Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5 under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was suspended by darkness on the first day of the PGA Tour’s premier event.