The Players: Tiger Woods fires 72 as Phil Mickelson slumps to seven over

Tiger Woods battled back from a poor start to fire a 72 on day one of The Players Championship as Phil Mickelson endured a nightmare finish at Sawgrass.

Two-time champion Woods posted the best score of his star grouping with Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, with all three players struggling to keep their balls on dry land over the closing holes – with Mickelson dropping seven shots in a damaging four-hole stretch from the 14th.

Woods looked at odds with his swing early on and had to scramble hard to save par at the first two holes, but he missed from five feet at the third and another poor drive at the fifth also led to bogey.

But the vast galleries following the big-name threeball were treated to a vintage Woods eagle at the ninth, where he hammered a superb second over the trees to the fringe and he holed the putt from just inside 20 feet.

Woods then got under the card with a delightful pitch to three feet at the 12th and, although he bogeyed the 15th, he made a good four at the next to return to one under.

He did well to two-putt for par at 17 from the rear fringe after watching both his playing partners find the hazard, but he then tugged a long-iron into the hazard from the tee at the last.

The 42-year-old was staring at a six when he pushed his third to the right of the green and his pitch pulled up 10 feet short, but he rattled in the putt to limit the damage to a bogey which left him at level par.

“I felt like today the way I was hitting the golf ball, especially toward the back nine, that I felt like I should have shot something in the 60s, but didn’t do it,” said Woods afterwards. “It was nice to turn it completely around there at nine, but I had two par-fives on the back nine and could have played those under par.

“A lot of guys were under par, a bunch of guys in the 60s today, and it was playing a little bit on the softer side, and with this heat, even the wind picked up, with this heat the ball’s flying forever.

“We have to go out there and tear this place apart early on Friday. We’ve got to be aggressive and go low. This golf course is playing a little bit on the easier side, there’s too many guys out there that are playing really well and going low, and my responsibility was to go low and shoot something in the red.”

Mickelson, meanwhile, made a bright start with a birdie at the second before three bogeys in five holes completed a disappointing, outward 38, but worse was to follow down the stretch.

The left-hander hauled himself back to level par with birdies at 11 and 12, but his game unravelled in spectacular style over the final five holes.

Mickelson made a mess of the 14th and ran up a double-bogey six and, after another dropped shot at 15, he pulled his second into the water at the 16th and stumbled to a seven.

He then followed Fowler into the drink at 17 and carded his third double-bogey in four holes, and the 47-year-old looked a forlorn figure as he shaved the cup for birdie at the last and trudged off to sign for a 79.

As for Fowler, he was struggling to make much happen and was level par with two to play after offsetting two birdies with a pair of bogeys, but he came up short with his tee shot to the notorious 17th and a par at the last saw him sign for a 74.

(c) Sky News 2018: The Players: Tiger Woods fires 72 as Phil Mickelson slumps to seven over