LOS ANGELES - As his birdie putt lipped out on the par-five ninth, his last hole of the day, world No. 1 Jon Rahm was resigned to fate.

The Spaniard admitted that it was a “slap in the face” as he went seven shots behind early first-round clubhouse leader Chad Ramey at the Players Championship on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Ramey, who missed the cut in his last three PGA Tour starts and is making his Players Championship debut, opened with a bogey-free eight-under 64. It left him one shot clear of two-time Major champion Collin Morikawa at TPC Sawgrass, where play was suspended owing to darkness.

Canadian Taylor Pendrith was a further two shots adrift.

“It felt like a slap in the face. I hit a lot of putts and just kept burning edges today. It’s just what it is, it’s golf,” Rahm, tied for 19th following his round, said of failing to take his chances.

“You don’t have a lot of margin to miss out here. Even when you’re in the fairway, you have to hit a lot of quality shots to give yourself a birdie chance.”

Ramey, who won his lone PGA Tour title in 2022 in Punta Cana and is 225th in the world rankings, showed no nerves as he birdied four of his first seven holes and added another four on the back nine to set the early pace.

Morikawa began on the back nine and was cruising along at three under before grabbing a share of the lead with an eagle at the par-five second, his 11th hole.

The American added another two birdies to grab the outright lead in the PGA Tour’s flagship event, before Ramey overtook him with two late birdies.

While few would be surprised to see Morikawa near the top of the leaderboard, many expected those in the mix to be from the heavyweight group of Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

The trio, who have traded the top spot in the world rankings in 2023, were the pre-tournament favourites but experienced mixed fortunes.

Rahm, who has three wins this season, carded his lone bogey on his penultimate hole en route to a 71. It left him three back of Scheffler, who birdied three of his final four holes for a solid 68.

It was a different story for McIlroy, however, as he began his day with a double-bogey at the par-four 10th where he missed the green with his approach, sent his third shot into a bunker and failed to get up and down.

The four-time Major winner responded immediately with a birdie but found himself repeatedly playing from the rough on the way to a disappointing 76.

“I feel like this is as penal as I’ve seen it out of the rough for a long time,” said McIlroy.

“Yeah, if you don’t hit it on the fairway here, you’re going to struggle.” REUTERS