Castro shoots 63, leads by 3 at Players

Published May 09, 2013

Sports Network

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL –  Roberto Castro tied the course record with a sizzling 9-under 63 on Thursday to grab the lead after the first round of the Players Championship.

Castro, who is making his Players debut, equaled the mark set by Fred Couples (1992) and Greg Norman (1994).

Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson share second place as each fired a 6-under 66 in their opening round at TPC Sawgrass.

The world No. 2 McIlroy has failed to make the cut in three previous appearances at this event.

"It was benign out there," McIlroy said about the weather. "There wasn't much wind. It was perfect conditions for scoring and I was able to take advantage of those."

World No. 1 and 2001 champion Tiger Woods bogeyed his final hole to fall into a group of players tied for fourth place at 5-under.

Woods is joined by Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, Webb Simpson, Casey Wittenberg and Ryan Palmer.

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