Nicolás Echavarría overcame a difficult day in his debut at The Players

Nicolas Echavarria

Photo:

Erik S. Lesser. efe

Nicholas Echavarria

The Colombian finished under par in the first round of the tournament, at TPC Sawgrass.

Nicholas Echavarria had a great recovery to finish under par on the first day of The Players, the ‘big fifth’ of world golf, played at TPS Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra (Florida, USA). He delivered a card of 71 strokes (-1).

Echavarría gained access to the tournament thanks to his victory at the Puerto Rico Open last Sunday, something that also assured him his card on the PGA Tour for the next two years and his presence in the PGA Championship, second Major of the year.

(Also read: Nicolás Echavarría plunges headlong into The Players, the ‘big fifth’ of golf)

The difficult beginning of the round of Echavarría

The start was not easy for the man from Antioquia, who began on the 10th hole and scored bogeys on the 11th and 12th. Then he had a birdie on the 13th and a new bogey on the 15th.

What happened on the par 3 of 17 could have complicated the round, but it turned out to be the beginning of his recovery. He tossed it into the water on his tee shot, but then scored a bogey in what could have been a worse scenario.

Photo:

Richard Heatcote. Getty Images/AFP

The second half of the course was very good for Echavarría, who began to cut back on the course: birdies on holes 2, 4, 7 and 9 allowed him to finish under par on the first day of the tournament.

The first day of the tournament is still going on at this time. The American Chad Ramey is the leader in the clubhouse, with 64 shots (-8), one less than his compatriot Collin Morikawa.

News in development.

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