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Four former Gators on the PGA tour appeared on Thursday for Day 1 of the Player’s Championship. It is held at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. The course plays to 7,352 yards and a par of 72.
Camilo Villegas
Villegas ended Day 1 tied for first place with a score of 66 (6-under). His front nine started off with a bogey on the second hole, but he came back with three birdies on holes 3,4 and 6. However, he recorded another bogey on hole 7.
Villegas came into the back nine with renewed energy, scoring 5 birdies and no bogeys, placing himself atop the leaderboard.
Camilo Villegas CHIPS IN for the outright lead! 🔥🎯
📺 Golf Channel & NBC Sports App | #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/OsUajoLVBk
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 13, 2025
Billy Horschel
Billy ended tied for fourth place, with an overall score of 67 (5-under). His first nine was an even round, with 3 birdies and 3 bogeys, at the turn he came back with 6 birdies (including one on the infamous 17th hole) and only one bogey.
Horschel rolled in birdie putts of 2-11 at No. 16, 6 feet at No. 17 and 16-11 at No. 18.
A First Coast contender is in the clubhouse: Billy Horschel with a 5-under 67 at @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/5lFEWdN4DX
— Clayton Freeman (@CFreemanJAX) March 13, 2025
Ricky Castillo
Making his seventh appearance during his first year on tour, Ricky Castillo ended the day with a score of 70 (-2), tied for 31st. His first round consisted of two birdies on holes 2 and 7 with a bogey in hole 3.
His second nine took an unfortunate turn with a double bogey on hole 13 but Castillo was able to maintain a low score with three more birdies.
Alejandro Tosti
Joining another former Gator, Alejandro Tosti also ended day 1 tied for 31st with a score of 70 (2-under). Tosti recorded an impressive first round, with two bogeys on holes 1 and 8, a bogey on 6 and a redeeming eagle on the par-5 hole 9.
Throughout his back nine, Tosti played par golf until his last hole in which he scored a bogey.
Tosti has recently made latin american headlines during his practice round as he scored a hole-in-one in the 17th hole, and jumped in the water as a celebration.
Alejandro Tosti hizo un increíble hoyo en uno en su práctica en el TPC Sawgrass 🏌️♂️🎯. El argentino compite en The Players, con premios de hasta 25 millones de dólares 💰
La celebración se descontroló cuando su amigo Juan Pablo lo tiró al agua tras ver su tiro caer en el hoyo 😂 pic.twitter.com/2LekdB9gtJ
— Noticiasdel6.com (@noticiasdel6) March 14, 2025
Future Rounds
No former Gators have ever won the Players, however Villegas and Horschel are in contention to change that.
The Championship continues through the weekend, with the final round slated for Sunday. Live leaderboard updates can be found here.
