Lucas Glover shot a 6-under 66 in the first round of the Players Championship, taking the clubhouse lead.
- Glover credits his success to hitting fairways and making putts, particularly after a recent putting adjustment.
- Despite past personal challenges, Glover remains motivated to compete at a high level at age 45.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lucas Glover was asked by a TV reporter to name the secret to his success on Thursday at the first round of the Players Championship. Glover looked in the camera, smiled widely, and said, “Hit a lot of fairways, made some putts.”
That usually works at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, and thanks to finishing with four birdies in the final four holes, he was the clubhouse leader at 6-under 66, two strokes better than Bud Cauley, Alex Smalley, Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai.
“There’s really no secret, honestly,” Glover added.
Glover switched to a long putter in 2023 and resurrected his career, winning twice that season. But the putter has been more of a foe than a friend so far this season with the exception of one great putting day at Pebble Beach that contributed to a T-3 finish. On Thursday, the putter cooperated as he made nine birdies and three bogeys and kept the momentum going with a few clutch par putts.
“I haven’t seen a bunch go in like that in a long time, so it was a really good feeling,” he said.
It didn’t hurt that he made a subtle but effective change with his putting. On Tuesday afternoon, he adjusted his address and how he walks into the ball.
“I’ve had trouble as stupid and childish as this sounds putting the club down square behind the ball. That seems important, right?” he said. “So, I made a small adjustment in how I was walking in and putting my putter down first instead of setting my feet first.”
Glover noted that he sees a straight line differently than others. “I have to be a little open to see straight. I had gotten too square. I had been struggling starting it on my line ever since we got to the Florida Swing. Silly to say, but PGA Tour, fundamentals still matter,” he said.
Glover missed an 8-foot putt at the first hole but blamed the read, not the stroke. He drained a 17-foot birdie at No. 3 and as he put, “I was off and running.” He made four birdies on the front nine against one bogey, including a nifty three-quarter wedge at the ninth to nine feet for a birdie. He hit 11 of 14 fairways, but a miss at No. 12 resulted in his second straight bogey.
“I’ve got to get it on the fairway more,” he said. ” I don’t hit it far enough to be missing fairways, especially out here.”
He settled down and finished with a flourish. At No. 15, he drew an 8-iron from 164 yards to 5 feet and drained the putt. He chipped close to set up a short birdie at 16 and remembered how he had over-read a similar putt at 17 in a previous year and canned an 18-foot birdie at the par-3 17th. He capped off the day with his fourth straight birdie at 18.
Glover is making his 17th appearance in the Players Championship, and has missed the cut 10 times, including in two of the last three years. He finished third in 2010 but his most memorable appearance at the Players happened in 2018, when his wife, Krista, was charged with battery (domestic violence) and resisting an officer without violence after he shot 78 in the third round and missed the 54-hole cut. Both Lucas and his mother had visible injuries due to the altercation, according to the police report. She got 12-months’ probation and agreed to complete 25 hours of community service.
Glover, 45, said he is as motivated as ever to keep playing the type of golf that has helped him win six times, including the U.S. Open. Should he lift the trophy on Sunday, he would be the second-oldest champion in tournament history.
“I deep down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don’t want to stop anytime soon,” he said.
On a gorgeous sunny day, Glover found the fairways firm and the greens soft and receptive to good scoring. Not everyone found the Pete Dye layout to be friendly for making birdies. Major winners Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland and Matt Fitzpatrick shot 78, Max Homa posted 79 and Viktor Hovland signed for 80.
“That’s the thing about this place is there’s always some really good scores and always some really bad scores. It’s razor thin. The margins are razor thin here,” Glover said. “You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry.”
