Sepp Straka shares top position at Players Championship during interruptions.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sepp Straka recorded seven par saves, chipped in for an eagle late in his round, and navigated through challenging conditions to finish with a 5-under 67, sharing the lead at The Players Championship amidst wind, rain, sunshine, and darkness.

It remains uncertain whether he will maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard at TPC Sawgrass alongside Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, and Sahith Theegala until Friday morning.

Austin Smotherman also reached 5 under and had a 15-foot birdie attempt on his final hole, the par-5 ninth. It appeared he might complete his round, but as two players in his group encountered difficulties and darkness set in, he opted to mark his ball until the morning.

“Do I wish I had taken the chip in the morning as well? I went back and forth,” Smotherman stated. “The fact that I was even considering it suggests I probably should have stepped back.”

He was among four players who did not finish the round.

The 12 hours of play provided ample drama — 38 balls found the water along the three concluding holes on the Stadium Course, two eagles were made from the fairway, and a downpour caused a 21-minute delay. By the afternoon, the rain subsided, allowing the sun to cast shadows within moments.

Rory McIlroy, who withdrew from Bay Hill last week due to back issues, reported no pain except with his putting, as he was unable to convert any attempts longer than 6 feet during his round of 74.

Collin Morikawa, a top performer this season, withdrew after just one hole when he experienced back tightness during a practice swing.

Scottie Scheffler was unable to break par for the fourth time in his last five opening rounds. He struggled to find the fairway and spent over an hour on the range in the rain following his score of 72.

Perhaps the most notable aspect was that no player recorded a score lower than 67 — pending Smotherman’s putt on Friday morning. The last occurrence of this in an opening round of this event was in 2017.

Straka managed to avoid bogeys, showcasing significant scrambling on the back nine. He saved par with a 12-foot putt on No. 10, found the water with his second shot on the par-5 11 but salvaged par with another 12-foot putt. He chipped in from 50 feet for his eagle on the par-5 16th and then hit a wedge to tap-in distance from 67 yards out on the 18th.

“I felt like I was playing from the rough all day, which is not ideal here,” Straka remarked. “Fortunately, my iron and wedge play were quite good today, and I managed to make several putts to save some pars.”

Theegala, who made three consecutive birdies early on, encountered trouble from the left bunker for a bogey on the par-5 ninth but reversed his fortunes when his wedge from just under 100 yards hit the pin and went in for eagle on No. 12.

“For it to hit the pin and drop in is pretty cool. It’s a nice bonus,” Theegala commented.

Justin Thomas, who made his return last week at Bay Hill after undergoing back surgery in November, started with three straight birdies and finished with a 68.

“Literally everything you could think of, I did significantly better [than last week],” said Thomas, who shot 79-79 and missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Cameron Young, Russell Henley, and Taylor Moore also finished at 68. The group at 69 included Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau, who made four consecutive birdies followed by four straight bogeys.

Henley was fortunate to complete his round. He played in the morning during a brief delay and, due to heavy rain, rushed to the clubhouse from the nearby second green without realizing that play was being paused for the rapidly approaching storm.

Ben Griffin alerted him that play was resuming, allowing Henley to return to the green.