The PGA Tour cut The Players Championship field to 123 players to help speed up play. But on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, darkness ended up stopping the action. Instead of a completed leaderboard, Round 1 finished with a suspension.

Play stopped at 7:32 p.m. ET because of fading light, leaving four players unable to finish their first rounds. One of them is co-leader Austin Smotherman, who was about to attempt a 14-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole when play was halted. He will continue on Friday at 8:50 a.m. ET. Round 2 is set to start at 7:40 a.m. as planned.

Earlier in the day, heavy rain stopped play at 12:09 p.m. ET. After a 21-minute delay, play resumed, but afternoon tee times were moved back by 30 minutes. That delay left the final groups unable to finish before sunset.

Smotherman sits tied for the lead at five under with Maverick McNealy and Lee Hodges. Smotherman’s ranked second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach this season. One putt on nine is all that stands between him and the outright lead.

All three leaders posted 67s on a day disrupted at TPC Sawgrass. Smotherman got to five-under through 17, but a late bogey brought him back. His putt on nine Friday now carries extra weight. McNealy and Hodges finished their rounds, each making eagles to climb the leaderboard.

Collin Morikawa‘s tournament ended early. After making par on his first hole, a practice swing on the 11th sent him to the trainer. He tried to continue but withdrew within the hour. Morikawa came in with momentum, having won at Pebble Beach and finished fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I felt fine in warm-up. Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could.” Morikawa summed it up.

The purse is $25 million, with $4.5 million to the winner. But until the field finishes what Thursday started, nothing is decided.

TPC Sawgrass weather delays: The Players Championship’s recurring problem

Thursday’s delays at TPC Sawgrass were nothing new. For years, the tournament has struggled with bad weather and fading daylight, and things rarely go smoothly. In both 2022 and 2023, the second rounds couldn’t finish on Friday because of the weather. The same thing happened in 2025, when the PGA Tour moved Sunday tee times to between 8 and 10:01 a.m. because of an 82% chance of thunderstorms, but the final round still had to finish on Monday. Rory McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun in the playoff that followed.

The field was cut from 144 players to 123 to help speed up play. With fewer players, rounds should finish earlier, making better use of daylight. While this makes sense in theory, TPC Sawgrass in March doesn’t always cooperate. Thursday showed that the schedule, the weather, and the course all have their own plans, and the Tour has to adjust.

Smotherman, McNealy, and Hodges are leading as play heads into Friday. Four players still need to finish their rounds, so the tournament is already running late.