PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- It almost seemed like the PGA Tour's middle (and working) class had a reminder for its stars in the opening round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday.
The message: Hey, we're not that bad either.
After the tour announced Tuesday that it will stage eight designated events with limited fields and no cuts starting in 2024, a plethora of players ranked outside the top 100 in the world were near the top of the leaderboard at the tour's flagship event.
In fact, if it weren't for Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, it might be difficult for anyone other than diehard golf fans to recognize players inside the top 10.