Roberto Castro shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday in the opening round of The Players Championship to match the Stadium Course record held by two World Golf Hall of Famers. Castro's round included seven birdies and a par-5 eagle, while he successfully avoided shooting any shot over par the entire day.
The 27-year-old former Georgia Tech star missed a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth that would have broken the course record. He now shares the disctinction with Fred Couples (third round, 1992) and Greg Norman (first round, 1994). Norman went on to win the tournament that same year.
Castro currently holds a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson, who both shot 66 on Thursday. Afternoon groups have yet to complete the course.
"I hit it close a lot," Castro said of his round, which began on the 10th hole. "I hit a couple of gimmes on the back, but really birdies on 17 and 18 got things going. I hit a 4-iron close on 18 to kick in almost. So from there, it was kind of off to the races."
Castro's best finish in a weekend tournament is a tie for 21st at the Tampa Bay Championship in March. In his second year on the PGA Tour after earning his card through the 2011 qualifying school, the Houston native said that his performance Thursday was a good sign that his ame is finally coming into form.
"The last two weeks I've hit the ball really nicely," he said. "I have not gotten the scores out of it. But a lot of greens in regulation, lot of fairways hit, lot of quality shots, so I thought that would be a good thing coming into this week where you have to hit it nice and solid, nice and straight."
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