Rory McIlroy insisted his conscience was clear after shrugging off a lengthy debate over a penalty drop to claim a share of the clubhouse lead on day one of the Players Championship.
There was frustration for Irish pair Shane Lowry and Seamus Power however, as they failed to go low on a day when many players were enjoying success on the famed TPC Sawgrass course.
That wasn't the case for McIlroy though on a dramatic day for the 2019 champion.
Having started from the 10th, McIlroy looked set to lead outright when he covered his first 15 holes in eight under par, only to pull his tee shot on the seventh into the water.
It was not clear where the ball had bounced before entering the hazard and that led to a near 10-minute discussion with playing partners Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth, who appeared to question the location of McIlroy's drop.
McIlroy eventually hit his third shot short of the green and ran up a double-bogey six, but made his 10th birdie of the day on the par-five ninth to match the seven-under-par 65 of Olympic champion Xander Schauffele while late starter Wyndham Clark birdied three of his last four holes to join them at the top of the leaderboard.
"I think Jordan [Spieth] was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing," McIlroy told reporters after the round.
"I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It’s so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence.
"If anything I was being conservative with it. I think at the end of the day we’re all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well.
"I was adamant, but I guess I started to doubt myself a little bit. I was like, 'OK, did I actually see what I thought I saw?’. It is a bit of a [television] blind spot. I think the best view was from the tee, which was the view that we had."
Hovland and Spieth chose not to speak to the media after rounds of 73 and 74 respectively, but McIlroy – who faced a similar drop situation on the 18th – was asked if everyone in the group had been comfortable with the outcome.
"I think so, yeah," McIlroy added. "I’m comfortable. I think that’s the most important thing.
"I feel like I’m one of the most conscientious golfers out here, so if I feel like I’ve done something wrong, it’ll play on my conscience for the rest of the tournament.
"I’m a big believer in karma and if you do something wrong, I feel like it’s going to come around and bite you at some point.
"I obviously don’t try to do anything wrong out there, and play by the rules and do the right thing. I feel like I obviously did that those two drops."
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox had earlier made history as the first man to follow an eagle on the 16th with a hole-in-one on the 17th.
Fox holed from inside three feet for eagle on the 16th and then saw his tee shot on the next pitch around 10 feet beyond the pin and spin back into the hole. Fox eventually carded a three-under-par 69.
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland discuss McIlroy's drop on No. 7.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2024
Rory makes double bogey to move from solo leader to T2. pic.twitter.com/dkV6a5Q22W
Power, like McIlroy, started on the 10th hole and got off to a positive start with a birdie on the par-five 11th after his 40-foot eagle attempt flew a feet past.
The second par-five on the back nine caught him out though as he had to take a drop in the rough and ultimately bogeyed the 16th.
Coming in, the Waterford man's card was marked with two birdies and two bogeys leaving him under pressure on a day when low scores were possible.
Like Power, Lowry, who finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, just couldn't find his groove with an up and down front nine leaving him well off the pace – but a closing birdie did leave him one under par for his round.
A mid-range putt secured a birdie at the second for the Offaly man, but his front nine contained three bogeys and another birdie to leave him over par heading to the back nine.
Six straight pars meant that he was unable to make a move, but a brilliant approach at the 16th saw him back to level par, even if he coughed up a good shot at eagle.
Lowry’s round finished on a positive note though as a stunning approach from the right-hand side of the fairway set up a closing birdie to leave him six off the lead.
