PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Tiger Woods was nine shots out of the lead, not the best position at The Players Championship, especially since he had not even started his round. Perhaps the bigger surprise was the guy who posted the record-tying round Thursday. Roberto Castro had only played the TPC Sawgrass in a practice round. He made a debut he wont soon forget. There was the 9-iron to a foot on the island-green 17th and a 4-iron to about the same tap-in range on the 18th, the hardest hole on the course. He hit a 3-iron to 3 feet for eagle, and twice hit wedge so close he didnt even have to read the putt. When his memorable day was over, Castro had a 9-under 63 and his name in the record book twice. He tied the course record held by Fred Couples and Greg Norman, and his three-shot lead was the largest margin after the opening round at The Players in 21 years. Welcome to Sawgrass. "I hit it close a lot," said Castro, making it sound as easy as it looked. He led over Rory McIlroy, who broke par for the first time in his fourth appearance with five birdies after the turn and conservative play off the tee on the front nine for a bogey-free 66. Zach Johnson also had a 66 while playing in the pristine morning conditions. Woods had to work a little harder in the afternoon. Not only did he spot Castro nine shots, Woods had never broken 70 in the opening round in his 15 previous tries. "It was a day that I felt I had to shoot something in the 60s," Woods said. He ran off four straight birdies around the turn. He was on the cup of his first bogey-free round at The Players until his 8-iron from 200 yards went just over the green and he flubbed his chip. The bogey gave him a 67, a strong effort considering he knew he had a lot of ground to make up before hitting his first shot. "Ive seen that a lot, but not at this golf course," he said. Vijay Singh, playing one day after he sued the PGA Tour for its handling of his doping case, was largely ignored while playing in the group behind Woods. One fan wore felt deer antlers in the bleachers behind the first tee -- Singhs case involved taking deer antler spray -- but only a dozen or so people followed the 50-year-old Fijian on the back nine and it was a quiet day. At one point, Singh let out a hearty laugh walking off the tee with Robert Garrigus and J.J. Henry. His golf wasnt the subject of the laughter. Singh hit into the water on the last hole and made bogey for a 74, leaving him in danger of missing the cut. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., opened with a 1-under 71. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot an even-par 72. So ended a first round filled with plenty of action -- a record-tying score by a player hardly anyone knows, McIlroy breaking par for the first time at Sawgrass, 17 balls in the water around the island-green 17th and 33 rounds in the 60s. Padraig Harrington followed an eagle with a double bogey. Michael Thompson made a hole-in-one. But it all started with Castro, a 27-year-old who felt like he couldnt miss. "I dont think anyone has figured out what the secret is to this place," Castro said. Woods, Webb Simpson and Ryan Palmer each had a 67, the lowest score from the afternoon. McIlroy also played in the morning, in the same group as Masters champion Adam Scott (69) and Steve Stricker (67). The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland had never made the cut or even broken par at The Players, but McIlroy figured it out on a gorgeous morning by dialing it back off the tee and letting his iron play take over. McIlroy never came seriously close to a bogey, and he didnt hit driver once on the front nine. "When you hit the shots, it seems very simple," McIlroy said. "I had a lot of good shots out there, lot of iron shots that were 12, 15 feet away from the pin and I got myself a lot of looks for birdies. I adopted maybe more of a conservative strategy off the tee this year. But once you put your ball in the fairway that means you can be more aggressive into the greens. So it sort of balances itself out." The Stadium Course has rarely looked so vulnerable with barely a trace of wind and some pins in bowls that allowed for good looks at birdie. Half the 72 players in the morning broke par. But the punishment is never far away, as Scott Stallings discovered. He opened with five straight birdies to get everyones attention, but after going out in 31, Stallings gave most of it back with a bogey, double bogey and a triple bogey on the 16th when he hit two balls into the water. He shot 40 on the back for a 71. "It just goes to show about the golf course and really how volatile it is," Stallings said. Castro hasnt discovered that yet. This was a day when everything went right. He made three birdies early in his round on the back until making his tap-in birdies on the 17th and 18th. Then, he hit 3-iron into 3 feet on the par-5 second hole for an eagle and was 7-under through 11 holes. On the fourth, he hit his approach inside 2 feet for another birdie, and then he hit wedge to 18 inches on the sixth. Castro had a birdie putt just outside 12 feet to break the course record, but missed it. After his eagle on the second hole -- his 11th of the round -- Castro was reminded of a game he plays to try to birdie every other hole. "When I eagled, I was like, Oh, now Im 7 (under) through 11, so thats keeping ahead of that 50 per cent mark. But this is a different golf course," he said. "The golf course is much harder than most of the other times Ive kind of taken that attitude." Couples shot his 63 in 1992 in the third round. Norman opened with a 63 in 1994 when he went on to shatter the tournament record at 24-under 264. Along with joining them in the record book, Castro matched the record set by Billy Ray Brown in 1992 with his three-shot lead after one round. Castro is not well known even in golf circles. His mother grew up in Peru and moved to America as a teenager along with her sister, Jenny Lidback, who played the LPGA Tour. He toiled in the minor leagues for five years after getting his industrial engineering degree at Georgia Tech. Woods wasnt pleased with how he struck the ball, only with where he missed it. Despite missing six greens, he was left with straightforward shots to save par. The only blemish came at the end, when his 56-degree wedge came up heavy into the grain and failed to reach the putting surface. Cheap Balenciaga Shoes . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Yeezy Boost 700 China . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. http://www.cheapairmaxchinawholesale.com/yeezy-boost-380-outlet.html .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Cheap Fake Air Max . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. MADISON, Wis. -- A fourth-quarter flourish erased memories of a jittery first half for No. 6 Wisconsin against Minnesota.The latest installment of the most-played rivalry in major college football ended with a familiar scene: the Badgers triumphantly holding up Paul Bunyans Axe.Corey Clement ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a big-play defense pitched a second-half shutout in a 31-17 win over the Golden Gophers to keep the trophy for a 13th straight season.Wisconsin (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten, No. 5 AP) turned in a stalwart defensive effort in the second half after getting outplayed early and falling behind by 10 points at halftime.In the fourth quarter we just kind of just locked in, cornerback Sojourn Shelton said after the ceremonial chopping down of the goal posts with the axe. You know what, no more. The rest speaks for itself.The comeback served as the exclamation point for an already big weekend. The Badgers wrapped up the Big Ten West and a trip to next weeks league title game after Nebraska lost to Iowa on Friday night.The Badgers will face Penn State in Indianapolis.Tomorrow well push the reset button and get ready to play Penn State, coach Paul Chryst said. This team has done a great job of playing in the moment.Mitch Leidner threw four interceptions in the second half for Minnesota (8-4, 5-4). The protection around him crumbled as the Badgers mixed up their defensive pressures.Im pretty (angry.) I dont know how else to describe it, Leidner said. He finished 9 of 26 for 158 yards with a touchdown.On offense, Wisconsins running game finally caught up in the fourth quarter.Jazz Peavy went 71 yards on a jet sweep down the right sideline to the Minnesota 11. Two plays later, Clement bowled into the end zone from 2 yards to give Wisconsin the lead for good, 24-17, with 6:42 left.Certainly the takeaways were huge, and the ability of our offense to finish in the second half, Chryst said.It was the 126th meeting in a series that dates to 1890.THE TAKEAWAYMinnesota: The rough fourth quarter overshadowed a terrific first half for Minnesota. Leidner threw off the Badgers active defense early with keepers around the edges, including his scoring run late in the first half. Leidner also had 46 yards rushing on 16 carries.But the interceptions shifted momentum.ddddddddddddMost of the time he was trying to do too much, coach Tracy Claeys said about Leidners picks.A five-win season in the Big Ten, even with a softer schedule, is a confidence builder for the future. But the Gophers still cant catch up to their biggest measuring stick.Wisconsin: The Badgers had perhaps their worst first half of the season, with Minnesota following Wisconsins blueprint for success. The defense missed key tackles, and the running game couldnt get going. Left-handed starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook departed after taking a shot to his right shoulder following an incompletion near the sideline late in the second quarter. Hornibrook then fell to the turf, with the back of his helmet slamming hard into the ground.Chryst had no update on Hornibrook after the game. Backup quarterback Bart Houston played the entire second half and finished 9 of 14 for 123 yards.POLL IMPLICATIONSWith No. 3 Michigan losing in double overtime to No. 2 Ohio State, Wisconsin could move up a spot or two in the next poll.TURNING POINTShelton, a four-year starter playing in his last home game, had two interceptions. The senior had an entertaining 40-yard, across-the-field return to the Minnesota 19 after his first interception with about 13 minutes left.Shelton said he guessed that Minnesota would run a comeback route.I just took a risk and went for it, Shelton said.Clement scored his first touchdown of the game three plays later to tie it at 17.CATCHING ONFor Minnesota, Drew Wolitarsky had four catches for 76 yards, including a 35-yard reception after tipping the ball to himself and advancing to the Wisconsin 22 late it the second quarter. It set up Leidners 3-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left for a 17-7 halftime lead.UP NEXT:Minnesota: Awaits its bowl destination. The Gophers will play in its fifth consecutive bowl game, tied for longest streak in program history.Wisconsin: Plays No. 7 Penn State in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP ' ' '