FLORIDA, March 10 — Chad Ramey made a splash on his Players Championship debut as he emerged as surprise clubhouse leader on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where world number one Jon Rahm was seven shots back and Rory McIlroy struggled.

Ramey, who missed the cut in his last three PGA Tour starts and is 225th in the world rankings, went out early and carded a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 at TPC Sawgrass that left him one shot clear of twice major champion Collin Morikawa.