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By Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.com Correspondant

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- A mistake here, a gust of wind there.

The combination sent yet one more golf ball one-hopping to a watery grave at the 17th hole at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Jim Furyk shook his head.

Jim Furyk shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round on Thursday. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

"I got a little quick and started the ball to the left and the wind was blowing to the left, so it kind of grabbed the ball,'' he said.

Oops. Follow that with a pulled putt from 8 feet for bogey, a double-bogey 5 and suddenly an opening 69 turned into a 1-under-par 71. Which, on a gusty day was just fine.

One of the better afternoon rounds, in fact -- one which left him four shots behind first-round leaders Rory Sabbatini and Phil Mickelson. And, he added a good start to the week.

The second-ranked player in the world needed one. He's missed his last two cuts and, after a fast start to the season -- four top-8s in his first four events -- he's cooled off.

Not the way the Ponte Vedra resident wanted to come into THE PLAYERS Championship, especially after he finished tied for fourth in 2003 and tied for third last year. But perhaps this will turn it around.

Furyk is definitely in his comfort zone here. Although the routing of the holes hasn't really changed -- a few have been lengthened, Furyk has had a chance to play Pete Dye's new bermuda surfaces.

"Pete has a way of making courses look pretty difficult,'' Furyk said. "They're visually ... intimidating would be a good word. And the more times you can play around it, it's a benefit. You get more comfortable with where you're supposed to hit the ball.''

Furyk started fast with a birdie at the second, which was playing straight downwind. He hit his 3-iron long and left and made a great up-and-down, pitching to 8 feet for birdie, but bogeyed No. 5.

He bounced back with a pitching wedge to 10 feet at the sixth and a knockdown 7-iron to four feet on the ninth hole.

A bunker shot to 12 inches at the 11th got him to 3 under, two shots off the lead. Then came No. 17.

"I kind of hung in there, got the ball up-and-down once in a while and played well,'' Fuyrk said.