‘Honestly, I Went And Sat In My Car For A Few Minutes Afterwards And Just Kind Of Let It Hit Me A Little Bit, Maybe Let A Tear Out’ - Players Championship Rookie On Emotional Last-Minute Call-Up For 'Dream' Event

Born in Bradenton, Florida and having lived in Jacksonville since 2020, Danny Walker had long dreamed of being part of The Players Championship.

The 29-year-old has battled his way to the top tier after turning pro in 2018 and almost giving the game up for good - spending two weeks as a waiter in 2021 - before winning his second PGA Tour Canada title which ultimately set him on the path to TPC Sawgrass.

But when he woke up on Thursday morning, it appeared that his Players quest would remain unfulfilled. As the first alternate for 'the fifth Major', Walker was destined to head back home after none of the 144-man field had withdrawn.

However, at around 7am ET, he received a call from the competitions committee informing him that Jason Day had unfortunately needed to withdraw due to illness. Walker was now in a group with Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth at 8:46am and facing possibly the most nerve-wracking two-hour wait of his life.

Revealing how much that moment meant to him and how he dealt with the news, Walker said: "Some of it was just a little bit of shock, because I wasn't really expecting to get in. Like I made sure I was prepared to, but I wasn't really expecting it either. Then to have to go play with two major champions as well, that was like, oh, like we're here (laughing).

"It meant the world to me. I wanted to play in this event since I was a little kid, especially living here locally. Watched it a bunch of times the last few years, so yeah, I couldn't have been more excited.

"Like, honestly, I went and sat in my car for a few minutes afterwards and just kind of let it hit me a little bit, maybe let a tear out. But, no, it was all great. I was just excited.

"I usually like to do a few minutes of quiet meditation beforehand, but I just -- in that moment I tried to just reflect on, you know, just who I was when I was a kid, just always wanting to play in this event and finally actually playing in it. So, yeah, but I tried to let the emotion out early so then I can relax and go play."

The tactic appeared to have worked a treat early on as the University of Virginia alumnus birdied the second and was one-under through four holes having started on the 10th.

However, the course which Walker claims to have played "over 100 times" since moving to the area started to bite back with its sharp championship-condition teeth.

A bogey at the 14th preceded a double at the 15th, and a further dropped shot at the 18th put the 29-year-old in a bit of trouble. However, he was only two-over at the turn after making a superb 15-foot birdie putt on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course.

Of that moment, Walker said: "That was really cool. I'll remember that one for a long time, so I'll always have good memories on 17, no matter what happens the rest of my career on that hole."

The second half of Walker's opening day featured three birdies and two bogeys - the last of which came at his penultimate hole - as he signed for a one-over-par 73 which left him hovering around the cutline prior to Friday.

Walker will hope to maintain his mini-streak of made cuts after missing out on weekend golf in his opening pair of PGA Tour starts this term. Having missed the cut at the Sony Open and American Express, the Florida pro went on to enjoy confidence-inducing finishes of T42nd at the Farmers Insurance Open and T13th at the Mexico Open last time out.

Walker, Spieth and Clark's collective tee time for round two is at 1:51pm ET (5:51pm GMT) on the first hole at TPC Sawgrass.