Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ? Last seen riding around in a cart as an assistant captain at the Ryder Cup, Steve Jones stole the spotlight at the Players Championship on Thursday.

Jones shot 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Fred Funk, Zach Johnson and Lee Westwood.

Steve Jones reads a putt Thursday during opening round play at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Jones finished the round at 8-under par and holds a one-stroke lead over three golfers.

“Eight birdies, no bogeys. That’s a good thing, right?” Jones said, showing he hasn’t forgotten everything about life on the PGA Tour, despite having to sit out all of last year with his third major injury.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that first-round scoring at Sawgrass (71.87) was the lowest since 1996, the year Jones won the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.

He hasn’t won in seven years, and an elbow injury left him so uncertain about his future that he dabbled in commercial real estate and house painting in case he needed another career to fall back on.

“I think he’s healthy now,” Vijay Singh said. “He can play.”

Singh continued to show the best form of the Big Four, matching his best start ever at The Players Championship with a 5-under 67 that was highlighted by two good par saves in the middle of his round and a mammoth tee shot on the 18th that set up a birdie.

Phil Mickelson made seven birdies, only to come undone with shots under trees and under water, in shooting a 70. Tiger Woods failed to birdie any of the par 5s until his last hole and shot 70. Ernie Els had a 71.

Westwood had a chance to join Jones at the top until he missed a 5-foot birdie putt on his final hole, the par-5 ninth.

Sergio Garcia was among those at 6-under 66, although the 25-year-old Spaniard was slightly disappointed after ripping a 3-wood from 281 yards over a tree and onto the green at the ninth, where it rolled by the hole to about 8 feet. He missed that eagle putt, and missed a 3-footer for birdie on No. 4.