The golfing gods have a way of mocking the game's devotees. Yesterday was a case in point. With all this talk of the "Fabulous Four" or "Fabulous Five" - take your pick, depending on whether or not you include Retief Goosen in the master class - Steve Jones was a true blast from the past, gracing The Players Championship with a round of eight-under-par 64 that somehow defied logic.

Let's look at his impertinence. In a tournament with the deepest pockets in golf - $8 in prize money - and every one of the world's top-50 ranked players competing, Jones was an interloper: his eligibility to play at all dated back to his US Open win of 1996; at 743rd in the world, he was the lowest ranked player in the field; and, to rub salt into wounds, he had missed all of the 2004 season because of elbow surgery.

In five appearances on tour this season, he'd missed the cut three times and had a best-place finish of tied-36th in the Phoenix Open.

In truth, Jones shouldn't have been a factor.

But he was, playing godlike golf at one juncture of his round that featured a run of seven birdies in eight holes - from the 16th to the fifth, with the exception of the first - that left him signing for a 64 (comfortably his best round of the year) with everyone else cast in the role of pursuers.

"The number one thing is that I don't seek to get ahead of myself and start thinking about victory. For me, right now, it's one shot at a time," said Jones, who opened up a two stroke lead over England's Luke Donald.

On a day of near-perfect conditions, with the main complaint being that of "mud balls", a legacy of last Tuesday's thunderstorms that left balls susceptible to picking up mud on the fairways, the TPC at Sawgrass course played as benignly as it ever has.

Ironically, among those to incur its wrath at different times were two members of the so-called 'Fab Four', Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who each shot rounds of 70.

"I was rusty. I knew I'd be susceptible to a couple of squirrely shots," said Mickelson, in particular remembering his four-wood tee shot on the 18th which flew straight into the lake.

"It wasn't even close (to finding the fairway," he remarked, adding: "I was prepared for the golf course, but I wasn't really quite ready to hit all the shots."

For Woods, it was a case of remaining upbeat despite failing to take full advantage of all his chances.

"I controlled my ball well except for the mud balls that I occasionally caught out there, other than that I thought I played pretty solid . . . the greens were perfect, you could make some serious amount of putts.

It's just that somehow mine didn't go in." Elsewhere, world number one Vijay Singh had moved to four-under after 16 holes, while Ernie Els opened with a 71.

Darren Clarke was level par for his round after 14 holes and Graeme McDowell one under after 12 holes.

For Jones, who was a vice-captain to Hal Sutton for last year's Ryder Cup in Oakland Hills, there were no such problems.

Indeed, his is a remarkable comeback story after years of illness and injury that left many wondering if he would ever be competitive again.

Back in 2002, Jones underwent surgery to correct a heart condition called super-ventricular tachycardia, an ailment that isn't life-threatening but mirrors the symptoms of a heart attack.

Then, in the autumn of 2003, he underwent surgery for an elbow injury that had troubled him for almost a year.

"I went to a doctor in Montana on August 7th (2003) and he went in and said, 'no wonder it's hurting, you've got a tendon that's off the bone'.

So he sewed it back on and cleaned up the bone and about seven months later I could straighten my arm," recalled Jones.

The recovery was a slow process. He started playing once a week last summer, increased it to twice a week by September and October, and only started playing three times a week in December.

"I still get sore and I'm at about 50 per cent practice level right now, maybe even less. I don't know what's going to happen the next three days, but I felt like I had a good one in me.

"I was due. Probably the big boost mentally was I talked to Hale Irwin a couple of weeks ago and I've put the suggestions he gave me into action.

"I'm not ready to retire. I feel I can still play with the right amount of practice."

The key to Jones's round was accuracy of the tee - he hit 12 of 14 fairways - and followed up by making 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

The magical run started with a birdie on the 16th where he pitched to 12 inches and he followed up with putts of 10 feet on the 17th and a monstrous 45-footer on the 18th.

His streak was halted only briefly on the first, but he resumed his birdie blitz with four successive birdies from the second and, finally, another birdie on the ninth for a 64.

Jones's presence at the top of the first round leader board may have been a cause of surprise, although Mickelson observed:

"The biggest thing for Steve Jones is motivation. When he's motivated, he's tough to beat. It looks like he is motivated right now."