Rory McIlroy got off to a great start at The Players Championship on Thursday, as he carded a five-under 67 in the first round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and entered the clubhouse in fourth place. 

McIlroy trailed leader Tommy Fleetwood by two strokes at the end of their respective rounds after registering five birdies and no bogeys on Thursday.

Based on the recent history of Players Championship winners as provided by Golf Channel's Justin Ray, McIlroy is in fairly good shape entering the second round of the tournament:

The 29-year-old Northern Irishman got off to a strong start Thursday in playing the back nine first, as he birdied both the par-five 11th and par-four 12th. He then reeled off four straight pars before improving his score to three-under on No. 17.

On the par-three 17th, McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar all hit excellent tee shots, and the entire threesome birdied the hole:

McIlroy continued his strong play after making the turn with a birdie on the par-five second followed by another on the par-four fifth. At that point, McIlroy found himself just one shot off the pace among those who teed off early.

He went on to par each of his final four holes, which allowed him to end on a high note with a bogey-free round.

There were some question marks about how McIlroy would perform this week after struggling in the final round of last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational and squandering an opportunity to win.

Despite coming close on multiple occasions, McIlroy hasn't won a tournament since the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational, and he has just one win since September 2016. As pointed out by Jason Sobel of The Action Network, fellow European Francesco Molinari has gone on a winning binge since then:

Despite lacking a victory, McIlroy is off to a strong start in 2019, per Daniel Rapaport of Sports Illustrated:

McIlroy is a four-time major champion, and he is just a Masters win away from the career grand slam, but he has struggled to close the deal in recent years.

Winning the Players would likely be a huge step toward contention in the Masters, and McIlroy is undoubtedly in the conversation to prevail at Sawgrass after a strong opening round.