PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — No one is immune.

Some survive. Some are flat-out fortunate.

But no one is immune from unpredictable, gusting winds on the golf course — conditions that defined Thursday’s Honda Classic opening round at PGA National, which happens to be one of the most challenging golf courses on the PGA Tour even in pristine, Chamber of Commerce conditions.

Phil Mickelson called it “fun,’’ but that seemed like a case of whistling past a graveyard after he shot a 1-over-par 71, with two balls hit in the water on his back nine.

After Daniel Berger shot 2-under-par 68, he said it “felt like a 59.’’

When Rory Sabbatini, who also posted a 68, was asked what his “philosophy’’ is playing in difficult winds, he said, “Pray.’’

“On this golf course, there is no ease-up hole out there,’’ Sabbatini said. “Even the easy holes can come up and bite you. The golf course is definitely showing a little bit of its teeth.’’

By day’s end, just 19 of the 144 players in the field finished the opening round under par with Jim Herman, an assistant pro at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey in 2006-07, leading the way after shooting a 5-under-par 65 — an anomaly on this tricky day.

Brendan Steele is one shot back at 4-under with Padraig Harrington, Patrick Reed and Martin Flores all at 3-under.

Rory McIlroy, the No. 1 ranked player in the world and the 2012 Honda Classic winner, is 3-over par while Phil Mickelson is 1-over, Dustin Johnson 7-over and Sergio Garcia 2-over, among the notable stars in the field.

At one point in the afternoon, a wind gust was measured at 46 mph. Mostly, the winds howled between 20 and 25 mph.

Charl Shwartzel put two balls in the water on the par-3 15th hole, the first of the hazardous four-hole finishing stretch nicknamed the “Bear Trap.’’ That was the first of two triple-bogeys the former Masters champion would card on the “Bear Trap.’’
Johnson, after hitting a 353-yard drive in the fairway at the sixth hole, four-putted for a triple-bogey.

McIlroy double-bogeyed his first hole and was 4-over through six holes before reeling in his round. McIlroy’s 73 was his worst since a third-round 76 at the Australian Open in November and a 74 in the first round at the Barclays in August.

“The conditions were obviously very tricky from the start,” McIlroy said. “From the first hole, it was always going to be a day like that. I feel like I salvaged something out of the round the last couple holes, but it was just a day to keep trying, not to give up and know that anything around level, 1, 2 over par still isn’t out of it.’’

Harrington said, “If I had come from Ireland, I probably would be thinking it was a nice day. But having played the last four weeks over here [in the U.S.], even I was struggling and questioning and doubting myself out there. I found it very difficult.’’

No one had a worse day than Mark Hubbard, who shot 74 but was disqualified for failing to register for the tournament. Hubbard was an alternate who got into the field at the last minute when Louis Oosthuizen withdrew.

Chris Stroud and Mike Weir also withdrew, and New Jersey native Morgan Hoffmann shot 80, the highest score of the day.