The 105th PGA Championship began with a weather-disrupted opening day at Oak Hill Country Club, with the start delayed by an hour and 50 minutes due to frost. The afternoon wave of players was left unable to finish before darkness, and they will need to complete their opening rounds on Friday morning. Bryson DeChambeau set the clubhouse target after a mixed round of six birdies and two bogeys, posting a four-under 66. World No 2 Scottie Scheffler and Corey Conners finished tied at three under, along with Dustin Johnson who carded his only bogey of the day at the par-four last. Eric Cole fired three consecutive birdies to move into the solo lead ahead of DeChambeau when play was suspended, with the PGA Tour rookie to complete his remaining four holes of the first round on Friday.
DeChambeau cancelled out his three-putt bogey at the 12th by rolling in from 15 feet at the 14th and holing from a similar distance to save par from the fringe at the next. He then bogeying the 17th but posted back-to-back birdies around the turn and took advantage of the par-five fourth, with DeChambeau then picking up a shot at the sixth and finishing with three pars to set the clubhouse target.
McIlroy battled illness, erratic driving, and a cold putter to salvage a one-over 71, with the four-time major champion holing a 35-foot putt for par from the bottom of a slope at the par-four second to kickstart an improved finish. Open champion Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, and defending champion Justin Thomas all posted opening 72s. Early leader Kazuki Higa cancelled out four consecutive birdies early in his round by dropping five shots over his last four holes and finished on the same score.
In contrast to Higa, Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele overcame disastrous starts to also finish two over for the day. Jordan Spieth began his bid to complete the career Grand Slam with a three-over 73, having come into the event with a wrist injury. However, world No 1 Jon Rahm’s opening round was extremely disappointing, leaving him 11 strokes behind Eric Cole alongside US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson winner Jason Day. Rahm racked up five bogeys in a six-hole stretch on his way to a first-round 76, equalling the second-highest opening round of his PGA Tour career.
The PGA Championship can be watched live on Sky Sports throughout the week, with Friday’s live coverage starting from 1 pm on Sky Sports Golf. The tournament promises an exciting weekend ahead with several players in contention for the title.
