CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The world’s top three golfers combined to do a triple double on Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Championship at the Quazul Hollow Club, it wasn’t a good kind.
World No. 1 golfer Scotty Scheffler, reigning Chanter champion Rory McIlroy and defending PGA Championship winner Zander Schaufele each made a double bogey six on the seventh hole 16th since starting Route 9.
“After I made the double, I protected my honor,” Schaeffler said. “Perhaps it’s the first and last thing that happens in my career unless we get crazy weather conditions.”
Schaeffler recovered and posted a 2-under 33 on the front nine, tied for 14th place with 2 when he left the course. Schauffele picked up a birdie on the 8th, leading to 60th place on the 1st. McIlroy had two more bogeys cards, tied up to 85th place on 3.
Ryan Gerald was the whole leader midway through 5 under until Thursday afternoon. Luke Donald, 47, the captain of the European Ryder Cup team, was among four players who finished second at 4 under.
The 535-yard 16th hole is the longest par-4 on the course and proved a challenge for the three best golfers in the world.
McIlroy, who won the Masters last month and became the sixth golfer to complete a career grand slam, took his biggest adventure on the 16th. He hung the 331-yard drive violently into the tree on the left. If the roughness was extra long and thick due to this week’s rain, his ball would probably have been underwater.
McIlroy left a nasty second shot from Side Hill. His back slid as he rocked the club, bringing his ball to just 65 feet on another hill. McIlroy’s third shot from 206 yards was short and right on the green and had to hit fourth in the greenside bunker. He putts from 12 feet for a double bogey six.
McIlroy, a four-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, hit only four of his 14 fairways and lost 2.34 strokes to the field with Put.
Schaeffler was starting from Eagle on a par 5 in 15th place after making a 35½-foot putt from Green to reach 2 under. However, he reverted these two strokes when he hooked his second shot into the pond behind the 16th green.
Schaffer said his balls were covered in mud after about four inches of rain fell on the course this week.
PGA of America chose not to play by prioritizing lying.
“I understand that it’s part of the game, but it can’t be any more frustrating for the player,” Schaeffler said. “You spend your life learning how to control a golf ball. All of a sudden, you have no control over where the golf ball is going.”
In a statement Wednesday, the PGA of America said:
“I don’t make rules,” Schaeffler said. “I have to deal with the consequences of these rules. Today it’s been a good job to fight without giving such a bad break.
After the drop, leaving the short side to the left, Schaeffler had to tip 52 feet past the hole. He had to make a 7 footer for a double bogey six.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Schaeffler never made a double bogey (or worse) in the first round of the major championship until Thursday.
Schauffele pushed the 323-yard drive into the fairway, but then hit the same shot as Scheffler with his approach. He passed the hole 39 feet after the drop and lost twice at six.
“We were in the middle of the fairway, but I don’t know. We probably had to aim for the right thing in the grandstand,” Schaufele said. “I don’t really know. I aimed at the bunker, whipped it in the water, and Scotty also whipped it in the water. That’s what it is, and a lot of people deal with it, but it’s a shame to hit a good shot and pay that way.”
Schaufele was worried that the situation would get worse as temperatures rose this weekend.
“The mud balls are going to get worse,” Schaufele said. “They’ll get worse when the play dries. They go into that perfect cake zone, and they’ll be like muddy underneath, picking up mud along the way.”
