CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a day when many of golf’s biggest stars struggled in the opening round of the PGA Championship, some of the less familiar names in the sport were scattered across the top of the leaderboard at the Wool Hollow Club on Thursday.
As if not odd enough that day, Jonattan Vegas, who made the last major cut when he finished 57th at the 2021 US Open, had a birdie card on five of his last six holes, posting a 7-under 64, giving him a two-stroke lead.
Vegas, who was playing with Australia’s Elvis Smiley, is Venezuela’s first player to take a lead or co-lead after the first round of the majors.
“It’s amazing,” Vegas said. “That’s what we dream of.”
Ryan Gerald and Cam Davis finished second at 5 under, while Luke Donald, captain of the European Ryder Cup team, was one of five golfers under the age of four.
Can you get strangers at Quail Hollow on Friday? This is what you should watch in the second round.
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Are your thoughts on Rory, Scotty and Xander heading towards Round 2?
Mark Schlabach: Without some mud balls on the par 4 on Thursday on the 16th, Scotty Schaufferer and Zander Schauffere could have been in the mix after 18 holes. Neither did his best in the first round, but Schaeffler hangs well enough to post a 2-under 69. Chaufele was 1 after 18 holes.
Schaeffler was not satisfied with this condition, especially after the mudball contributed to his double bogey six on the 16th. Schauffele hit roughly the same shot, and Rory McIlroy also confused a long par-4.
“Overall, I was maintaining my level of head (in) during the day and certainly maintaining a challenging aspect of the course,” Schaeffler said. “I did a good job posting numbers on days when my best wasn’t there.”
McIlroy was the popular pick this week to win Wanamaker Trophy for the third time. His game was far from what was dialed Thursday, especially from the tee. He only hit four of his 14 fairways, losing about 2½ strokes to the field on putting.
It wasn’t pretty, but it’s too early to amortize McIlroy. Don’t forget he had two double bogeys on the final four holes of the opening round at the Masters. McIlroy took a two-stroke lead on Sunday, bringing together 66 in each of the next two rounds. He did just enough and beat Rose in the playoffs to win the green jacket.
Near the top of the leaderboard, do you think you can stick to the weekend?
Schlabach: Give me the man who was one of the last golfers to compete in Ryan Fox in New Zealand, a PGA Championship contestant. He entered the field last week in the Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs playoffs in South Carolina by winning the OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina. This was Fox’s first victory on the PGA Tour. He has won the DP World Tour four times.
On Thursday, Fox posted a 4-under 67 after little prep work this week. He hit a few balls and played one hole on Tuesday before the storm arrived, and 18 holes the following day.
“Pick your target, hit the shots and trust me that I’m playing well,” Fox said. “It’s amazing to be able to feel a little more confident. It doesn’t seem to matter much today, like the bad shot that all of a sudden had bothered me a few weeks ago.”
I also like Fox’s mental toughness. His father, Grant, played for the All Black Steam, which won the Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Paolo Object: It depends on who you think is unlikely, but I’ll go with Stephen Jaeger.
Jaeger is a PGA Tour winner and has really been grinding to become the top 50 player in the world over the past few years, gaining ridiculous distances from the tees. However, on Thursday the Germans weren’t actually driving the ball that well. He lost a stroke from the tee to the field, but he was still in the top 10 with strokes he acquired: from the tee to the green. In other words, his approach game was fantastic – he scored 1.4 shots in the field in this category – a recipe that boasted his ability to stay in the mix as the tournament progressed.
“This golf course is difficult. I’m going to play this week even longer because I’ve been wet for a long time,” Jaeger said. “You have to be able to hit it on the fairway and you have to be neatly long on the fairway, so you can keep the green in the middle of the iron rather than the long iron.”
Jaeger hit 12 of the 18 greens on Thursday, and what he missed gave him controversy in his short game. If anyone has any sustainability among the eclectic groups who have found themselves on this leaderboard, I’m sure Jaeger will still be in the mix over the weekend.
Do you think your favorite is to win after round 1?
Schlabach: There’s a reason Schaeffler is number one in the world. He won by eight strokes in his final start on the tour at CJ Cup Byron Nelson on May 4th. There are no Master Trophy pairs in the home, paying homage to Gerald, Fox, Alex Marley, Jegger, Alex Noren and more.
On Thursday, Schaeffler drove the ball well, his chipping was world class as usual, and his iron play was OK. He lost about half a stroke to the field on putts, so if his flat stick gets hot over the weekend, he’ll be hard to beat.
After a bad break on No. 16 on Thursday, Schaeffler has some grounds to make up for it. But that could be even worse, and he’s hiding right there in the leaderboard.
uggetti: Obviously it’s hard to resist Schaeffler, who was playing his C game on Thursday and still shot a 2 under, but with the exception of him, I was still leaning towards Bryson Deccanbeau. The two major winners continued their poor approach play from the Masters (ranked 116th in strokes: approach) and still managed to patch them in the patch under round. DeChambeau won’t win this tournament without improving his approach game, but his driving distance remains such a weapon, so if you improve everything else a little, you’ll find yourself fighting for him.
Another big name that I might be flying slightly under the radar that I can’t count is John Rahm. Yes, the Spaniard has struggled to make noise at recent major championships, but that was often the case because his opening round was not optimal. This week he shot a 1-under 70 and is off to a much better start.
Rahm continues to score top 10 finishes on the LIV Tour, but it feels like he is going to compete in the majors. In fact, since winning Master in 2023, he has begun to become a storyline where he hasn’t set himself up. This might be a good week for him to go into the mix again.
What is the biggest name you do on Fridays?
Schlabach: The top 70 scores and ties have 36 holes cut, and there are many celebrities who need to play on a better Friday to wrap around the weekend, including some of the previous major champions.
There were more than two people: Cep Straka, Ricky Fowler, Shane Laurie, Jason Day, Max Homa and Justin Thomas.
McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee and Gary Woodland had more than three. Rose and Jordan Spieth were over five years old.
Several LIV Golf League stars are also at risk of missing out on cuts: Joaquín Niemann (3 over), Brooks Coepka (4 over), Sergio Garcia (4 over), Cameron Smith (7 over), Dustin Johnson (7 over), Phil Mickelson (8 over).
Round 1 Ryder Cup Captain Showcase
uggetti: In a very appropriate way, the PGA of America Major Championship features two Ryder Cup captains near the top of the leaderboard after round one. Keegan Bradley (3 under) and Luke Donald (4 under) appeared in Quail Hollow with slightly different priorities and expectations this week, but are now among the top ten of major championships.
“Someone just said it was the lowest first round in the majors I’ve had since 2004. So obviously I know that every cut I missed this week is trending,” Donald quipped. “But no, that was a pleasant surprise. I got off to a really nice, steady start. I slammed a lot of fairways on the front nine.
Donald, 47, did not play a full schedule and entered the tournament. This missed three cuts in three appearances this year due to an invitation from the American PGA to be captain. He’s not exactly trending, but Donald is working on his game despite the captain taking up most of his time.
“I was excited to see Luke there,” Bradley said. “I know how hard he’s working back home. Luke is the greatest player of all time. It won’t surprise me.”
Bradley has six top 20 finishes this season, including a top five at Bay Hill. He’s not in the form he was in last season when he won once and had two runner-ups, but he can still compete in the majors. That’s only one of the two who have an actual shot in September on the topic of being a potential play captain.
“Kegan is in the top 20 in the world. He can have a good week here. “I don’t think that’s my future, but Keegan, we live very close. He’s practicing very hard, seeing where he’s practicing. He’s still one of the top players in the world.”
Are you thinking about how the course will be played and how it will be set up for the next 3 days?
uggetti: The story of the tournament after the first round is a mudball player I met on Thursday. It is clear that the course has not been able to dry out completely after Quail Hollow received several inches of rain over the past few days. As a result, players are dealing with their favorite type of shot – unpredictable shots.
“It’s one of those frustrating deals of hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway and getting mud on it and not knowing where to go,” Schaeffler said. “I understand that it’s part of the game, but it’s not even more frustrating for the player. You’ve spent your life learning how to control a golf ball, and suddenly, with rules decided, you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball is going.”
On Wednesday night, the PGA of America issued a preemptive statement saying it didn’t lie during the first round despite the rain. As a result, players discovered that just because they hit the perfect drive on Thursday doesn’t mean they’re going to lie. Usually, if the mud is on the right side of the ball, for example, it tends to get intense in the opposite direction. However, the mud comes into contact with it and flies off, responding as normal. It’s like spinning roulette.
Several players said they were surprised that despite this being the main one, they decided not to play the ball on the fairway considering the conditions.
“I don’t want to go to the locker room because I’m sure a lot of people aren’t very happy with the conditions that make them there,” Schaufele said. “The grass feels very good. There is no real benefit to cleaning your balls on the fairway. The course is completely flipped over.”
In particular, Schaeffler was unhappy with the mud ball he had on the 16th fairway. After hitting the perfect drive, his approach curled up into the left and into the water. He made a double bogey. Shaufele suffered the same fate.
The defending champion is clearly annoyed, and he also left a warning about future conditions for the next three days.
“The mud balls get worse. They’ll get worse when the place dries. “I mean, you’re just holding it – I don’t know, it may have bumped a little low from the tee, but unfortunately the problem with hitting it low from the tee is that the ball doesn’t carry or roll anywhere, so you sacrifice the distance. That’s a bit of crap.”
While crap may become unfair competition in the eyes of some players, as viewers, the mud ball can provide uncertainty and confusion that can make this major much more interesting than it is now.
“Usually, I feel like the PGA is doing a really good job with the setup. It’s always fair. If they have the right golf course, it’s fair and difficult,” Jaeger said.
“That suba is ongoing, and the greens get faster and faster as the week goes by. They’ve become easier to manage today. I felt you could spin some and stop the iron, but I know the weather looks pretty hot on the weekends.
For Deccanbeau, the uncertainty that conditions may bring is something he is trying to embrace.
“You need to manage the ball a little better, it’s not easy,” Deccanbeau said. “I hit a few shots because the ball is too boring, you just have to go.
