Jim Furyk and Adam Scott share the opening round lead at the PGA Championship after they both shot five-under 65, one shot ahead of Lee Westwood and David Hearn.
After what was a very lengthy first day of play at Oak Hill that included a 70-minute rain delay, multiple chips for birdie, multiple shots from the fairway for eagle, and Tiger Woods stumbling on his 18th hole to finish one-over, there is nothing set in stone.
Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, started in the back nine today and had six birdies before a bogey at his final hole, the Par-4 ninth, cost him a chance to tie the course record. When assessing his performance on the first round Furyk said: "I played well last week at the Bridgestone and I felt like the golf course would be a good fit. I hit most of the fairways. The first day you just try and be positive."
Australia’s Scott, this year’s Masters Champion, played in a group that paired all three Major Champions this year. Justin Rose, winner of the U.S. Open and Phil Mickelson, winner of The Open, were his playing partners; all three are in contention after round round.
Scott at one point made five straight birdies starting at the fourth hole. He made the turn at five-under and also reached six-under with another birdie on the Par-4 14th before a bogey at the Par-4 16th hole. He saved par with a 10-foot putt on the closing hole to stay tied for the lead with Furyk.
"Probably the best run I've ever had," Scott said of his five straight birdies. "I just hit really nice shots and didn't leave myself too much work. You have to take advantage of that if you're feeling that. It was a dream start after kind of a nervous first couple of holes."
The course record of 64 was set by Ben Hogan in 1942 and matched by Curtis Strange in 1989. Chad Campbell had a 65 in the third round the last time the PGA Championship was played at Oak Hill in 2003.
England’s Westwood rebounded from his Muirfield agony to shoot a superb bogey-free opening round today. He started on the first tee and made the turn at three-under 32 and was able to par eight of his final nine holes. The 40-year-old from Worksop sought out the help of a sports psychology after he threw away a two-shot in the final round of the Open with a closing 75.
He also has been working with his new swing coach Sean Foley and after a round where he hit nine of 14 fairways he said: “I am driving the ball well. My new coach Sean Foley has widened my stance and taken the spin off the ball so I hit a lot more fairways and hit it longer.”
Canadian Hearn, who made his tournament debut after getting into the field last week as an alternate, was tied for the lead after the birdie on the Par-4 16th, but he made a bogey on the tough closing 18th hole and dropped a shot to finish at four-under.
“It was nice to see some of those long irons kind of hold the greens,” Hearn said. “As the week goes on, we’re not going to see that anymore.”
Six players shared fifth place at three-under: Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, Paul Casey, Robert Garrigus, Scott Piercy and Marcus Fraser.
Kuchar started his first round on the 10th tee and was even through eight holes before making a long birdie putt. That started a run of three birdies in six holes and finished bogey-free on the opening round as he seeks his first major title.
Australian Day was doing what he has been known to do best in the Majors, contend. The Queenslander had four birdies and the lone bogey of his round came on the Par-4 seventh.
Casey, the former world No.3, tumbled down the rankings to No.169 after breaking his collarbone skiing and suffering from turf toe - a condition that will require him to have cortisone injections in his big toe for the rest of his career.
He used to be a regular at major championships, sometimes even high on the leaderboard. But after qualifying for the US Open and winning the Irish Open, the 36-year-old said: “I love it out here. Having missed so many Majors over the last 18 months or so, I am very appreciative of being back on the big stage.
Australian Fraser was a combined 23 over for the U.S. Open and British Open this year. He appeared headed for more of the same when he opened the first round of the PGA Championship with two bogeys. Then Fraser didn't make another bogey the rest of the way. Five birdies over an 11-hole stretch gave him a 67.
Justin Rose is among 11 players T-11th at two-under. Also shooting 68s were Americans Jason Dufner, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas and Roberto Castro, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Jonas Blixt, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain, Martin Kaymer of Germany, and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.
The World’s No. 1 Woods and No. 2 Mickelson finished their round at one-over 71.
Woods, started his round on the 10th hole and had a tap-in birdie at the Par-5 13th hole before rolling in a birdie putt of about 10 feet at the Par-3 15th. He missed a chance to pull within a shot of the lead when he failed to drop a three-foot birdie putt at the Par-4 second hole. He made bogey two holes later after his first driver of the round ended up in the rough.
On his finishing hole, Woods’s second shot from off the fairway landed in the deep rough 20 yards short of the green. His next came up short in a greenside bunker and, after hitting out of the sand, he missed a 10-foot bogey putt.
Mickelson had a double-double today. The bad news is that this is golf and not basketball, so when you make two double-bogeys, that’s a big no-no. He felt it was inexcusable to make double bogey on the Par-5 fourth hole, which can be reached in two. He hit his first tee shot out-of-bounds.
He wasn't nearly as bothered by the double bogey he made on No. 18, which began with a drive deep into the trees left of the fairway. Mickelson tried to hit through a tiny gap in the trees, but it hit smack into them. He pitched out with his third shot, hit onto the green and missed his 10-foot bogey putt.
Rory McIlroy, World’s No. 3 and the defending Champion, was sporting a new look with a free haircut is looking to regain his top form this weekend. He had a decent opening round of one-under 69 that featured five birdies and four bogeys. He was three-under midway through his round, which was interrupted by teh weather delay.
The action continues at Oak Hill on Friday, for tee times and pairings for the second round click here.