The PGA Championship, with a star-studded field, brought us surprises on its first day. Jhonattan Vegas leads the leaderboard with an impressive 64 (-7), leaving the world’s best out of the top spots at Quail Hollow.
Vegas, with an outstanding performance, achieved five birdies in his last six holes, culminating with an 18-foot putt on hole 8 and another 25-foot putt on the challenging hole 9.
This result represents Vegas’s best card in his 45 major appearances. The Venezuelan has never finished in the top 20 in a major and had not qualified for this tournament in three years.
Ryan Gerard, a PGA Tour rookie who grew up in North Carolina, finished two strokes behind Vegas, followed by Cam Davis of Australia.
The most followed players, such as Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele, did not achieve the expected performance.
McIlroy, Masters winner, had a complicated day, while Scheffler and Schauffele commented on the difficulties on the course.
Scheffler, however, achieved a good result, with a 69.
I did a good job of fighting and keeping a level head on a day where there were definitely some challenging aspects out there on the course. I did a good job of posting a number on a day where I didn’t have my best stuff.
Scottie Scheffler
For the first time in at least 30 years, the top 10 results after the first round of a major did not include anyone from the top 10 of the world ranking.
Alex Smalley, who entered the tournament as the first alternate, shot a 67, as did Ryan Fox of New Zealand.
Luke Donald, captain of the European Ryder Cup team, also stood out with a bogey-free round.
Gerard, playing at home, was comfortable and achieved several consecutive birdies.
Davis also had a good performance, with seven birdies.
It’s about constantly going back to the things that have worked, trying to keep your head in a place where you don’t feel like you’re banging your head against the wall all the time. It’s about letting it come organically: good processes, good routines, all those little percentages add up to good golf eventually.
Cam Davis
Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai, both first-time winners on the PGA Tour last year, also achieved good results.
Scheffler, with a 69, was the best ranked among the top ten in the world.
Jordan Spieth, for his part, had a difficult day and will have to wait to try to complete the Grand Slam.
