LAST UPDATE | 17 May
XANDER SCHAUFFELE MATCHED the lowest round in major golf history on Thursday, firing a nine-under-par 62 to seize the early lead on the opening day of the PGA Championship.
Reigning Olympic champion Schauffele started off the 10th tee and birdied five of his first nine holes, then birdied four more after the turn in a bogey-free round to seize command at Valhalla.
The 30-year-old American reached the clubhouse with a three-stroke lead over US compatriots Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Scotsman Robert MacIntyre in a group of six sharing third on 5-under.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler made a sensational start to his first competitive round after a three-week lay-off, holing his approach to the opening hole from 167 yards for an eagle.
The world number one also birdied the fourth to briefly threaten to chase down Schauffele but eventually signed for a 67 in his bid for a fifth win in his last six starts.
Brooks Koepka began his title defence with the same score while Jon Rahm hurled a club down the 16th fairway in anger at a poor approach, despite being in the midst of fighting back from four over par after six holes to return a 70.
Shane Lowry is seven shots off the lead after an opening round of 69. He made a difficult start with back-to-back bogeys followed by two birdies on the fourth and seventh along with a third bogey on the fifth hole. Two more birdies on the 11th and 12th brought him back to one-under before a final birdie on the 18th left on two-under heading into the second round.
Pádraig Harrington is on six-over after hitting 77 in his first round.
“It feels great, Schauffele said. “It’s just day one but if someone told me I’d shoot nine-under I would have taken it.
“It’s a great start to a big tournament.”
Schauffele already shared the record-low round in major golf history with a 62 from the first round of last year’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, matched by American Rickie Fowler in the same round and South African Branden Grace at the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
“I can’t nit-pick. I’ll take a 62 in any major any day,” Schauffele said.
He set a course record at Valhalla, breaking the 63 fired by Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal in the first round of the 2000 PGA Championship.
Olazabal was among several to fire the prior PGA Championship record low of 63, most recently done by Bubba Watson in 2022 at Southern Hills.
Asked where it ranked among his greatest rounds, Schauffele said, “Up there I would say. It’s only day one. But I’m very content with the shots I played and the putts I rolled.”
Schauffele, seeking his first major title, has endured 19 top-10 PGA Tour finishes since last winning at the 2022 Scottish Open.
You won't want to miss this chip-in birdie from McIlroy 😍 pic.twitter.com/BfvJ1SDBvw
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 16, 2024
That includes a humbling loss to a McIlroy fightback last Sunday after dominating the Wells Fargo Championship all week until the final holes.
Schauffele has had 12 top-10 major finishes without a victory, including runner-up efforts at the 2018 British Open and 2019 Masters. He was eighth at the Masters last month.
“I’ve been playing some really solid golf, been having a lot of close calls,” Schauffele said. “Me and my team say why not just keep plugging along.”
Great approaches set up short birdie putts that Schauffele converted with ease.
Schauffele birdied the par-3 11th from inside three feet, sank a 13-foot birdie putt at the par-4 13th, another from just outside 16 feet at 15, one from just past seven feet at 16 and a five-footer to birdie the par-5 18th.
On the front side, Schauffele sank a four-foot putt to birdie the second, a six-footer to save par at the par-3 third, then birdie putts of four feet at the fourth and just inside 10 feet at the fifth.
Schauffele drove the green in two at the par-5 seventh and sank a tap-in birdie.
At the ninth, Schauffele missed a birdie putt of just under 32 feet for a 61 but the ball faded right and he tapped in for 62.
McIlroy, whose fightback to victory last weekend was described as a “buzzsaw” by Schauffele, battled through his own personal turmoil in the first round, which came less than 48 hours after his shock divorce filing from wife Erica became public.
The four-time major winner, who last won a major 10 years ago at Valhalla, opened with a 66, the back-nine starter making six birdies against a lone bogey. He reeled off three birdies in a row starting at the fifth hole and made clutch seven-foot putts to save par at 16 and 18.
“A little erratic off the tee,” said McIlroy. “But I scrambled well and made some great putts. It wasn’t the greatest 66 but 66 it was.”
American Jordan Spieth, a three-time major winner who would complete a career Grand Slam with a victory at Valhalla, is on two-under
Tiger Woods, a 15-time major champion, fired a 72 with three birdies and four bogeys.
“It was a grind. I didn’t drive it particularly well,” Woods said.
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Additional reporting by Press Association
