Among the recurring themes of Scottie Scheffler’s recent spate of near-misses has been a propensity for slow starts. That would not appear to be a problem for him at the PGA Championship.
On a day when Rory McIlroy labelled his opening 74 as ‘s***’ and Bryson DeChambeau said even less about a 76, Scheffler strolled into a seven-way tie for the lead.
The world No 1’s loop of 67 was equal to those of Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Histsune, Alex Smalley and the born-again Martin Kaymer, but some footsteps echo louder than others. And especially so when Scheffler is playing with such comfort.
In reaching that shared mark of three under par, the four-time major champion missed just one fairway off the tee, was predominantly excellent on the greens, and might prove unstoppable if he can tidy the strokes in between.
Even luck was on his side – when Scheffler marginally overshot the green of the par-three 17th, his ball was sufficiently close to a sprinkler head in the rough that he was allowed a free drop on the putting surface and cleaned up for his par. A farcical rule, really, but that’s golf.
As such, Scheffler makes for an ominous presence, which hints at a sharpening of the form that has carried him to a run of three straight runner-up finishes dating back to the Masters last month. His shortfall on each of those was the deficit he left heading into the weekend, so it would seem he has foregone his recent habit of offering headstarts.
Scottie Scheffler is part of a seven-way tie for the first-round lead at the PGA Championship
The defending champion looks ominous after making a faster start than in recent weeks
Scheffler is now leading a major after 18 holes for the first time in his career at Aronimink
If there was cause for any frustration in his round, it might have come from the three-footer he missed in bogeying the 14th – only his second blip on a fiendishly tough day at Aronimink Golf Club – but he laughed off the error.
Naturally, some might now predict a procession, but that would be nonsense. For a start, there are no fewer than 10 major winners within two of the lead, featuring Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed and Shane Lowry at two under. Jordan Spieth’s latest push to complete the career slam has him placed in the vast cluster at one under, with Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka, among others.
As a second point of consideration, this course, with its 174 bunkers, turtleback greens and sloping fairways, proved a menace all day. With firmer conditions expected, it could savage anyone, Scheffler included.
But a word on those in his company, or rather Kaymer in particular. Aged 41 and 12 years of injuries and swing changes removed from his second major win, it was fabulous to see him back in a share of the lead. Of his past 20 majors, he has missed the cut in 10 and the PGA Championship is the last of the big four for which he has active exemptions. Four birdies and a single bogey was a masterful yield from the worst of the afternoon winds.
The pleasant sense of surprise that will accompany his rise here will be felt across the sport. ‘I will tell you funny story,’ he said after his 67. ‘On Tuesday evening we had the champions’ dinner, and there was a gentleman sitting next to me from the PGA of America, and he asked me if I still play. And I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, are you playing this week?” And I said, “Yeah, that’s why I’m here. I’m not flying from Europe to here to have a New York strip with you guys, of course I’m playing!”
‘That really motivated me.’
Earlier, McIlroy carded the worst closing sequence in his professional career by making bogeys on each of his final four holes, three of which were due to missed par putts inside eight feet. While that was no doubt frustrating, his greater concerns came from his driver, with only four fairways hit all day and a two-way miss in play.
‘I’m just not driving the ball well enough,’ he said. ‘It’s been a problem all year for the most part. I miss it right and then I want to try to correct it and miss it left. That’s pretty frustrating, especially when like I pride myself on driving the ball well.
‘I just need to try to figure it out. I honestly thought I’d figured it out. Coming in here, I hit it well on Sunday at Quail Hollow, and then hit it good at home on Monday. I had to curtail the practice round on Tuesday (due to his toe issues), but hit it decent yesterday. Once I get under the gun, it just seems like it starts to go a little bit wayward on me.’
Martin Kaymer, 41, is back in contention after 12 years of injury problems and swing changes
Rory McIlroy fell apart in the closing stages of his round, finishing with a quartet of bogeys
Efforts to correct the problem led to a session on the driving range that went well beyond an hour.
For the optimists in McIlroy’s gallery, it might be argued that he was equally poor with the driver at the Masters and won courtesy of short-game excellence, but Aronimink, lined by dense rough, is less forgiving off the tee than Augusta. As a secondary consideration, McIlroy’s short game here has also not been close to what it was in the collection of his second green jacket.
McIlroy’s consolation will come from knowing that this course was playing fiendishly tough on a breezy day. Even with the benefit of rain on the eve of the tournament, those hilly greens wreaked havoc on the field and will surely attract grumbles when they bake firmer in the warmer weather forecast for the end of the week.
There are already concerns that the 11th could become unplayable. That was clearly hinted when Bryson DeChambeau tapped a putt down the slope from the left of the surface and was forced to play his next from a full 50 feet on the other side of the hole.
In fairness, DeChambeau will not be anyone’s idea of a good golfer robbed by unfair conditions – he shot 76 with the small mercy that no spectators were harmed in its creation. ‘Fore right’ was a regular scream in a round that saw his ball threaten the grandstand on the par-three 17th and the visitors to a concession stand on the second.
No doubt his employers at LIV winced with each poor shot. Their future is in grave peril and a victory at this major would presumably offer a modicum of hope for fresh investment in the post-Saudi era, but their most marketable face is delivering only carnage for his YouTube reel. Making the cut will be contingent on a strong effort on Friday.
At one under par, Rahm is far better placed to assist LIV. On the same mark is Smith, who shot his first sub-70 round in a major since cashing in with the rebels in 2022.
From the traditional tours, Spieth hinted that he might yet make another tilt at the one major that has eluded him.
Playing alongside McIlroy and Rahm, he raced to three under par but two bogeys in his final three holes sucked some air from the balloon. Nine years on from his third major win, the American is well placed, as was Koepka, also at one under after some imperious play from tee to green was undermined by his familiar issues with the putter.
One shot better off was England’s Dan Brown. At two under par, this son of a Yorkshire pig farmer will be sure to attract a multitude of Davinci Code puns if he sustains his place among the higher reaches of the leaderboard. Former champion Schauffele matched his score of 68 and a trio of Englishmen – Justin Rose, Aaron Rai and Matt Fitzpatrick – were at level par.
