Shane Lowry recovered well from a bogey-bogey start at Valhalla to shoot a two-under-par 69 and stay within range after the opening round of the US PGA Championship.
The Offaly man bogeyed his first hole as he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker and a bad drive at the second hole set up another bogey. He birdied the short par 4 fourth hole before a third bogey of the day at the fifth after another missed fairway. A birdie at the par 5 seventh after a wedge to 10 feet meant he went out in one-over 36.
Lowry came to life on the back nine when he birdied the 11th after holing a 20-foot putt at the par 3. Another long birdie putt followed at the next hole, from 22 feet, to bring him under par for the day. After a run of five pars, Lowry finished in style with a birdie at the par 5 18th after just missing the green in two and getting up and down.
It was a day to forget, unfortunately, for Pádraig Harrington, as he shot a six-over-par 77 on a low-scoring day, that left him needing an impressive second round to have any chance of making the 36-hole cut. The 2008 champion had five bogeys and a double bogey on the par 5 7th after he hit into the water, and only one birdie. The Irishman is tied 148th of the 156 golfers in the field.
Xander Schauffele leads the tournament after he fired a record-equalling opening round nine-under 62, on a day where Rory McIlroy made a fine start with an opening five-under-par 66.
World number one Scottie Scheffler sent the crowd into a frenzy as he holed out for an eagle to start his campaign at Valhalla on Thursday, as he carded a four-under par 67 to end the day five shots back from the lead.
The Masters champion hit 167 yards from the middle of the fairway as it bounced once on the green and hopped into the cup.
“I was trying to hit it right at the pin because I felt like if I hit it the right way, the shortest it was going to go was on the pin,” the Masters winner told reporters.
“I felt like it was going to go a little past the pin if anything, and it was nice to see that one go in, obviously.”
Schauffele is three shots clear of compatriots Tony Finau, Mark Hubbard and Sahith Theegala, with McIlroy and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre part of a five-strong group on five under. Defending champion Brooks Koepka is a shot further back on four under, alongside Scheffler.
