Leaderboard
-3 MW Lee (F), Jaeger (F), Potgieter (F), Hitasune (F), Kaymer (F), Smalley (14).
Irish:
-2 Lowry (F)
+4 McIlroy (F), McKibbin (F), Harrington (F)
Watch Shane Lowry’s eagle:
Birdie for Lowry! Excellent putt and the ideal start!
Shane Lowry shoots a two-under-par round of 68 in the opening round
Super opening round by Lowry in tough conditions, the chip-in eagle at 9 gave the round momentum and he is right in contention at Aronimink.
Shane Lowry on Sky Sports: “It was tough to make pars, I felt I made a good job getting around the course. Everyone was intrigued to how it would play, and it looks like being quite tough. On 18, I was a bit further right than I would have liked but hit a great putt, that will make dinner taste nice.”
That is all from me for tonight as it’s been a long old stretch. Stay tuned for Philip Reid’s report from Philadelphia.
Good birdie chance for Lowry (-1) at the last! A fine drive to the middle of the fairway, then an approach from 185 yards to 15 feet, just about bounces over the bunker and scuttles down the slope. That putt for a 2-under 68.
Par for Lowry (-1) at 17, just the 18th to come then to try to get in under par.
Good shot by Lowry (-1) at the 17th, onto the middle of the green, 35 feet for birdie, that’s what he wanted.
Just a par on 16, the par 5, for Lowry (-1). His second shot was pushed out to the right and with his pitch he could only get it to about 40 feet, two-putted for par. The tough par 3 17th awaits.
2010 champion Martin Kaymer (-3) birdies the last to join that big group in the lead. Why not one more, as Alex Smalley birdies to reach -3.
Dropping out of the lead though is Scheffler with a bogey! A surprise as he three-putts, misses from five feet for par. He laughs it off, but he’s out of the lead. Fitzpatrick also bogeys with a three-putt, ending his par streak. Rose takes the hole by two from the bunker, just shows you.
Holed bunker shot by Justin Rose on 14 late in the day! Magnificent shot and he gets back to Even par.
Lowry (-1) is in the rough on the par 5 16th, which isn’t part of the plan, may have to lay up then. His driver hasn’t quite been as straight on this back nine.
Thomas (-2) ends up holing a 40-footer up the hill for bogey after all that, could be a big putt in his round to stop the bleeding. Fitzpatrick (E), a grinder for a grinder’s day, has made 13 straight pars.
Thomas (-3) has hit his pitch into the bunker, and will have to get up and down there to save bogey.
Lowry (-2) hit a good long iron on the 15th to just short of the green, and chipped on to 2 feet, should make his par there.
Oof a nasty pull hook with a long iron by Thomas (-3) at the 14th, he slams the club on the ground and hits into to the hospitality on the left.
You’d imagine that Scheffler or Justin Thomas would reach -4 from here and set a new target, but you never know. Conners (-2) has fallen out of the lead with bogey at the 15th. Kaymer, Reed, Rai, Schmid are all on the course on -2. Morikawa, Lowry, MacIntyre, Stevens, Smalley out on the course at -1. Only 32 players under par.
Lowry has hit it in the rough on the 15th, which isn’t ideal and he has 225 yards left on the long par 4.
Bogey for Lowry! He misses his par putt sadly, pulled it and never getting to the hole. Looks annoyed. Back to -1.
Birdie for Scheffler! Here comes the defending champion and he ties the lead with another putt holed, this time from 9 feet on 11. He’s -3.
It’s a good bunker shot from Lowry (-2), got through it well but still 8 feet left for his par.
Lowry (-2) has missed the green in the left bunker on the par 3 14th, 220 yards off the tee. Hole is playing over par today. His tee shot he wanted to cut but it went straight left. Work to do.
A few tough holes on the closing stretch, as his pal McIlroy could attest to, but a birdie chance on the par 5 16th.
Lowry makes his par at the 13th, holing from four feet. In case you missed it, here was his tasty wedge at the 6th to set up his first birdie of the day. As the caption says, Shane Lowry doing Shane Lowry things.
Conners (-3) joins the leaders with a birdie on 13 too. If you are wondering if it’s all quiet on the Matt Fitzpatrick (E) front, he has had 10 straight pars to start. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas (-3) misses a good chance to take the lead on -4 at the 10th, leaves a good birdie chance short.
Lowry (-2) misses the fairway on the 13th and doesn’t help his chances to get it close, leaves himself about 45 feet away for birdie. Most likely a par for Shane.
Birdie for Scheffler! Ominous for the field when he’s putting this well, he moves within one with a putt from 28 feet at the 10th. Meanwhile, Scott moves to -1 after holing a bunker shot on the 13th.
Lowry (-2) has hit the green on the 12th from the rough, 30 feet or so left for a birdie. Just a par for Lowry in the end, but the next hole is only a 365-yard par 4, so maybe a birdie chance there. Patrick Reed has joined the group on -2 with a birdie at the third.
It seems McIlroy and others (DeChambeau?) may have misjudged the bomb and gouge approach this week, fairway-hitting has been paramount. Which should suit Lowry, although he missed the fairway at the 12th.
Birdie for Lowry! Riding the wave of momentum now, he knocks it in from seven feet, just tiptoed it down on a fast green and ducked in to get to -2 and only one off the lead.
Another driver perfectly down the middle for Lowry (-1), just 96 yards left for his approach on the par 4 11th.
Good approach from Lowry! Got spin on the wedge to stop it dead. Has left himself seven feet from the hole for birdie.
Justin Thomas (-3) misses the par 5 chance to take the lead as it stays deadlocked on -3 as it has for most of the day, ends up having to make a solid putt for par.
Just a par there for Lowry (-1) at the 10th, but another hole navigated nicely and a few easier holes coming up from 11-13.
Two good shots for Lowry (-1) on the 10th set up a birdie chance from about 25 feet. The momentum is with him now after that eagle.
Good start for Lowry then in his first nine, with nobody running away with it, -1 is an excellent first nine holes. The same again on the back nine would do the job. Just has the most wonderful touch around the greens.
Bhatia (-2) drops out of the lead meanwhile with a bogey on 13. He is replaced by Thomas (-3), who gets one against the field with a birdie on eight.
EAGLE FOR SHANE LOWRY! Short game magic from Lowry as the practice with Harrington pre-tournament has paid off as he hits a beautiful low runner up the green, skips and rolls into the hole for an eagle three at the par 5. He’s up to -1 for the tournament, only two back!
Martin Kaymer has joined the seven-way lead on -3! Meanwhile, Scheffler moves to -1 with a long birdie putt holed at the 7th. On the 9th hole, Lowry (+1) has hit the fairway on the par 5, 286 yards left to go for it in two if he fancies it.
Lowry fires a wood up there and hits it reasonably well but just short of the green. Good chance to get up and down for a birdie.
Bogey for Lowry! His bunker is a decent one to eight feet. Unfortunately he misses the putt and bogeys the 8th like many others today. He falls to +1. A shout out to former champion Martin Kaymer who is rolling back the years to be -2 through 10 so far.
The world number one and defending champion Scheffler (E) has birdied the sixth to stay well in it.
Lowry’s (E) tee shot at the par 8th tails off in the wind into the bunker. Work to do to save par.
A par for Lowry on the 7th hole keeps his round going steadily as he prepares for the difficult 8th.
An interesting story meanwhile by Philip Reid about Bryson DeChambeau and the Irish Open:
Two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau’s friendship with US President Donald Trump could provide a route to the American teeing-up in this year’s Amgen Irish Open at Trump Doonbeg in September. Read more:
[ Bryson DeChambeau may play in Irish Open at Trump Doonbeg in SeptemberOpens in new window ]
Birdie for Lowry! He bursts into life with a stunning wedge at the 6th to 18 inches for birdie, back to Even par for the tournament.
Two-time former champion Justin Thomas, meanwhile, has had a fine start and is -2 after four holes. Ashkay Bhatia is -3 through nine holes and joins the leaders.
Lowry (+1) hits into the heart of the green on the 5th, but leaves his putt well short. Work to do to save par, but he holes it nicely.
‘S**t’: Rory McIlroy reaction to his round, from Philip Reid at Aronimink
“S**t!” responded McIlroy, when asked what he thought of his day.
“I started missing fairways,” said McIlroy, reflecting on right misses on the fourth, the sixth, the seventh and the ninth as his driver disobeyed. “I didn’t have great angles either. Then obviously you start missing it just off the edges of these greens, it gets tricky. I felt like I did okay. I made that birdie on five to get back to even-par after the soft bogey on four, then I just got on that bogey train at the end.”
McIlroy acknowledged: “I’m just not driving the ball well enough. 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 then I’ll overdo it, and I’ll miss it left. It’s a little bit of back and forth that way. So 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. Then, obviously, I had to curtail the practice round Tuesday [due to toe injury], 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.”
One of the pre-tournament favourites Cameron Young is in the red after a birdie on the 3rd, he moves to -1.
Lowry has a birdie putt from 25 feet or so on the 4th for birdie. Meanwhile, Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald (-2) has made birdie on the sixth, great start.
No birdie for Lowry, just misses the putt.
Some blunt reaction from McIlroy:
According to Justin Ray, the last player to open the PGA Championship with 74 or higher and go on to win was Payne Stewart in 1989 at Kemper Lakes. It is also the first time McIlroy has finished with four straight bogeys.
Garrick Higgo speaking again about his two-shot penalty for being late. Maybe a bit too relaxed for his own good. “I was there on time, but late.” One or the other Garrick.
All the marquee group end up missing their birdie putts. Meanwhile, Lowry (+1) has parred the second and third holes and is in the middle of the fairway on the 4th. Hasn’t made the TV coverage yet.
Some fireworks from the marquee evening group, Fitzpatrick hits it to maybe 10 feet for birdie, Rose hits it inside him, while Scheffler almost spins the ball back into the hole for an eagle two, but it spins back far enough that he is the farthest away.
Rory McIlroy shoots four-over-par 74 in his first round
Well-below par and off what his expectations would be, McIlroy missed a lot of fairways for the first three-quarters of the round but managed to make greens and keep his round steady. But his 13th hole onwards, it got very clumsy, out of position and missed a series of par putts in a row from about 10 feet. A day to forget and although it was a tough day for the whole field, his chances of winning have taken a big blow already.
McIlroy (+3) leaves himself a decent length par putt left, yikes. Spieth (-1) misses the birdie, and it’s a one-under round of 69 that could have been much better. Birdie though for Rahm, who birdies the last two to get to -1 and shoot a 69 that looked the opposite, the best it could be.
Bogey for McIlroy! His chance are slipping away. Four straight bogeys to finish, five bogeys in his last six holes.
McIlroy (+3) hits an average bunker shot and leaves himself a long, sloping putt for birdie, he will really just be looking to get up and down for par.
Pádraig Harrington shoots four-over-par round of 74
Not a bad effort at all by the veteran Dubliner, he will give himself a chance of making the cut tomorrow.
Scheffler and Fitzpatrick have teed off, within a yard of each other on the fairway at the first hole.
Schauffele signs for a two-under 68, the best of the top players and only a shot off the leaders as it stands. Other good rounds today include Day and Koepka who shot 69s, Koepka could have been much lower with a better putter. Spieth has a chance to get up and down for a birdie at the last for a 68.
McIlroy (+3) hits his lay-up from the rough at the par 5 9th into the bunker about 70 yards short of the green. Not ideal.
Lowry (+1) has left himself 38 feet for birdie on the 2nd.
Bogey for McIlroy! That’s four in five holes as his putt slips off to the right. Falls to +3. A birdie on the last hole is essential now.
Another poor drive for McIlroy, sliced it and into the crowd. Wonder what lie he will get, but his swing and score has unravelled in the past hour.
Bogey for Lowry! It ain’t playing easy. Lowry doesn’t get his putt and it’s not a great start.
Shane Lowry has a six-footer for par at the first after his first drive was wayward and had to lay up short.
Rahm (E) holes out from off the green on the 8th hole, second time that’s happened today to keep his round going. McIlroy’s (+2) chip isn’t anywhere near as good, a tad clumsy and again he has a tester for par. Spieth (-1) makes two bogeys in a row.
McIlroy (+2) misses the green at the long and difficult par 3 8th, but not as far wide as Spieth (-2). A par-birdie finish, with a par 5 to come, to get in the house at +1 should be the goal now.
In more positive news, there is a birdie for Pádraig Harrington, he will love the tricky conditions and he’s battling away on the back nine to get back to +3 after 16. Meanwhile, Max Greyserman joins the leaders after holing a long one at the 17th.
Bogey for McIlroy! Two bogeys in a row sadly, again the tee shot didn’t help and left him with a lot of work to do. Falls to +2 and doesn’t want to leak any further. Nobody racing ahead though, as Min Woo Lee misses a chance to get to -4 on his last hole. Spieth (-2) also drops out of the lead after three-putting but the issue was the terrible wedge.
DeChambeau is absolutely hacking it around, quite a spectacle. He hits one approach way over the green, then can’t make the green with the next one. Eventually he makes double bogey to go to +7. Ouch.
DeChambeau has had a shocker today, he’s +5 after 16 holes as he misses a green by some distance once again... could be consecutive missed cuts in Majors the way he’s going.
McIlroy (+1) hits a good pitch into the middle of the green, but it’s a decent length left to make par on 7.
Garrick Higgo speaks to Sky Sports, who got a two-shot penalty for being late to the tee, yet still shot an under par round of 69: “I always cut it fine, it was cold this morning, I don’t usually like to stand around for too long when I’m going to hit a driver.” He says that he thought he had more time and had been ready to take a few practice putts when he heard his name on the tee and panicked, hearing his caddie yelling. By the time he got to the tee, it was too late.
I may have slightly undersold the difficulty of McIlroy’s (+1) approach on 7, was a bad angle and on an upslope from a bit of rough and he digs it out well short and it rolls into more rough. Could be facing another bogey there. Spieth (-3) is in the middle of the fairway once more, but it’s a terrible wedge well short of the back platform where the flag is and spins back to leave himself 80 or 90 feet left from the front.
McIlroy (+1) is in the rough once more on the 7th but it’s sat up nicely for him.
Tom McKibbin finishes with a four-over-par 74
Work to do for McKibbin to make the cut after his opening day, but he will be proud of the way he rallied after being +5 early in the round.
Spieth moves into the lead! Birdies the sixth as his putter is warming up after another great approach to get to -3 after Min Woo Lee bogeyed the 8th.
Bogey for McIlroy! After a long run of pars, he’s gone bogey-birdie-bogey. The tee shot was the issue as much as anything but means he falls to +1.
McIlroy’s (E) drive at the 6th has gone waywardly into the trees, but managed to manufacture one to just over the green.
Here is a video of his birdie putt on the previous hole:
Birdie for McIlroy! There we go, much needed boost from 32 feet up the hill, right into the heart of the hole at the par 3 5th! Only his second birdie of the day and gets back to Even par. Spieth also gets a birdie, was closer than I originally thought, must have been three feet max, and he gets to -2. Could be leading in truth with some of his approaches so far.
Bogey for McIlroy! Needs a birdie or two on the way in and it’s a middling approach on the green on the 5th, upstaged by a cracker by Spieth (-1), who has a chance for birdie from inside 5 feet.
The leader is now the young Australian star Min Woo Lee, who birdies the 7th to move to -4.
Three-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka, almost all won on this coast of America, is playing some fine golf today and has a chance to go to -2 after a great approach to the 5th... but he misses the putt. Just doesn’t putt as well as he used to in his pomp.
Oh dear. McIlroy is going to go over par after a poor pitch, seemed to mishit it, left him only on the front of the green. He missed the long par putt and still has work to make bogey.
The crowd following the McIlroy, Rahm, Spieth group today, the marquee group of the morning play. Shane Lowry is out in about an hour, while there will be a lot of interest in world number one Scottie Scheffler, as well as the in-form duo Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick.
It’s a birdie for Higgo (-1), since the double bogey for being late, he’s had four birdies and one bogey and he’d actually be tied for the lead if he just came to the tee five minutes earlier. Would be interesting if he ends up contending this week.
McIlroy (E) is in deep enough rough and looked like he was playing for a flier and leaves it short of the green, work to do to maintain his par streak. Another tasty wedge from Spieth (-1) to set up another birdie chance.
Meanwhile, the Block Party is under way, the most famous of the PGA professionals Michael Block begins with an approach to a few feet for birdie to get to -1.
The most remarkable round of the day so far is Garrick Higgo (E), who got a two-shot penalty for being late for his tee time this morning. Despite this, he’s managed to be two under outside of the penalty and has a change to get under par after a great approach to the 16th.
McIlroy (E) at the 4th hates his drive, a bit of slice on it, and he’ll be hitting from the rough again. Hasn’t really hit enough fairways really to set up good birdie chances today so far.
No birdie for McIlroy (E) and a bit of work left to save par at the 3rd. Tidies up though for par. Only one birdie today so far, early in his round. No birdie for Spieth (-1), while Schauffele has bogeyed to fall to -1.
Very good shot by McIlroy (E) at the third from the rough, was sitting down a bit and controls it to leave him 20 feet or so for birdie. Excellent approach by Spieth (-1) to six or seven feet for birdie.
Here’s Rahm’s eagle hole-out on the previous hole, well worth a watch:
McIlroy (E) is in the rough off the tee on the par 4 third, Rahm (E) in the bunker and Spieth (-1) on the fairway.
Min Woo Lee (-3) birdies the 5th to move into a share of the lead.
Justin Rose with an interesting warm-up outfit today:
McIlroy (E) misses his birdie putt chance at the 2nd. A surprise three-putt from Spieth (-1) a bogey knocks him two off the lead. At the start of the hole, there was four between Rahm and Spieth as they looked to be heading in opposite directions, now there’s only one shot.
Alright then! Rahm explodes into action with an eagle 2! 101 yards from the fairway and he holes his wedge, one bounce and straight in. After a poor start, he jumps back up to Even par with the wind at his sails now.
McIlroy (E) from the fairway bunker leaves himself a long birdie putt at the 2nd. Meanwhile, big-hitting South African Aldrich Potgieter is in the clubhouse after a three-under 67 and ties the lead. Doubt it will be in the lead at the end of the day, but won’t be far away.
Great lag by McIlroy (E) to close for par at the first up the hill and eight pars in a row. Which is fine because the lead is only -3 as the wind has made things trickier than expected. Birdie for Spieth gets him to -2 and it’s looking like Spieth from 10 years ago today, his putt never looked anywhere but the middle of the hole. A reminder that Spieth could win the career Grand Slam if he won this week, one year after McIlroy achieved the feat.
Poor approach by McIlroy (E), although still a green in regulation at the first, as he misjudges the distance on his wedge and it spins back to the front of the green. Better wedge by Spieth (-1) to about eight feet for a birdie chance.
Brown (-3) ties the lead after his eagle on the 11th, he birdies the 13th.
Birdie for McKibbin at the 13th, that’s more like it and he gets back to +4.
McIlroy (E) is on his back nine, which is the front nine after starting on the 10th and hits a smooth fairway wood to the middle of the fairway.
McIlroy (E) is a little bit disappointed with his approach at the par 4 18th but it’s not too bad, maybe 20 feet left for birdie downhill with a bit of slope. Spieth’s (-1) approach is a better one, while Rahm (+1) is last to play and hits it well over the flag to the back of the green.
Just a par then for McIlroy (E) and seven pars in a row to finish his front nine. Nice putt, line was perfect but didn’t hit it hard enough and stops a foot short. No birdie for Spieth (-1) either.
McIlroy (E) gets his par on the 17th and belts one down the fairway at the 18th, might have a decent chance of attacking the pin after that one. Reminder it’s his 9th hole, started at the 10th. Leader Jaeger bogeys the 12th, and drops into a share of the leader with Cauley at -3.
The bogeys just keep coming for McKibbin, who drops to +5 after 12. He’s tied for last apart from the PGA professionals.
Dan Brown cracks the code at the 11th as he holes from the fairway to make an eagle two! The Englishman is up to -2 and tied 3rd now, the crowd enjoyed that one. McIlroy (E) hits a good iron on the par 3 17th from 241 yards, one of the few on the green in the past few groups, but a long putt left.
Bogey alerts: It’s not such good news for McKibbin (+4) who makes another bogey on the 11th, and the round is getting away from him. Harrington (+3) also bogeys the 9th. Bogey also for Schauffele (-2) on the 17th as expected.
No birdie for McIlroy (E) on the 16th as playing partner Spieth holes a nice one from farther out to move under par to -1. Schauffele (-3) had a very long pitch after his wayward one and will struggle to save par, hitting it to the back of the green.
Bogey for Harrington on the eighth as he falls to +2. A tough par 3 is the 8th at 245 yards, the 17th meanwhile is 241 yards, big hits required. Fox (-1) hit it to within five feet on the eighth, there won’t be many better than that today. Schauffele (-3) at the 17th hits a massive pull at the par 3.
McIlroy’s (E) bunker shot is average at the 16th and he has an outside chance for birdie at the par 5. Only two par 5s on the course, so won’t like giving up those opportunities.
Bogey for McKibbin at the 10th, he falls to +3 and not the start he would have planned. 2024 champion Xander Schauffele is looking great so far and birdies the 16th after getting up and down on the par 5 to get to -3.
McIlroy (E) has 242 yards from the rough, decent lie so goes with a fairway wood but into the wind on the par 5 he hits it into the front bunker.
The wind is picking up quite sharply at Aronimink as leader Jaeger (-4) misses the green at the 10th, but hits a nice chip to fairly close. Smith (-1) somehow gets away with a bogey at the 18th, and he’ll go again for his back nine. Nicolai Hojgaard (-2) joins the group on two under after a nice approach on the 12th.
Just the 188mph swing speed off the tee for McIlroy (E) on the 16th, which shows the advantage he has on playing partner Spieth (E) at 179mph. Spieth on the fairway though whereas McIlroy is in the rough, but sitting up well.
DeChambeau (+2) is out of sorts so far, on the long par 3 17th he is way off into the crowd and will struggle to save par.
Decent approach from McIlroy (E) from the rough from about 180 yards, but a long-ish putt left for birdie. He lags it down excellently to a foot from the hole, solid par on a long par 4.
Smith (-2) gets the ball back onto the fairway. Alex Fitzpatrick is continuing his good form and is up to -2.
Here is McIlroy’s only birdie of the day so far:
David Gorman logging on for the golf coverage to watch poor Cameron Smith (-2) hit a duck hook off the tee on the 18th into some hospitality, absolutely no man’s land. Lucky not to be out of bounds, now getting a ruling of what he can do next. That will slow down the field a bit.
McIlroy (E) is in the right rough off on the 15th off the tee. A birdie and a bogey so far, four strokes off the early lead of Stephan Jaeger. Starting off the 10th, he has the easier front nine to come though.
If you thought you were having a bad day, spare a thought for Garrick.
Promise, that’s the last time we’ll ever suggest that McIlroy has brushed away the cobwebs - he’s just pulled a wedge left on 13, landing just short of the bunker. Another shake of the head. And in a rotten few minutes for Ulster, Tom McKibbin has dropped back to +1 after suffering his second bogey of the day.
See, we tempted fate? After a nigh on perfect drive, McIlroy left his approach to the green in or around a mile from the hole. His effort drifted well past, but he made par. A missed opportunity, though, as his shake of the head confirms. Those greens look decidedly tricky.
Not to be tempting fate, or anything, but McIlroy appears to have dusted off the cobwebs - he fires what resembles an Exocet missile down the centre of the 12th fairway (ie his third hole).
As Butch Harmon might put it, ‘atta boy Rory’ - a birdie at his second, so he’s back to even. Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, meanwhile, is having the kind of start that is the stuff of dreams - he’s -4 after six holes.
Ah now, that’s much more like it from McIlroy - he’s given himself a very decent birdie chance at the 11th (his second), his approach landing within five feet of the hole.
Not the smoothest of starts for McIlroy - that’s a bogey at the first. He had a horrible lie after that wayward drive and ended up with a 12 foot putt for par. Which he missed. Meanwhile, there’s a bogey too for Tom McKibbin at the fifth that sends him back to level par.
A little bit of Masters deja vu there from Rory McIlroy - his opening drive veered right and has landed in an ugly enough looking bit of rough.
Tom McKibbin is one of seven players on -1 after he birdied the first and had a par on the second. Padraig Harrington is about to start his opening round, while Rory McIlroy gets going at 1.40. He’s in a major-laden group too, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm his companions. It’s nine years since Spieth won the last of his three majors, but if he can rediscover that class of form he could yet join golf’s Grand Slam club. Should Rahm prevail come Sunday, he would become the first Spaniard to win the tournament.
[ Jon Rahm determined to complete Spanish SlamOpens in new window ]
A dream start for Tom McKibbin, the first of the Irish in action today - the LIV man has birdied the first.
Writer and broadcaster Eamon Lynch is keeping mum....
Earlier this week, our Philip Reid picked out ‘Five to watch at this week’s US PGA Championship’ - including Shane Lowry.
“The Offaly man had a terrific start to the season and could have had a couple of titles in the bag only for untypical late-round lapses that seemed to work into the psyche with missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players.”
“A final round of 80 in the Masters then saw him slip from being in contention to a disappointing 30th-place finish... Time heals, though. And Lowry’s last round ahead of the PGA was a bogey-free 65 to close out the Cadillac, so hopefully he has put the demons to bed. The course should suit him too, with a strong requirement on approach play.”
[ Five to watch at this week’s US PGA ChampionshipOpens in new window ]
Some start for Alex Fitzpatrick, the Englishman helping himself to birdies in the first two holes.
You have to go all the way back to 2015 for the last time a non-American won this tournament - Australia’s Jason Day. Since then, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka (three times), Justin Thomas (twice), Phil Mickelson, Colin Morikawa and Jimmy Walker have all conspired to keep the Wanamaker Trophy wrapped in the stars and stripes.
Scheffler is aiming to become just the third man to win back-to-back PGA Championships in stroke play, Tiger Woods and Koepka the others to have achieved the feat. By his own lofty standards, though, he’s having a frustrating time of it - he finished runner-up in his last three tournaments, the Masters, the RBC Heritage and the Cadillac Championship. Granted, he collected close to $7 million for those near misses, but you’d imagine Scheffler is more interested in titles than loot this weather.
Good morning golf devotees, we’ll take it that you’re in fine fettle seeing as the second major of the season, the US PGA Championship at Aronimink, is about to get under way? And we can all but hope that Rory McIlroy’s troublesome toe (minus its nail) is in similar condition.
Philip Reid was in attendance when McIlroy insisted that “toe-gate” had been resolved and that he’s all set to carry on his quest to “achieve what no other man has ever managed: that of winning all of four Majors in the same season”.
Safe to say, the local youngsters were a bit on the excited side when they spotted McIlroy during his practice round on Wednesday.
Philip also heard from Pádraig Harrington, one of four Irish players in the field - along with McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tom McKibbin. It will, remarkably enough, be Harrington’s 27th appearance in the tournament and “true to form, he still believes”.
