TULSA, Okla. — The eagle on five — sparked by a 306-yard approach shot which landed 10 feet from the pin — looked like it could have been a harbinger of good things to come for Scottie Scheffler.
It was, instead, the highest watermark on the day for the world’s top-ranked golfer.
Scheffler shot a 1-over 71 in the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday at Southern Hills. He bogeyed five of his last 10 holes, struggled with accuracy off of the tee late as the wind picked up, and finished round one tied for 42nd.
“I guess I’m six back now,” Scheffler said. “So six shots over three days really isn’t that big of a deal.”
He broke even through the turn, with a bogey on nine and a birdie on 10, but seemed to lose poise on the back nine as conditions shifted. He missed a 3-foot-9 par putt on 12 and settled for bogey. His tee shot on 13 landed in the water to the left of the fairway, and the penalty stroke set up a second consecutive dropped shot.
Scheffler birdied 15, but posted back-to-back two-putt bogeys on 16 and 17. His tee shot on 18 also went into the water, though he managed to save par thanks to a 15-foot-11 putt.
“That’s the things you’re going to get,” Scheffler said. “That’s what happens when you play late in the day. Today was windy so the course was challenging, and I didn’t keep myself in position on the back nine and paid the price for it.”
He was one of several star golfers who struggled in the afternoon conditions. Two-time PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka shot a 5-over 75. World No. 2 Jon Rahm and world No. 10 Dustin Johnson each shot a 3-over 73. Collin Morikawa, the world’s third-ranked player, shot a 2-over 72.
McIlroy surges to top
The first question posed at Rory McIlroy’s Thursday press conference
“That’s the quick start you’ve been looking for, yes or no?,” he was asked.
McIlroy laughed.
“Yes or no? No, no. I’d rather shoot 74 and try and make the cut tomorrow.”
It’s easy to joke around from first place. A two-time PGA Championship winner, McIlroy shot a 5-under 65 to end Round 1 atop the leaderboard by one shot. He carded seven birdies — including four straight from holes 12 through 15 — but tailed off a bit late with a pair of bogeys in his final four holes.
“I feel like this course, it lets you be pretty aggressive off the tee if you want to be,” he said. “So I hit quite a lot of drivers out there and took advantage of my length and finished that off with some nice iron play and some nice putting.”
The world’s seventh-ranked golfer is a four-time Major champion, but hasn’t won one since the PGA Championship in 2014. And prior to Thursday, he hadn’t led after any round in any Major in his last 26 starts.
Hoge one back of lead
Among other things, the Tulsa wind has been a major topic of conversation among golfers at Southern Hills this week, and whether or not it’d affect their play.
For Tom Hoge, not so much.
“It was tough, but I live in Fort Worth,” Hoge said. “So just down the road a little bit, and I feel like it’s pretty similar conditions. I felt like I could judge the wind pretty well, and certainly felt comfortable with the wind that we had out there.”
The TCU graduate shot a 4-under 66 and finished his round tied for second place alongside Dallas resident Will Zalatoris. He recorded five birdies and just one bogey. The 32-year-old won his first PGA Tour event in February at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and outdueled Dallas’ Jordan Spieth for the victory. His best finish at a PGA Championship was tied for 58th in 2018.
Woods shoots 4-over 74
Playing in just his second tournament since his Feb. 2021 car accident, four-time PGA Championship winner Tiger Woods shot a 4-over 74 and ended Round 1 tied for 101st place.
“Yeah, my leg is not feeling as good as I would like it to be,” Woods said. “We’ll start the recovery process and get after it tomorrow.”
Woods, 46, carded seven bogeys and three birdies. He hit just seven of 18 greens.
