A couple of stragglers left out on the course. But nobody’s catching Gary Woodland tonight. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for the second round of what promises to be a hotly contested PGA Championship! Wherever you are in the world, sweet dreams and nighty night!
-6: Woodland
-5: Fowler
-4: Stone, Z Johnson
-3: Cook, Poulter, Perez, Day, Gay, Cink, Schniederjans, D Johnson, Kisner, Rose, Pieters
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Thomas Pieters finds 18 in regulation, then takes two putts from 30 feet for a closing par. That gives him a three-under round of 67. Par for Joaquin Niemann at 17; he remains at -2.
Zach Johnson finishes with a birdie at 18 that gives him a share of third place. He’s in the clubhouse with a 66! Those determined scrambles at 16 and 17 look super-important now. Pieters meanwhile reclaims the shot he yipped away on 16 with birdie up the par-five 17th.
-6: Woodland (F)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F), Z Johnson (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Rahm (F), Rose (F), Pieters (17)
Some trouble for young Niemann down the side of 16, and he slips back to -2. Patrick Cantlay birdies 9, and he ends with a 68. Tommy Fleetwood finished the day with a 69.
Bogey for Jon Rahm at the last. He still looks content enough with his two-under 68, though. Justin Rose pars, and he’s in with a fine 67. Zach Johnson scrambles another par, this time getting up and down from sand at the front of 17. He remains at -3. This round could easily have spun out of control, but he’s done well to hang in there.
Thomas Pieters misses a tiddler on 16 for par, and drops back to -2. The 2009 winner YE Yang, who had a share of the lead for a brief moment at -3, ends the day signing for a 73. A double and four bogeys on the way back. And more trouble ahoy! for Jordan Spieth: he wangs his drive into trouble down the right again, this time at 18, and sends a hot one through the back of the green. His chip comes out fast, flying 12 feet past the hole. The putt coming back doesn’t look like dropping, and he walks after it in high dudgeon, but suddenly it turns to the right and drops. A scrappy par to end, but he’s signing for a 71. He shakes his head sadly, knowing he’s really not been on it today ... by his own high standards.
Joaquín Niemann doesn’t hang about. The 19-year-old Chilean prospect has taken the Jordan Spieth / Jon Rahm quick route gaining a PGA Tour card, and he’s showing his promise in his first PGA appearance. He’s made six birdies today, at 2, 7, 8, 12, 14 and now 15. A smattering of bogeys to go with them, sure, but he’s -3, tied for fourth right now. Could the Santiago swinger launch a Sergio-at-Medinah-style teenage challenge?
Zach Johnson underclubs at the par-three 16th, but manages to get up and down from the front. He remains at -3. Birdie on 17 for Jon Rahm: he’s suddenly -3. Ditto Justin Rose! Jordan Spieth can’t rescue himself after that wild drive at 17, and he’s +1, a lot of good work undone with one bad tee shot. And on 18, Gary Woodland is a turn of the ball away from coming back in 29 strokes. He’ll have to make do with par, a back nine of 30, and a stunning round of 64. He’ll be the leader tonight. Meanwhile a 67 for Kevin Kisner.
-6: Woodland (F)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Rahm (17), Rose (17), Z Johnson (16), Pieters (15)
Francesco Molinari leaves a chip 15 feet short on the 18th ... but confidently curls in the right-to-left par saver! The Open champion signs for a first-round 68. At -2, he’s in good nick, and looking to repeat the back-to-back Open-PGA trick previously performed by Walter Hagen, Nick Price, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy. Meanwhile it’s a 72 for the Masters champ Patrick Reed ... and a 69 for the US Open winner Brooks Koepka.
Jordan Spieth, having used up all his good luck, sends his drive at 17 into the water hazard down the right of the par-five. A dropped shot for Zach Johnson at 15; he’s back to -3. And Gary Woodland, who was +1 through seven holes, now grabs sole ownership of the lead with a birdie at 17!
-6: Woodland (17)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (17), Z Johnson (15), Pieters (14)
Francesco Molinari’s Open hangover didn’t last long. Bogey at 5 and double at 6 saw Italy’s first major champion slip to +3. But since then he’s birdied 8, 11, 12, 14 and now 17 to zip up the standings to -2. That’s some going, though with the benefit of hindsight, it’s a predictable response by a player who didn’t card a single bogey all weekend at Carnoustie. All weekend! At Carnoustie! Meanwhile it’s all happening at 16: Jon Rahm rakes in a long one for second birdie in three holes, and he’s -2. Justin Rose knocks in a long one as well, though that’s just for par to remain at -2. And Jordan Spieth gets up and down from the greenside bunker he found himself in, and that’s a mighty precious par save!
Dustin Johnson manages to get his second at 18 onto the green, and very nearly drains the putt. He’ll settle for a par and a three-under 67. A level-par 70 for the 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott; ditto for Bubba. Kyle Stanley pars 9 to sign for a two-under 68. Brooks Koepka whistles his third at 17 to kick-in distance, and will move into red figures for the first time today.
-5: Fowler (F), Woodland (16)
-4: Stone (F), Z Johnson (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (16), Pieters (14)
Gary Woodland joins Rickie Fowler in the lead! He sends his tee shot at the par-three 16th over the flag, and teases in the left-to-right slider coming back for birdie. That’s five birdies since the turn; seven in the last nine holes. This is sensational! Meanwhile Jordan Spieth nearly yips his short birdie putt on 15, but it drops eventually. Spieth smiles thinly, then blows out hard. He knows he’s got away with one there. And then on the par-three 16th, he benefits from another huge stroke of good fortune. He slices his tee shot deep into the woods to the right of the green. He turns his back in disgust ... and misses the ball ricocheting back off a trunk and near the side of the green! Still some work to do to scramble his par, but my, he’d have taken that.
Kevin Kisner isn’t far away from draining a birdie putt across 16. He’ll remain at -3. The super-resilient Jordan Spieth arrows an approach straight at the flag at 15: he’ll have a straight uphill one from six feet to make it back to level par. And it’s another reckless tee shot from big DJ, who slices deep into the trees on the right at 18. He gets a very lucky bounce back out, the ball rolling with some purpose back towards the fairway. Not sure that’s got all the way back, but he’ll have taken that outcome when the little white dappled thing was making its way into the thicket.
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So it’s been all change near the top, if not at the top. Here’s how they’re standing right now - and note Belgium’s big-hitting Thomas Pieters, who has been quiet since his top-five finish at Augusta in 2017, creeping into view after birdies at 11 and 12!
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F), Woodland (15), Z Johnson (13)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (17), Kisner (15), Pieters (12)
Dustin pulls his par putt left of the cup on 17. It would have been an outrageous escape, tell the truth, but that’s what these guys do. However that’s a second bogey in four holes, and having joined Rickie Fowler in the lead momentarily, he’s now slipped back to -3.
Dustin’s wet. So he has to take a drop. He’s hitting three down the long par five. He’ll need to get up and down with his wedge from distance. He sends his fourth to eight feet; it’s a wonderful chip that’ll give him a chance of escaping with par. Meanwhile back on 15, Kisner finds greenside sand; Woodland nearly does. The former gets up and down from the bunker; the latter nearly holes out from the fringe for birdie, but settles for par. And on 14, Justin Rose is out of position all the way down the hole, and the bogey drops him back to -2.
Dustin sends a wild slice towards the hazard down the right of the par-five 17th. That is quite spectacularly reckless. He might have escaped the creek; we saw the ball bounce but not settle. Wet or dry, that’s not going to be good. His namesake Zach makes it four birdies in five holes at 12: he’s -4. Meanwhile a par for Brandon Stone at the last, and the Scottish Open champion signs for a 66.
Woodland and Kisner make their birdie putts. Meanwhile Big Dustin’s tee shot at 16 isn’t much to write home about. It stays on the green, but only just. But from the back, 30 feet away, he very nearly guides in a big curling birdie putt. Not quite. Par. And Jordan Spieth can’t get anything going: a tee shot at the par-three 13th is dead on line, but fails to spin forward. From 12 feet, his birdie putt dies off to the left. He stays at +1.
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (17), D Johnson (16), Woodland (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Kisner (14), Rose (13), Z Johnson (11)
Kevin Kisner clatters the flagstick at 14. He’s got a putt from two feet to move to -3. His playing partner Gary Woodland responds by landing his second four feet away. That one will take him to -4. It took a while for the afternoon starters to make their mark, but quite a few are launching a challenge now.
Another birdie for Brandon Stone, this time from the fringe at the par-five 17th. The 25-year-old is one off the lead at -4. Could he become Bellerive’s third major winner out of three from South Africa, after Gary Player and Nick Price? Meanwhile another birdie for Zach Johnson, at 11, and there are quite a few big names knocking around at the top of the leaderboard!
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (17), D Johnson (15)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Woodland (13), Rose (12), Z Johnson (11)
Justin Rose has been pootling along steadily since his birdie at 8. A patient game, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. And when it comes around, from the centre of 12, he pounces. A gorgeous wedge that lands six feet past the hole and spins back to kick-in range. That was controlled brilliance. Shot of the day. He’s going to rise to -3 in a minute. Par meanwhile for DJ on 15; his playing partner Bubba tugs at a short one and he’s back down at -1.
Gary Woodland keeps rolling on. A fourth birdie in five holes, a 25-foot left-to-right curler on 12. A player whose best finish at a major is a tie for 12th in this competition at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011 is now two off the lead, in a tie for third place at -3. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth misses a tiddler for birdie at 11 that’d bring him back to level par, and spins his club like Stevie Nicks in frustration. Real savage like.
The birdie putts are dropping now! Another for Brooks Koepka, at 12, and he’s fought back to level par. On 14, Bubba rolls one in to rise to -2. Adam Scott makes one at the same hole to join the large group at -1. Birdie on 16 for Brandon ‘Mr 60’ Stone: he’s -3 again. But there’s no good news for DJ back on 14, who chips up to 13 feet, but sends a poor effort at a left-to-right slider off to the low side, and he drops out of the lead almost as quickly as he got there.
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: D Johnson (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stone (16)
Gary Woodland guides in a 50-foot left-to-right swinger on 11. It’s his third birdie in four holes, after picking up strokes at 8 and 9, and he joins the group at -2. And there’s more sensational action on 9, where the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open champion Zach Johnson flops from a tight lie off the back of the green, straight at the flag, landing ten feet short and rolling into the cup. Phil Mickelson would have been proud of that one. After birdie at 8, he’s -2.
DJ’s tee shot at 14 finds the thick stuff down the right. He doesn’t catch his second at all, sending it hooking violently towards the hazard on the left. It looks like the ball’s stuck on the bank, but he’ll have a job getting up and down from there for his par.
Yet another birdie for DJ! It’s six in eight holes! He sends his tee shot at 13 pin high to 12 feet, then rolls in the straight putt. He joins Rickie Fowler in the lead, and if he keeps going like this we’ll soon have to start talking about Branden Grace’s major-redefining 62 at Birkdale. Meanwhile birdie for Marc Leishman at 12: he’s -2. A birdie finally for Brooks Koepka: the US Open champion makes it at 11 to move back to +1. But Brandon Stone can’t get up and down from a bunker at the back of 15, and he’s -2. As is Kyle Stanley, who bogeys 4.
-5: Fowler (F), D Johnson (13)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F)
Another long putt stroked in for birdie by Dustin Johnson! This time on 12. He’s wandering around in the insouciant style, caring not a jot. Golf’s so easy when you’re in the zone. That’s five birdies in seven holes, and the world number one is closing in on Rickie Fowler. As is the Scottish Open champion Brandon Stone, who cards the third birdie of a currently blemish-free round at 14.
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: D Johnson (12)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stone (14), Stanley (12*)
Tommy Fleetwood finally gets it going. A 20-footer across 11 drops for birdie - eventually, after running 360 degrees round the wall of death - and he’s back to level par! On that subject, there’s Giddy Gary Naylor in response to our concerns of 9.11pm: “If the Long-Haired Putter From (near) Liverpool was following Everton’s transfers today, it must have reminded him of Ian Poulter’s run of birdies in the Ryder Cup. You kept thinking, ‘This can’t go on like this’ - but it did!”
HOT OFF THE PRESS! Here’s Ewan Murray’s opening dispatch from Bellerive.
Another birdie for Dustin Johnson, a big left-to-right curler toppling in at the very last turn on 11. That’s four birdies in six for the big man, and he’s now -3. Just a shot behind him, Kevin Kisner, who came close at Quail Hollow last year, and nearly won at Carnoustie three weeks ago. He keeps knocking at the door, and after a dropped shot at 4, has just birdied 6, 8 and 9 - the latter the reward for a 50-footer whistled straight into the cup. He’s -2.
-5: Fowler (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stanley (12*), D Johnson (11)
-2: Fox (F), Horschel (F), Matsuyama (F), Ikeda (F), Simpson (F), Grace (F), Fisher (F), Korhonen (F), Kisner (9), Rose (8), Stroud (4)
Another birdie for Justin Rose, rolling one in from Sergio Country to the back of the par-five 8th. He’s -2 now, a magnificent response to that opening-hole bogey. And the resurrection of Jon Rahm continues apace, as he gets up and down from a deep greenside bunker. It’s a wonderful splash out, because he had very little green to play with. The birdie brings him to -1. Bouncing back from that early double bogey could really help Rahm this week: if he can learn to keep his head when things start going wrong, limiting the damage, as he signally didn’t do at Carnoustie, he’s in with a real shout.
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Kyle Stanley is an inch away from making it four birdies in a row at 2. Sergio arrests his decline by raking in a birdie putt from the fringe at 8. He’s level par. And Patrick Reed, who had dropped a further shot at 7, grabs something back from the course at last on 9. He absolutely rattles a 15-footer into the cup, an awful lot of frustration evident. Maybe that’ll help him regain his equilibrium.
Kyle Stanley is coming off the back of a decent top-40 finish at Carnoustie, nothing to be sniffed at for a player with a previously average record in the majors. That good showing at the Open seems to have instilled some confidence in the 30-year-old from Washington: it’s three birdies on the bounce now, the latest at 1, and at -3 he’s just two off Rickie Fowler’s lead.
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Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch! Everyone’s favourite non-stop smiling man, Matt Kuchar, drains back-to-back monsters for back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10. He’s -1. Meanwhile Jon Rahm has responded well to that double-bogey blow at 5. After aggressively going for the flag at the par-three 6th, totally unafraid of the water, he’s not far from birdie. He doesn’t make that one, but he’s only got to wait one more hole before picking up the shot that brings him back to level par. And a birdie at last for Jordan Spieth, who has been quiet since his disastrous start, but birdies 7 to return to +1.
The 1991 champion John Daly nearly drains a long putt across 18 for birdie. Not quite, but he’s turning on 36 strokes, at +1. Speaking of the great man, here’s a marvellous story courtesy of Hubert O’Hearn:
Seeing John Daly out there in his as ever colourful fashion reminds me of one golf story I’m pretty sure I never told you. It was at the 1991 PGA that Daly won as the last qualifier when Nick Price withdrew on Wednesday.
We come to the Sunday, Daly is leading on the front nine and both the galleries and TV ratings were massive. In those days I watched the tournaments through a C Band satellite receiver which gave me the raw feed - when the rest of the world was looking at a beer commercial, I was listening to the announcers making side bets and such.
Gary McCord, who was following the Daly group, called up to Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi. ‘Hey Kenny, they’re talking about disqualifying the kid.’ A viewer had called in and said that Daly had marked his ball a millimetre off the correct spot during the third round. Venturi - who lost the 1958 Masters because of a penalty that wasn’t called against Arnold Palmer - exploded. ‘No way. No f--king way. Where’s Slugger?’ he asked, meaning Slugger White the long-time head of the PGA Rules Committee. ‘He’s in the tent? You sure? Pat, cover for me, I’m going down there.’
Venturi explained when he came back 10 minutes later that he had a frank and open exchange of views with Slugger White, essentially telling him that there was no way that some low-life on his couch was going to ruin this tournament for the greatest breath of fresh air to hit the Tour in years.
Sometimes I wonder if even Daly knows what happened in a scoring tent that day.
Oh Sergio! The 2017 Masters champion is the latest to stumble at the treacherous par-three 6th, though unlike most who have come unstuck, he doesn’t get wet with his tee shot. Instead he gets into some bunker trouble. A double bogey, and he’s +1.
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The Somnambulist is sleepwalking backwards. Jason Dufner cards back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16; his demeanour is exactly the same as it was upon making back-to-back birdies at the start of his round. He’s level par. Meanwhile news of the much-fancied Tommy Fleetwood: he’s +1 through 8, having dropped a shot at 2. Perhaps the Southport superstar’s feeling a bit giddy after Everton’s successful transfer deadline day.
Three birdies in a row for DJ! His latest comes at 8, and the big man is on a roll. He’s -2. Kyle Stanley birdies 17 and 18 to reach the turn in 33. He’s also -2. But it’s a double for Jon Rahm at 5; he slips back to +1.
Marc Leishman has followed up his chip-in birdie at 5 with another birdie at 7. And it’s back-to-back birdies for Bubba, the latest at 8! They’re two of the small number of players out on the course this afternoon nibbling away at the top of the leader board. YE Yang has been another, though a dropped shot at 15 has put a slight stop to his gallop up the standings.
-5: Fowler (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F)
-2: Fox (F), Horschel (F), Matsuyama (F), Ikeda (F), Simpson (F), Grace (F), Fisher (F), Korhonen (F), Stone (9), Watson (8), Leishman (7), Yang (6*)
From the dropzone at 6, Open champion Francesco Molinari can only send his third onto the front edge of the green. He can’t drain the long bogey putt, and slumps to +3. Carnoustie will seem a long way away right now. Well, it is a long way away, there’s no direct bus route between Missouri and Angus, but you get the general point. There’s a three-putt birdie for his playing partner Patrick Reed, the Masters winner slipping to +2. And completing the set, a double for the US Open champ Brooks Koepka, who like Molinari before him found the water with his tee shot! Wow. Misery consumes this year’s major champions.
Things are unravelling quickly for the new Open champion Francesco Molinari. Having just dropped a shot at 5, he’s just made a heavy contact with his tee shot at the par-three 6th, sending his ball into the drink guarding the front right. It’s back-to-back birdies for Dustin Johnson, at 6 and 7: he’s -1. A first birdie of the day for Bubba Watson at 7. And another birdie for YE Yang! The former champ is -3. There are currently 39 players within four strokes of Rickie Fowler’s lead. Factor Rickie out - he’s two clear of the field - and that’s 38 players bunched at the top within a couple of shots of each other. And there are a further 27 competitors at level par!
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Brandon Stone, the young South African who was a whisker away from shooting 59 on his way to winning the Scottish Open last month, continues to live in the zone. He’s out in 33, having birdied 1 and 8; that puts him at -2. Meanwhile the 2009 champ YE Yang has started briskly with birdies at 10 and 11. He’s -2 as well. “After today’s washout at Lord’s, I was wondering whether there had ever been an occasion where an entire day’s play at a golf major had been lost without a shot being hit in anger?” wonders Simon McMahon. “If Spieth continues as he started, he might wish it was today.” I’m pretty sure there was a full day lost to rain and high winds at Birkdale, when Arnie won the Open in 1961. There may well be others, but there’s one.
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Justin Rose has turned things around rather nicely after that opening-hole bogey. Birdies at 2 and 3, and suddenly he’s in red figures. Also at -1: Marc Leishman, after chipping in from the back of 5. And there’s another chip-in, a spectacular one from the bottom of a bank to the side of 6: it’s brought world number one Dustin Johnson back to level par. A few of the afternoon starters are beginning to warm up now!
Poor Matt Dobyns. The NY club pro started out with three straight birdies, but he’s handed all three shots back down the right of 5, failing dismally to extricate himself from deep rough. That’s an awful shame, though it does give me a useful segue into this dispatch from St Louis, courtesy of Kevin Gier: “You may have noticed that Dobyns hits 13 clubs right handed but putts left-handed. Yeah, ‘Left Hand Low’ and cross-handed grips may be hot these days, but this is taking it to a new level. Anyways, I’m here in STL and to say that the sporting community here has been excited for this event would be an understatement. Last time we had all the big names in golf here was 2008 …when Tiger was absent. Last time Tiger was scheduled to play at Bellerive was 2001 … a tournament that got cancelled because of 9/11. This may be the fourth major, but to us here it’s massive as the galleries can attest.” Enjoy your day, Kevin.
Tyrrell Hatton is diametrically opposed to The Somnambulist in temperamental terms. The 26-year-old from High Wycombe enjoys a good fume: his hot funks are usually entertaining and sometimes even endearing. He’s got everyman appeal, you see, because we’ve all completely lost the head while playing golf at some point, haven’t we. The red mist hasn’t descended yet, though after handing back the early birdie he’d made at 11 by bogeying 13, he won’t be in the best humour right now. God speed, Tyrrell. Deep breaths. Meanwhile a bounceback birdie for Justin Rose at 2. But no bounceback birdie for Dustin Johnson at 5, having shed a shot at 4. He remains at +1 after shaving the hole from distance.
Spieth is out in a group with Justin Rose and Jon Rahm. All three of them will have serious designs on this trophy, but only one of them has started well. Rose bogeys 1, but Rahm birdies it. Another Spaniard quickly out of the blocks: it’s Sergio! Birdie at 2. Meanwhile a fast start for the 2013 champion Jason ‘The Somnambulist’ Dufner, who trudges around in the blissed-out style whatever’s happening to him. He’s just birdied 10 and 11, a perfect start, not that you’d know it as he strolls off with all the intensity of a man popping downstairs to make a mug of Ovaltine. It’s impossible not to love Jason Dufner.
Jordan Spieth is at Bellerive this week with a view to completing the career grand slam at the age of 25. The 2015 Masters, 2015 US Open and 2017 Open champion needs the PGA to complete the set. Whether this long course is the best fit for him is another matter. And he’s struggling at the opening hole. He sends his tee shot into the trees down the right, and can only hack further down the hole, still in the filth. He’s in thick stuff, shortsided, with a bunker between his ball and the hole. It’s all he can do to send a wedge into the heart of the green and hope to hold the putting surface. Which is what he just about does. He’s left with a long, long two putts for bogey. And though he lags up to four feet from distance, he can’t make the bogey putt. A double to start. He’s +2, and looks uncharacteristically hot and flustered.
Ollie Schniederjans pars the last to sign for a three-under 67. That’s a really solid round by the 25-year-old from Dallas, who is making his PGA Championship debut this week. Schneiderjans finished in a tie for 15th at the 2015 Open at St Andrews as an amateur, a final-day 67 catapulting him up the standings that day. He was only six shots shy of the play-off eventually won by Zach Johnson. This is his first big statement since turning pro in 2015.
The fastest start of the week has been made by club professional Matt Dobyns. The 40-year-old from Fresh Meadow Country Club in Lake Success, New York, has played in the PGA Championship four times before, qualifying by either winning (twice) the PGA Professional Championship for club pros and teachers or finishing high in the tournament. His first three holes: birdie, birdie, birdie. He’s -3, and a member of the big group tied for second. A moment worth capturing in amber:
-5: Fowler (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (17), Dobyns (3)
This afternoon’s marquee match is out. It’s the traditional grouping of the Masters, US Open and Open champions: Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari. And there’s immediate trouble for Reed, who splashes out hot from a bunker guarding the front of the green. He reads the line of the 20-footer he’s left himself coming back perfectly ... but fails to give his putt enough juice. These greens are slower than the PGA Tour pros are used to. Bogey. Koepka misses a short one for birdie; then Molinari does the same. Nobody’s particularly happy. In fact, everyone’s got a face on, and they’ve all won major championships within the last four months. That’s golf for you!
Perhaps the most controlled round of golf so far today has been completed by Jason Day. A 67 compiled quietly: he made birdies at 15 and 1, then when he finally dropped one at 6, the 2015 champ responded with further birdies at 7 and 8. Ian Poulter also birdied those holes, turning a round that had initially looked promising before threatening to head south into something very worthwhile. He’s also -3.
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There was a fairly miserable end to the round for Rafa Cabrera Bello. The Spaniard had got himself into a tie for the lead at one point, but bogeys at 13, 16 and 17 soured his day. He signed for a level-par 70. Xander Schauffele will be much happier with his 70, having come back in 32 strokes after a disastrous front nine.
But he can’t save himself. A one-under 69 for Justin Thomas, who was going very nicely indeed until the last six holes. Still, the defending champion is still well in the mix, as are his partners. Two putts for Rory mean he’s parred the last nine holes today; he ends with a level-par 70, his putter having let him down once or twice along the way. Twas ever thus. And par for Tiger, who ends up with a level-par 70. That’s a very decent effort after his miserable bogey/double bogey start. His comeback began when he stopped using his driver. His caddie really should take it off him and hide it somewhere, perhaps snapping it into little pieces first.
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Thanks to Michael. Now then, here comes the morning marquee group, up their last hole of the day. Rory takes 3-wood off the 9th tee for safety, and flays it into some sort of fenced-off holding area down the right. He gets a free drop from over the fence, then hits high into the heart of the green. That’s some result after an awful tee shot. Justin Thomas meanwhile sends his drive into the bunker on the left of the fairway ... then tops his second into the face of the bunker, the ball squeezing apologetically out and onto the fairway 20 yards up the hole. Amateurs will have been there many times. What amateurs are not so good at doing is responding like the world number two, who wedges his third to ten feet and will have chance of salvaging a par.
Scott is back from his break, I’ll hand back the reins. Enjoy the rest of day one!
Speaking of four-letter words …
I've never known anyone to swear more on a golf course than Pat Perez. Constant stream of profanity 😂
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) August 9, 2018
Perez is in the clubhouse for 67, tied for second. In fact there are seven players at -3, including Ian Poulter, who also signs for a 67. He’s the only European player in the top 17 at present, there are nine Americans.
@michaelbutler18 we all keep saying if Jon Rahm can keep his emotions in check he’ll win a major soon hope he doesn’t have to wait as long as Sergio. A European winner would be great having half the majors going into the Ryder Cup! Funny feeling there’ll be a home winner!
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) August 9, 2018
Back to our marquee group and Rory, Tiger and Thomas all find the fairway. McIlroy is right on the right edge, so has a little more (275 yards) to get to the green, but a better angle into it on the dog-leg left. It matters not as all three players leave it short: Rory and Woods squirt into the rough just next to the bunkers guarding the front of the green. Thomas is a bit further back but his next chip is short again, there’s no mic on the American but it’s fairly easy to see a four-letter word coming out of his mouth. He’ll have to settle for par.
Tiger and Rory get up onto the dancefloor and both have birdie putts: Tiger’s is right to left, and he nails it! He’s back to even par! It’s been a fight to get there after a shocking start but he’s done it. Can Rory follow suit? Nope, the Northern Irishman’s putt stays right. Both Rory and Tiger at evens then, Thomas remains -2.
Fowler leads by two, signing off for a five-under 65!
Fowler pulls two shots clear and is in the clubhouse for 65! Five under for the day. Wow, that’s some round from the 29-year-old. The closest Fowler has gotten to winning a major was his second-placed finish at the Masters earlier this year, could this be his time?
A strong start for leader @RickieFowler.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 9, 2018
Could this be his week? pic.twitter.com/nI6jpVhxyf
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A wayward drive from Rory sees him lodged in a bunker on the edge of the 7th fairway. Thomas and Woods both middle theirs but all three are on the dancefloor for birdie opportunities. Tiger rolls his effort to within a few inches, Rory creeps just part the right edge – ooooo close! – and Thomas’s goes for a ride round the rim of the hole, but doesn’t drop! The American looks to the heavens in desperation.
It’s as you were then. They go onto the par-five 8th, 610 yards, one of just two par-fives on the course this year. It’s arguably the easiest hole.
Austin Cook finishes his round with a birdie – that’s three in his final six holes – and it in the clubhouse for an excellent 67. He’s tied for second at the moment with Ian Poulter, Stewart Cink and Pat Perez, who has just birdied the 17th.
You can read Andy Bull’s excellent profile of Perez from the Open right here.
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Morning/afternoon/evening anyone. At the par-three 6th, Tiger overshoots his tee-shot way to the left, Rory lands his on the left edge of the green – he’ll have a tricky chip for a second shot. Thomas squirts his right at the pin, but slightly mis-judges the distance – it just about clears the water, lands in the first cut and gently rolls onto the front of the green for a 15 footer.
Tiger is first to play the second shot, and he dinks it perfectly to within three feet, which means he should be on for his par. Rory rolls a nice putt to within a few inches and taps in for par. Thomas is long and right with his birdie attempt before Tiger makes his par, that’s an excellent save. Pars all round. Tiger remains +1, Rory at evens and Thomas -2.
A slight delay on the par-three 6th, as the group in front take their own sweet time to tidy up. As Tiger, JT and Rory wait, I’ll take the opportunity to nip off for a glass of water and maybe a slice of bread ... Michael Butler will look after you in the meantime. See you soon!
Pars all round in the marquee group on the testing par-four 5th. Incidentally, if you’ve been watching any of the coverage, you might have spotted a yellow ribbon on the cap of Justin Thomas. Plenty of players are wearing them. They’re being worn in memory of Jarrod Lyle, who sadly passed away yesterday after finally succumbing to cancer. It’s worth taking a minute to read this moving tribute by Matt Cleary.
Rickie Fowler has just drained a 30-footer from the fringe at 7 to move into the lead on his own. Meanwhile Ryan Fox, a member of the first group out, is back in the clubhouse with his Stylos up, a two-under 68 the early mark.
-4: Fowler (16*)
-3: Cink (11*)
-2: Fox (F), Cook (17), Horschel (16), Matsuyama (16*), Poulter (16*), Perez (15*), Day (14*), Sharma (13*), Thomas (13*), Simpson (12*), Vegas (12*), Grace (11*), Korhonen (9), Suri (9*)
The morning marquee group make their way down 4 in a fairly average style. Only McIlroy finds the green in regulation, albeit nowhere near the flag; Tiger’s in the bunker at the front right, while Thomas is 30 yards short, both situations the result of errant drives. JT’s chip up has a bit too much backspin, and he’s left with a missable eight-footer. It lips out on the right, and that’s his first bogey of the day: he’s -2, leaving Rickie Fowler and Stewart Cink alone in the lead at -3. Tiger - who is shortsided - flicks a delightful sand wedge to four feet and tidies up for par. He remains at +1. And McIlroy lags his long birdie putt to a couple of feet - it never looked like dropping, always off to the right - and par will suffice for him too. He stays at level par.
Woods, McIlroy and Thomas make two-putt pars and move on. Elsewhere, Xander Schauffele has done extremely well to salvage his round. Having drifted out to +3, birdies at 2, 3 and 6, surrounding bogey at 4, have taken him back up to +1. Meanwhile Julian Suri, a New Yorker plying his trade on the European Tour, is making his Stateside major-championship debut (he’s already played in two Opens). He’s the great-great-grandson of Buchi Babu Naidu, a socialite who was a prime mover of the development of cricket in India. The 27-year-old has one tour victory to his name - the 2017 Made in Denmark - was runner-up at the recent French Open, and tied for 28th at last month’s Open. Birdies at 13 and 17 have lifted him to -2.
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The morning marquee group move on to the 153-yard par-three 3rd. All three find the green, though Thomas pushes his tee shot a bit, and his ball briefly threatens to topple off down the bank to the right and off towards the drink. That’s where Phil Mickelson put his ball a little while before. A second double-bogey of the day for Lefty, and he’s slipped all the way down the leaderboard to +4. There are only four players worse off than the six-time major champion right now, and three of those are club professionals.
Tiger can’t quite make it three birdies in a row, a big left-to-right breaker down the slope at 2 stopping a couple of inches short. But at least he appears to have rediscovered his rhythm. He’s +1. Par for the co-leader and reigning champ JT: he stays at -3. And finally Rory should be celebrating a birdie, after wedging to six feet ... but his flat stick lets him down from short distance again, the ball horseshoeing out. He remains at level par, and he’s got the funk on after that one.
Cabrera Bello bogeys 13 to fall out of a share of the lead. Mr 62, Branden Grace, birdies 12 and 17 to join the group just behind the leaders. And Finland’s Mikko Korhonen, the winner of this year’s Shot Clock Masters, making his major-championship debut at 38, has birdied 2, 5 and now 7. Factor in bogey at 6, and he’s -2 as well.
-3: Fowler (13*), Thomas (10*), Cink (8*)
-2: Cook (15), Cabrera Bello (13), Horschel (13), Matsuyama (13*), Perez (12*), Day (11*), Sharma (10*), Simpson (9*), Grace (8*), Korhonen (7)
Back-to-back birdies for Tiger! He’s got his rangefinder working perfectly at the moment, sending his second at 1 to four feet. In goes the putt, and he’s back to +1. Pars for JT and Rory, who remain at -3 and level respectively. Meanwhile the extremely promising young Indian star Shubhankar Sharma has been slowly acclimatising to major-championship golf: the 22-year-old rookie missed the cut at this year’s Masters and the US Open, but tied for 51st at Carnoustie. He’s already got a top-ten WGC finish on his CV, though, plus two European Tour titles. And maybe he’s about to make his first mark on a major this week: birdies at 18 and 1 have catapulted him up the standings to -2.
Rafa Cabrera Bello joins the group in front! Birdie at 12 gives him a share of the lead at -3. And he’s joined there by Rickie Fowler, who is cooking now, following up birdie at 1 with another at 3. Jason Day has meanwhile been as steady as you like, with birdies at 15 and now 1. And this year’s Players champion Webb Simpson, who has really come back into form of late after a quiet period in the wake of his 2012 US Open win, birdies 12 and 17 to join the pack just behind the leaders. It’s an intriguing leader board already!
-3: Fowler (12*), Cabrera Bello (12), Thomas (9*), Cink (7*)
-2: Cook (14), Horschel (12), Poulter (12*), Matsuyama (12*), Perez (11*), Day (10*), Simpson (8*)
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A brilliant swish out of the thick rough at the back of 18, and Rory flops to ten feet. He couldn’t have done much better from there; he had very little green to play with. But he can’t make the par saver, seriously overcooking the putt. A bogey that sends him back to level par, turning in 35. Par for JT, who doesn’t hit the six-footer he’d left himself. But a deserved birdie for Tiger, who had gone real close. He’s still +2, turning in 37, but that’ll have cheered him up after a difficult stretch of holes.
Tiger and JT pepper the flag at 18. McIlroy’s coming out of the rough, though, and gets a flyer that slam-dunks into the thick stuff at the back of the green. He’s down a steep bank, forced to move back a row of punters and a fence before wedging back up. While he’s doing that, there’s been some golf action going on elsewhere. “My six-year-old son has just monstered the dinosaur mini-golf in Blackpool Tower, tearing me apart with a destructive display of match-play golf,” reports Matt Dony. “Give him a few years, you’ll be typing his name. If he plays to his full potential, it will be just him, Ian Poulter and Tiger.” On one hand, I really hope you are right, and that 20 years down the line, I’m here typing his name. On the other, I really hope that 20 years down the line, I’m not still here typing etc., and so on, and so forth.
Pars all round for Rory, Tiger and JT at the dangerous par-five 17th. The hole’s averaging more than five shots so far, so that’s a result of sorts. Meanwhile the veteran Jim Furyk slips back into the pack at level par with bogeys at 18 and 2. Perhaps he’s got half a mind on next month’s Ryder Cup; he’ll be the US captain at Le Golf National. Are you excited about that, as well? Yes, we’ve got the fever too. Le docteur Golf, maintenant, s’il vous plaît!
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Another birdie for Rickie Fowler! Marvellous. The new Sergio birdies 1 to rise to -2, one off the lead still shared by Justin Thomas and Stewart Cink. He’s out with Hideki Matsuyama, another player who simply has to win one of the big four sometime soon, surely. The 26-year-old Japanese star birdies 1; he’s -2. Also one off the lead: Rafa Cabrera Bello and Billy Horschel, who both made their move up the leader board after birdies at 8 and 9.
Phil Mickelson’s early charge has come to a shuddering halt. Lefty double bogeys the par-four 15th, the result of a wild drive into rough down the right, from which he couldn’t escape the first time. He’s +1. Better news of Rickie Fowler, who played the back nine in 34, birdies at 14 and 17 sandwiching a dropped shot at 16. He’s -1, and surely has to win a major some day. But then we said that about Monty and Lee Westwood too, and look what happened there. God speed, Rickie.
Tony Finau, a top-ten finisher at the Masters, the US Open and the Open this year, has been struggling this morning. Out in 40, after bogeys at 10, 15 and 17, plus his aforementioned double at 12. But as he’s turned, a new leaf: birdie at 1, and he’s back to +4. Meanwhile here’s someone else who has enjoyed a good year in the majors ... until now. Xander Schauffele, who tied for sixth at the US Open, then second at Carnoustie last month having run out of steam over the closing couple of holes, is out in 38: bogeys at 10, 12 and 15, and he’s +3.
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Tiger’s good mood didn’t last too long. He sends an awful tee shot at the par-three 16th left and long, his ball clattering into the bleachers. He gets a free drop, but only into some thick fescue, and his flop up towards the green lands short, sticking in the thick stuff. The crowd gasp, their hero seriously struggling this morning. He’s got a full-jets fume blaring away right now. Despite all that, he very nearly holes his chip to complete another ridiculous scramble, but this time his ball stops an inch short. He’s +3. Workaday pars for Rory and JT.
The ever-evolving early leader board.
-3: Thomas (6*), Cink (4*)
-2: Cabrera Bello (9), Horschel (9), Poulter (8*), Perez (8)
-1: A large group containing the likes of McIlroy (6*), Fowler (8*), Day (7*), Matsuyama (8*) and Lowry (9)
Tiger spends an age drying his hands with a towel. It’s almost as if he’s symbolically telling himself: right, time to stop struggling, time to get to work. And in goes the right-to-left slider. He allows himself a smile, then a grin, then a laugh. He’s really pulled one out of the fire there! He remains at +2. But he’s five off the lead at -3, which is now shared between Justin Thomas - who couldn’t have played the 14th in a more fuss-free fashion, splitting the fairway then wedging to three feet to set up birdie - and Stewart Cink, who has made it three birdies on the spin with his latest at 13. Ian Poulter failed to get up and down from a bunker at 17 to slip back to -2.
Tiger decides to go for it anyway, trying to craft a sensational Bubba-at-the-Masters-style hook shot from the trees. He overdoes it, and clips a branch down the left. He’s left with the same sort of problem, having to hook a wedge right-to-left from 70 yards, a tree in the way of his direct line to the flag. And this time it’s outrageous, toying with overhanging branches and the bunker at the front, but landing his ball in the only place that’ll get it rolling towards the flag! He’s put that to within five feet! He’s given himself the chance of a quite ludicrous par scramble. Tiger!
Birdies for 2015 Bridgestone champion Shane Lowry at 6 and 8. And another birdie for Keegan Bradley at 15. The pair join the group on the shoulder of Ian Poulter. Meanwhile Tiger’s driver continues to get him into awful trouble. He hooks one down a bank to the left of 15; there’s absolutely no chance of his reaching the green in two from there.
-3: Poulter (7*)
-2: Fox (10), Lowry (8), Bradley (6*), Thomas (5*), Cink (3)
Pars for Tiger, Rory and JT on 14. All three struggle a little with the pace of the green; the putting surfaces at Bellerive are a bit slower than these chaps are used to on the PGA Tour, having had a good soaking when the rain came earlier this week. Plenty of sun out now, but still not enough to totally dry them out. Meanwhile back-to-back birdies for 2009 dreamwrecker Open champion Stewart Cink, at 11 and 12. He’s joined Fox, Furyk and JT at -2.
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Phil Mickelson would become the second oldest major winner in history if he lifts the Wanamaker Trophy this week. He’d be a couple of months shy of the record set by 48-year-old Julius Boros, the all-action 1968 PGA champion. He’s currently -1, a couple off Poulter’s early lead, birdies at 11 and 14 sandwiching a dropped shot at 12.
Now it’s Rory’s turn to twirl his club in satisfaction after a good job done, as he sends his tee shot at the 190-yard par-three 13th pin high to 12 feet. The putt’s fairly straight, and in it goes. His second birdie of the day, and he moves to -1. Pars for Tiger and JT, meanwhile, the latter saving his with a delicate splash to a couple of feet from the bunker to the left. Meanwhile Ian Poulter has been in sensational form on the PGA Tour of late. Top-ten finishes at the RBC Heritage, the WGC Match Play and last week’s WGC Bridgestone, plus that win at the Houston Open. The 42-year-old from Hitchen now birdies 15, and he hits the lead on his own!
-3: Poulter (6*)
-2: Fox (9), Furyk (7*), Thomas (3*)
You can’t keep a 14-time major winner down! Tiger splits the fairway at 12, then sends a crisp wedge high into the air. The camera loses the flight of the ball, but no matter, because Tiger’s twirled his club; you know he likes it. And with good reason, because he lands his second ten feet past the flag, the ball spinning back to kick-in distance. He’ll be back to +2. McIlroy, having hit the longest drive, 338 yards, ends up furthest out after a very average wedge in. He’ll have to make do with par. And finally Thomas, whose second to eight feet would have looked wonderful had it not been hit after Tiger’s sensational wedge. Not that he really cares about that: in goes the putt, and last week’s winner in Akron make it back-to-back birdies. He joins the group of early leaders at -2: JT, Fox, Furyk and Poulter ... but no Cook, who bogeys the par-five 8th after finding water down the right.
The leading group at -2 are joined by Ryan Fox, who birdies 8. But Adam Hadwin slips back into the pack at -1 with bogey at 4. Eternal bridesmaid Rickie Fowler picks up his first stroke of the week at 14. Pat Perez, coming off the back of his fine showing at the Open, birdies 11. And a couple of former champions record an early birdie: 2011’s Keegan Bradley at 12, 2008’s Padraig Harrington at 2.
-2: Fox (9), Cook (7), Furyk (7*), Poulter (5*)
-1: Thomas (2*), Fowler (5*), Hocknull (7), Horschel (5), Perez (4*), Harrington (4), Hadwin (4), Bradley (3*)
Nope, it’s a double bogey for Tiger, whose putt at 11 stubbornly stays high on the right of the cup. He was always a notoriously slow starter in the majors, even in his pomp, dropping shots and losing balls on the opening holes. But he’s already given himself a job of work. He’s +3, and looking extremely put out. Especially as both of his partners make their birdie putts: Rory’s back to level par, while JT looks in the mood to launch a serious defence of his title. He’s -1 and hasn’t looked like putting a foot wrong.
The 362-yard par-four 11th is one the players have their beady eyes on. A real birdie chance. JT and Rory set themselves up, the reigning champ wedging his ball to four feet. But it’s disaster for Tiger, who sends his tee shot left into more thick rough, then puts his second into the water guarding the front right of the green. He wedges to 15 feet, but he’ll need to knock that one in to limit the damage to bogey. He’s already a picture of extreme frustration.
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Adam Hadwin doesn’t have much of a major-championship CV. His best finish is a tie for 24th at this year’s Masters. But the 30-year-old Canadian does share the US Open record for consecutive birdies - six, at Erin Hills in 2017 - and once shot a 59 on Tour. Maybe he’s ready to make his major mark this week? He’s become the first man to reach -2, with birdies at 2 and 3. And he’s since been joined by 2003 US Open champ Jim Furyk (5*), Austin Cook (7) and our very own Ian Poulter, who has started very nicely indeed with birdies at 11 and 12.
Rory is left with a lengthy bunker shot. He swings long and easy, and lands his ball a couple of feet from the flag. Only problem is, it bites hard and spins back the best part of 15 feet. His par effort slides by the left of the cup, and that’s an opening bogey. Tiger doesn’t hit his long par saver at all, walking after it, fuming with himself. He does very well to tidy up from six feet to limit the damage to bogey. Meanwhile an easy two-putt par for JT. This isn’t going to be one of those marquee groups in which everyone drags each other down, is it? Please no, we’ve had more than enough of that this year.
Tiger’s got a thick lie in rough down the right of the long par-four 10th. His ball’s against the grain, to the extent that he’s forced to take his medicine and lay up. He finds the green with his third, though the ball nearly spins back off the front, leaving a lengthy par putt. Rory meanwhile is into the thick stuff on the right as well, but the grass is facing the right way and he’s able to have a lash at the green. He comes up short, and though he manages to get over the creek, he finds a bunker at the front. JT finds the middle of the dancefloor; he’ll be left with a lengthy birdie chance.
Here comes the morning marquee group! The defending champion Justin Thomas, who won so convincingly at Quail Hollow last year; the 2012 and 2014 PGA champion Rory McIlroy; and the 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 winner Tiger Woods. These three are the only players to have won both a major championship and a WGC title under the age of 26. All of them belt monster drives down 10; only Thomas manages to find the centre of the fairway, though. Given the generosity of the tracks around Bellerive, that’s a poor return.
A big save for Phil Mickelson, opening at 10. He sends his drive way out to the left, and can only lay up. He’s left with a tricky left-to-right breaker from 15 feet to save his par ... and he makes it. A broad smile: the 2005 champ has got away with one there. He bounces off the green, his sunny demeanour matching the weather. It’s beautiful at Bellerive.
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A disastrous start to one of the pre-tournament favourites Tony Finau. The gentle giant from Utah has finished in the top ten at all three of the majors played so far this season, but completing the set already looks like an uphill task. Bogey at 10, followed by a double at 12, the result of finding a greenside bunker then sending his escape through the back of the green. He’s already +3.
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Some more players have joined the group leading the way early doors at -1. Alexander Bjork of Sweden has birdied 4; Yuta Ikeda of Japan has picked up a shot on the opening hole; and freewheeling entertainer Brandt Snedeker, slowly playing his way back into form after a rib injury took him out last year, birdies 12.
In the UK, this tournament is going out on 11 Sports, one of those new-fangled internet concerns they have these days. It’s been a fairly rocky start to their coverage: in lieu of live action, billed to begin at 1.30pm BST, we’ve had shots of Tiger warming up on the range, to the soundtrack of ear-perforating test tone. Then a few minutes of the host broadcaster’s commentary team cleaning their throats, adjusting the height of their chairs, mopping their brows, trying to get a recalcitrant scoring computer to work, and thankfully not saying anything wildly appropriate having assumed they are off-air and a new broadcaster over the pond isn’t erroneously transmitting the feed. Not the most auspicious of beginnings. But then again a false start didn’t do BBC2 any harm in the long run, so they’re in good company.
So here we go again, a mere three weeks after the Open, when Francesco Molinari tamed the beast of Carnoustie to win Italy’s first major championship. Going into that week, Ryan Fox was a dark-horse tip, having finished high at the Italian, Irish and Scottish opens. It wasn’t to be - he finished in a tie for 39th place - but the in-form Kiwi has started well as he goes again today. Out in the very first group this morning, he registered the first birdie of the 100th PGA Championship, wedging to seven feet on the opening hole and tidying up. He’s since been joined at -1 by Austin Cook, wasting no time on his PGA Championship debut. The following leader board doesn’t really mean much ... but then again, if you’ve led the PGA Championship, you’ve led the PGA Championship.
-1: Fox (3), Cook (3)
E: Pepperell (3), Berberian, Jr. (3*), Hocknull (3), Bjork (3), Snedeker (2*), Li (2*), Cabrero Bello (1), Streelman (1), Hahn (1)
Welcome to Bellerive Country Club, St Louis, Missouri, where the world’s best golfers line up to take one final pop at Glory’s Last Shot. You see, as of next year, the PGA Championship moves forward in the schedule to May. No longer will this famous old tournament represent the year’s final opportunity to make it into the pantheon. It’s the end of a chapter. It’s also the 100th edition of the Championship. An appropriate time, perhaps, to turn the page.
Bellerive has hosted the PGA once before. In 1992, Nick Price saw off Gene Sauers and Nick Faldo to lift the Wanamaker Trophy, the signature moment of his win a 105-foot putt at the 12th on Saturday. The US Open has been held here, too: Gary Player won that in 1965 by beating Kel Nagle in a play-off, the first time the tournament was broadcast in living color. It’s a short roll of honour, then, but one of the highest possible quality. Who’ll be joining the elite company of Player and Price come Sunday evening?
Bellerive is a very long course - 7,547 yards - so in theory it’s likely to be one of the big hitters. World number one Dustin Johnson is the favourite; defending champion Justin Thomas isn’t far behind him, coming off the back of a win in Akron. The double US Open winner Brooks Koepka has been relentless in the majors of late: his tie for 39th at Carnoustie was the first time he’d failed to finish 13th or better since the 2016 Masters. These guys are hot.
But Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood and Jason Day will be licking their lips in anticipation as well. See also Rory McIlroy; he just needs to get that damn putter warmed up. Or how about Tony Finau, who has finished in the top ten of all the majors so far this year? Francesco Molinari, the new Open champion and a runner-up at last year’s PGA, might not be the longest on tour but he is reliably accurate. A lack of distance off the tee might compromise Jordan Spieth’s bid to complete a career slam; a lack of accuracy off it might do for the rejuvenated Tiger Woods. On the other hand, there are few competitors more determined, more dogged, more brilliant than those two. So you never know.
Hey, maybe someone will burst out of the pack and claim a Championship that’s often won by a relative outsider! Back in the day, few predicted victories for Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, YE Yang, Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem or John Daly. But there they are, their names forever engraved on the Wanamaker Trophy. Another fairytale would do just fine. Speaking of which, how about Lefty becoming the second-oldest major winner of all time, a couple of months shy of Julius Boros, who won this thing in 1968 aged 48 years, four months and 18 days? The possibilities are endless. It’s all too much.
So here we are, with four days of major championship fun stretching out ahead of us. Excited? Oh yes. On tenterhooks? You betcha. Overcome by golf fever? Us too. Somebody, please, call Dr Golf!
Here are the tee times. All players are from the US unless stated, and the times are local. (We’re six hours ahead in the UK; you do the math.)
Starting at the 1st ...
0650 Eddie Pepperell (Eng), Michael Block, Ryan Fox (Nzl)
0701 Austin Cook, Craig Hocknull (Aus), Alexander Bjork (Swe)
0712 Yusaku Miyazato (Jpn), Bob Sowards, Scott Brown
0723 Thomas Bjorn (Den), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), James Hahn
0734 Billy Horschel, Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Shane Lowry (Irl)
0745 Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Brian Harman, Adam Hadwin (Can)
0756 Jimmy Walker, Padraig Harrington (Irl), Vijay Singh (Fij)
0807 Bryson DeChambeau, Andy Sullivan (Eng), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)
0818 Cameron Smith (Aus), Ryan Armour, Peter Uihlein
0829 Paul Dunne (Irl), J.B. Holmes, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
0840 Charles Howell III, Jason Schmuhl, Brian Gay
0851 David Muttitt, Ollie Schniederjans, Troy Merritt
0902 Shawn Warren, Mikko Korhonen (Fin), J.J. Spaun
1220 Brandon Stone (Rsa), Johan Kok (Rsa), Whee Kim (Kor)
1231 Matt Wallace (Eng), Matt Dobyns, Beau Hossler
1242 Chris Wood (Eng), Alex Noren (Swe), Matt Kuchar
1253 Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott (Aus)
1304 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Marc Leishman (Aus)
1315 Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Francesco Molinari (Ita)
1326 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Gary Woodland, Kevin Kisner
1337 Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm (Spa), Justin Rose (Eng)
1348 Paul Casey (Eng), Aaron Wise, Zach Johnson
1359 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Thomas Pieters (Bel), Bill Haas
1410 Lee Westwood (Eng), Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Daniel Berger
1421 Omar Uresti, Justin Harding (Rsa), Andrew Landry
1432 Matthew Borchert, Chris Stroud, Andrew Putnam
... and starting at the 10th ...
0655 Rich Berberian Jr., Jamie Lovemark, Shugo Imahira (Jpn)
0706 Brandt Snedeker, Sean McCarty, Haotong Li (Chn)
0717 Jim Furyk, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele
0728 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Davis Love III, Rich Beem
0739 Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Ian Poulter (Eng)
0750 Danny Willett (Eng), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Pat Perez
0801 Jason Day (Aus), Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley
0812 Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Jordan Smith (Eng), Scott Piercy
0823 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
0834 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Webb Simpson, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
0845 Stewart Cink, Branden Grace (Rsa), Ryan Moore
0856 Ross Fisher (Eng), Alexander Levy (Fra), Patton Kizzire
0907 Julian Suri, Sungjae Imn (Kor), Craig Bowden
1215 Chesson Hadley, Daniel Balin, Russell Henley
1226 Marty Jertson, Luke List, Kevin Chappell
1237 Nick Watney, Jaysen Hansen, Kyle Stanley
1248 Ted Potter, Jr., Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Jorge Campillo (Spa)
1259 Ryan Vermeer, Paul Broadhurst (Eng), John Daly
1310 Si Woo Kim (Kor), Brice Garnett, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
1321 Yong-eun Yang (Kor), Shaun Micheel, Jason Dufner
1332 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Patrick Cantlay
1343 Brendan Steele, Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Kevin Na
1354 Charley Hoffman, Chez Reavie, Russell Knox (Sco)
1405 Michael Kim, Seung-su Han, Zachary J Johnson
1416 Brian Smock, Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra)
1427 Ben Kern, Ryuko Tokimatsu (Jpn), Chris Kirk
Updated
