Xander Schauffele (-9) has put all his rivals in line on the first day of the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, which is played on the Valhalla course (Kentucky). The American has flown with -9, nine birdiesand no stain, three strokes ahead of Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala, four over Rory McIlroy and five over Scottie Scheffler. Schauffele’s 62 shots are a historical record for the tournament, surpassing José María Olazabal’s mark from 10 years ago, precisely on the same stage
Scheffler started at number one in the world. With a superb eagleon hole 1, a par four, a bingo from the fairway that anticipated another walk by the winner of the Augusta Masters. There have been comings and goings since then, accelerations and some slowdowns, especially the feeling that without yet exploring his best game, especially with the puttsthe recent dad sneaks into the best of each tournament without apparent difficulty.
More eventful was Rahm’s return, who gritted his teeth to turn around a round that had started very badly: four bogeysin the first six holes in a sequence of unfortunate shots, a trip, another puttfailed short, greenslost on a course with many unevenness that penalizes those errors and trips to the undergrowth… In the background, the feeling that the game was not at all fine despite the fact that the Basque had stated that he had played “good golf” is season. The title drought, the longest of his professional career, has lasted since April 9, 2023, when he donned the green jacket.
The reaction came on the par fives, the 7 and the 10, with both birdies, and then especially with discounted shots also in the 13th, 14th and 17th and 18th in a grand finale to the day. Of the four bogeysin the first six holes at four birdiesin the last six, from depression to hope. In the worst moments, the most competitive version of the Spaniard emerged to convert those four strokes over par, a result that would have discouraged anyone, into a -1 that places him in the fight with three days ahead. Rahm could have been left with no chance of victory this Thursday, but he resists there, from less to more. The Spanish performance was completed by Adrián Otaegui also with -1 and David Puig with +1.
Golf has no mercy even for its greatest legends. Tiger Woods handed out a +1 card after carrying two bogeyson the final holes of his round, the 8th and 9th, just when he was getting his head out after a day of holding on to the course with his claws. El Tigre started on the 10th hole, a par five in which an opportunity to win was created. birdie. He puttWoods overturned and at the next stop he charged with a bogeyat 11, a par three in which he lurched roughto the bunker. It was the sign that another round of suffering awaited him, the custom in these times of a very worn body at 48 years old. In the 12th he lost the exit street. Again against the ropes, this time the 15 grand champion emerged to save par with a hole of five meters, a boost because in the 12th he caught a birdiewhich brought him back to the starting point. He’s old and tired, yes, but he’s Tiger Woods. And in his mind he hides a golf encyclopedia. On this Valhalla course he won his fifth major in 2000, another PGA Championship. He was the best Tiger, the cyclone who had already won the US Open and the British Open that year, and who would link the Masters the following year. That is, the big four in a row, the Tiger Slam. Sports history.
This Tiger who 24 years later steps on the same field is a man who hides a mind of steel in a body of glass. Today he has no choice but to dose himself, to let himself be seen in dribs and drabs. The number 807 in the world ranking is only participating in his third tournament of the year: he withdrew from the Genesis due to illness and was 60th in the Masters with 16 strokes over par, the worst score of his career at Augusta. In the PGA he took out his claws to survive, especially by making medium and long distance putts to escape from difficult situations. He remains magic in those hands. Another step back on the 15th was joined by several pars, a birdie on the 3rd and another on the par five 7th to go under par on the day. But golf does not forgive even the biggest myths. Two bogeysto close the day and +1 in total for the suffering Tiger.
PGA Championship Standings.
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