It’s a par for Scheffler at 18 and he shares the clubhouse lead. A very well executed round of 3-under 67, with the putter giving it some spark when perhaps his steady approach play pointed to something closer to par.

Playing partners Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick take different routes to their par 70s. Rose has more for the highlight reel and that includes an excellent up-and-down at the last. Both are very much in contention.

Now we see if Smalley can birdie the last to break out of that huge tie for top spot.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Kaymer (F), Scheffler (F), Smalley (17)

Alex Smalley remains in a seven-way tie at the top with par at 17. He pulls his tee-shot long and, surprisingly, opts to putt from down in a hollow when most would have chipped it back. His first putt ends up just over six-foot shy but he holes a testy one to stay at -3.

Scheffler pulls 8-iron for his second to 18. From 172 yards, he’s just a fraction shy of the green although just 29 feet from the hole. He can putt that. There’s still a chance last year’s winner can take the outright lead on his own.

Scheffler puts a lot of right shoulder into his drive at 18 but finds the fairway. Once again, he has that uncanny ability to aim left and know full well that his ball will peel back into the fairway. And it does. No surprise that he ranks 1st for Driving Accuracy today.

Big break for Scheffler. His ball has ended by a sprinkler buried in the rough and he’d have to stand on a second sprinkler if playing it from where it lies. The rules allow him a club length from those man-made objects and, wouldn’t you know it, he’s now able to drop his ball onto the green rather than face a difficult chip from the gnarly stuff. It’s a far easier shot with putter in hand and he cashes in by rolling his ball over a ridge to just over three feet away. He holes the putt and stays tied for the lead.

Scheffler is joined in the lead at -3 by Alex Smalley after the American flicks a wedge onto the par-5 16th green and holes the short putt.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Kaymer (F), Scheffler (17), Smalley (16)

Scheffler’s tee-shot at the par-3 17th with a fairway wood leaks a little right and runs into the shorter cut of greenside rough. Tough up and down from there it has to be said.

A little earlier, Patrick Reed completed the first bogey-free round of the day via 16 pars and two birdies. The secret? “Just being patient … hit 16 greens … I was just able to go out there and play boring golf,” says Reed with a smile.

Scheffler shares the lead again. It looks unlikely after his tee-shot into rough and hack out into the fairway at the par-5 16th. But, in a rare show of aggression, he goes for the flag with his approach from 140 yards and ends four feet away. In goes the putt and now he has the chance to end the first round with the lead on his own if he can find one more birdie.

Also at 16… hurrah, Matt Fitzpatrick makes his first birdie of the day. It’s a significant one though as 14 pars and a bogey over his first 15 holes have enabled him to get back to even par with just that one circle on his scorecard.

Sky showing an incident where Jon Rahm angrily swished at the turf after a shot he wasn’t happy with. The flying grass hit an eldery spectator on the cheek, leaving the Spaniard to apologise profusely.

Can anyone get to -4? It’s looking increasingly unlikely now with conditions getting colder. Alex Smalley probably has the best chance as he’s -3 with four to play although finding sand off the tee at the brutal par-4 15th has left him with a 25-footer for par. Perhaps Scheffler can get there with a birdie at the par-5 16th and one more par breaker at 17 or 18.

It’s getting a bit ragged for Justin Thomas as he takes six swishes on the par-5 16th. An obvious birdie chance turns into a bogey and he drops to -1.

Meanwhile, a very rare error off the tee from Scheffler at that same par 5 as he pulls his drive into thick rough. Up at 18, Shane Lowry’s 14-footer thinks about it but drops in for birdie. An excellent 2-under 68 for the Irishman.

Good news for Scottie Scheffler fans. Factory settings have been restored and he pars the tough par-4 15th to stay at -2, one back.

Shot 1: 344 yds to left fairway, 187 yds to hole
Shot 2: 200 yds to left green, 48 ft 8 in. to hole
Shot 3: Putt 46 ft 8 in., 2 ft 1 in. to hole
Shot 4: In the hole

Rose (evens) makes par after holing a 10 footer while Fitzpatrick (+) also signs for a ‘4’. After 14 pars and a bogey, the man from Sheffield now has the reachable-in-two par-5 16th to go at and land that elusive first birdie of the day.

Michael Kim has given some thoughts on Garrick Higgo missing his tee-time and being hit with a two-shot penalty. The young South African is taking some flak on social media for his attitude to the error, with words like ‘entitled’ being bandied around. Higgo in his own words said: “If you know me, then you know I am very casual and laid back. I thought I had time. I was obviously too casual, yeah.”

Here’s what Michael Kim had to say on social media:

I was almost late to my tee time too.

Because 1 and 10 share one tee box, tee times are in 5 min intervals between 1 and 10. Spieth teed off on 10 at 841, me off 1 at 846. I was putting until the entire group teed off. But because I’m used to 10 min gaps between a group teeing off, just out of habit I was walking leisurely but by the time the last guy teed off on 10, it was 843. I then briskly walked to 1 tee. Not an excuse and idk what Higgo exactly thought, just sharing my experience.

Martin Kaymer completes the fifth round of 67 today. The German is a fraction away from a closing eagle after pumping a driver off the deck onto the green to 15 feet. Some thump that: it’s measured at 298 yards. Good to see the two-time major winner back on top of a leaderboard.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Kaymer (F), Smalley (13)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Greyserman (F), Schauffele (F), Conners (17), Reed (17*), Thomas (15), Rai (15*), Scheffler (14), Schmid (13*)

Scottie Scheffler is playing computer golf. It’s as if he’s been set to ‘smart’ mode as every hole he comes out with the same thing. What do you expect the Scot-bot has been programmed do on a lengthy par 3 with the flag at the back? Yes, find the green but near the front-middle to avoid going over it. And that’s what he does, hitting his tee-shot to 58 feet and hitting a good lag. But, then, malfunction! Scheffler misses a three-footer for par and makes bogey. Surprisingly, he laughs at the dribbled effort going wide. Perhaps he is human after all.

But to show that golf is a mix of art and science, playing partner Justin Rose produces some off-the-cuff magic, holing his bunker shot. Huge roars for the Englishman, who won the 2013 US Open down the road at Merion. That’s back-to-back birdies for Rose and the little burst has jumped him from +2 to even par.

And to complete an extremely entertaining few minutes, Fitzpatrick ends his 13-hole par streak with a bogey to drop to +1. It’s all happening.

After his wild tee-shot at the par-3 14th, Thomas needs two more attempts to find the green. Even then, he’s still nearly 40 feet away so is staring double bogey in the face. But JT has a special relationship with this event – he’s won it twice, his ‘only’ two major wins – and avoids the big number by draining his putt from downtown. Far less dramatic so far for Matt Fitzpatrick, who has made 14 straight pars.

Sky showing Rory McIlroy trying to work something out on the range. Meanwhile, back on the course, Scottie Scheffler again plays a smart, no-risk approach shot at 13, avoiding trouble and finding the heart of the green. He knocks his 35-footer to kick-in range. Par. T1.

Justin Thomas, one of the joint-leaders, gets hot under the collar. He hoicks his tee-shot way left at the long par-3 14th – his ball almost ending in the grandstand - and angrily spears the offending iron into the turf. It bounces away, performing a triple lutz before resting near a microphone. Will he get a telling off after the round? Maybe, but I don’t think Pete Townshend has much to worry about.

Scheffler does the sensible thing at 12. It’s a medium-tough hole, playing a tad over par. Scottie finds the fairway again, hits an approach to just inside 50 feet and takes two putts to remain tied for the lead. The 13th is a shorter par 4 so he’ll be able to go in with something like a 9-iron. Once more, he’ll be doing so from the fairway. Aronimink is a much more straightforward test if you’re constantly hitting from short grass.

I claimed earlier that two Germans had never been tied for the lead at a major. But, get this, that unofficial record could now extend to three as Matti Schmid is now just one off the lead. True, Martin Kaymer is also one back after a bogey but he and Schmid both have holes to play and could join Stephan Jaeger at the top again. Now just checking if Bernhard Langer is in the field.

Scottie Scheffler ties for the lead! A fourth birdie in six holes for the defending champ as he adds another circle to his scorecard at 11. This one comes on a short par 4 so he’s able to get closer to the pin this time after yet again finding the fairway. His wedge from 99 yards plonks down just over eight feet away and such putts are now meat and drink to the World No.1. It’s a seven-way tie again.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Conners (14), Thomas (11), Scheffler (11)

Often in majors, you need to be right up there from the start. Take the US Masters where six of the last seven winners were in the top three after 18 holes. But here at the US PGA, there is some wriggle room if you don’t hit the ground running.

Winners and where they stood after R1

2025 Scottie Scheffler: 20th and five back
2023 Brooks Koepka: 38th and six back
2020 Collin Morikawa: 33rd and four back
2018 Brooks Koepka: 33rd and five back
2017 Justin Thomas: 44th and six back

This is good news for those who are at +1, +2 and +3, a bunch which includes Ludvig Aberg, Tyrrell Hatton (both +2).

Scottie Scheffler’s putter is on fire! At the par-4 10th, he hits a careful tee-shot, a sensible approach to 28 feet and then drains the putt for birdie, his ball just catching enough of the hole to do a little twirl and drop. That seems to be his strategy today. No risks tee to green and ride a hot putter. It’s working as the World No.1 is now just a shot off the lead.

Here’s Jon Rahm’s theory on why scoring is tough. He fired a pleasing 1-under 69 but that included a hole-out eagle and a chip-in.

If you just go by some of the numbers, some of the fairways are wide, the greens aren’t crazy firm. But a lot of those fairways are sloped in a way that they play very narrow. Like 15 today, I thought I was going to be in the fairway undoubtedly, and I was off the fairway. Same on 10, same on 4. It can easily roll off.

I can see how in appearance it might be easier, but it’s not. You need to play really good golf to shoot lower than 3-under. And then on top of that, those pin locations today are good ones. I mean, they’re tucked. They’re not easy.

There was somebody earlier in the week where there was some chatter where people thought 15- to 20-under was going to win... if the golf course stays like this and it keeps firming up, yeah, obviously it’s not going to be anything like that.

No movements at the very top of the leaderboard. Justin Thomas stays tied for first place with a solid two-putt par at 10. A rung below, major winners Patrick Reed and Shane Lowry have pulled to within a shot.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Kaymer (14*), Thomas (10)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Greyserman (F), Schauffele (F), Conners (12), Reed (12*), Lowry (11), Stevens (9*), Smalley (8)

Simon McMahon emails.

“Evening David. Golf pro names have always been a source of fascination for me. Your mention of the PGA club pros took me back to my Sega Mega Drive days and the likes of Joey Sindelar, Brandt Snedeker, Chip Beck, Bob Tway, Lanny Wadkins, Fuzzy Zoeller to name but a few. Maurice Flitcroft and his aliases may well have been in there too?”

Yes, I can recall those on-screen messages saying that Joey Sindelar has made birdie at the 13th. Or Bruce Lietzke has eagled the 7th at TPC Avenel.

Then again, if you weren’t following last week’s golf action, Simon, Brandt Snedeker (now 45) actually won the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic. I know that because it flashed up on my Commodore 64.

At least he’s honest. Rory McIlroy is asked how he would describe his opening round 74. In a theatrical move, he leans into the mic, says “shit” and turns his head away again.

He opens up a little more when probed further.

I’m just not driving the ball well enough. It’s been a problem all year for the most part.

I’ve sort of got, like 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.

The stats back it up. He’s currently ranking 118th for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee. There does seem to be some recency bias in his answer though. Check out the season-long Off The Tee charts and Rory ranks 1st.

An email. Kim Thonger (another club pro surname contender) gets in touch with a theory on why no-one can get beyond 3-under.

“Watching the round develop I feel sure that the failure of the entire field to deliver a really low score is simply because none of them are deploying an 11 wood. My regular golfing partner ridiculed mine when I started using it this year, but he’s had to admit that it produces remarkable results. I’m so pleased with it I’m now thinking of ordering a 13, 15 and 17 wood from an American bespoke manufacturer of such weapons. It does occasionally let me down, yesterday I pulled my drive slightly on the 158 yard par 3 18th at Saffron Walden and it bounced heavily into the thankfully toughened glass of the clubhouse French doors. A couple of members were roused from their afternoon nap, I know because they gesticulated to that effect in unison, but nobody died. Anyway, such clubs are the future. I urge the top players to experiment.”

Playing partners Cam Young and Keegan Bradley have come dressed the same today. Not sure who is the David Brent to the Neil Godwin. Is Young trying to impress his Ryder Cup captain or is Bradley trying to show he’s as cool as the massively in-form World No.3. Regardless, both look the part in their Sergio Georgini outfits and both are going on along pretty well at even par after 8 holes.

Can Scheffler make it three birdies on the spin? It’s a tough ask on the 245-yard par-3 8th which is averaging more than half a stroke over par so far today. Scheffler looks set to make that average climb as he finds sand and can only splash out to 14 feet. But, once again, the putter trumps what came before it and he pours in the par attempt to remain at -1.

Should the US PGA really still persist with 20 club pros? Michael Block is the best advert after his 15th place at Oak Hill in 2023 and he’s flying the flag for them again here: -1 after 14. Plus, they often have surnames you’ve never seen in any other walk of life. In the field this week we have Garrett Sapp, Jesse Droemer, Michael Kartrude and Braden Shattuck. Is this actually an in-joke by the PGA of America? Perhaps these guys are really called Bill Smith and Dan Johnson and they just allocate them a daft name for the week. Sort of a strange nod to Maurice Flitcrfoft entering the Open as Gene Paycheki, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel.

Shane Lowry eagles in big events usually come in the form of hole-in-ones. He’s had two at Augusta and one each at Sawgrass and Pebble Beach. But here he does it in more conventional style after chipping across the par-5 9th green and, from 100 feet away, watching his ball track towards the hole and drop. The clenched fist marks a notable move from +1 to -1.

Is this the first time two Germans have ever held the joint-lead in a major? Surely it’s a ja. Martin Kaymer, the 2010 US PGA winner, joins Stephan Jaeger in T1 with a birdie at 2, his 11th. It’s a seven-way tie at the top and Scheffler and Players Championship winner Cam Young are just two back. Official leaderboard status: ‘bunched’.

Scottie Scheffler is on the move! The World No.1 finds the fairway at 7 and then plays what seems a fairly average approach to just inside 40 feet. But there’s nothing ho-hum about the putt as he knocks it into the back of the hole for a second straight birdie. From +1 to -1 in no time. Looking at his in-play Strokes Gained stats, Scheffler is only 107th for Approach so he’ll need to sharpen those irons ups. But as well as the putter looking hot, he’s hit every fairway so far.

Jordan Spieth’s annual bid to complete the Grand Slam has started well thanks to a 1-under 69. Spieth banked the first three legs in a golden stretch between 2015 and 2017 but this one has remained elusive. Is this the week? Here’s what he said.

I struck the ball well. I drove it really well. I was in a good position on a lot of holes. If I drive it like that, I’d expect to shoot what I did or better. Just didn’t quite finish the way I wanted to the last three holes, but under-par was a good score.

It was blowing really hard, and it was cold this morning. The course played very, very difficult. It was a good start. I’m going to need to improve on it, I think, each day.

I’ll go try to tighten a couple things up that got off at the end of the day and just go out there tomorrow and try to make a few more putts.

An elongated bray of the lips from Justin Thomas. At 7 he finds the green but has no path to the hole. An aerial route is needed so he chips over a grassy mound and lets the ball run out, his dink ending 12 feet away. But in goes the putt and JT, a two-time winner of this event, remains just one back at -2.

The lead has swelled to six. Akshay Bhatia birdies 11 while fellow American Alex Smalley has picked up shots at 2, 4 and 5. Let’s see the leaderboard.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F), Bhatia (11), Smalley (5)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Greyserman (F), Schauffele (F), Putnam (10*), Kaymer (10*), Thomas (6*)

Rose’s tee-shot at 6 wedges between the roots at the stump of a tree and he’s forced to take a penalty drop. That’s not good news for the Englishman whose move to McLaren irons has prompted plenty of furrowed brows. Rose is at +1 but Scottie Scheffler is now back to even par after stroking in an eight-footer at 6.

A few quotes from the 2024 US PGA champion, Xander Schauffele. The Valhalla winner has finished in the top 10 in 18 of his 35 majors – a remarkable record. He’s on track for another, and perhaps even a second Wanamaker Trophy, after firing a 2-under 68 earlier. That’s currently just one off the lead.

It’s always nervy playing in a major, so nice to get off to a good start for sure. I made three birdies in the first four holes and was feeling pretty good.

Then started to play a lot worse golf for the next six holes. Then got a little bit better again. So I got the full experience today.

“It’s blowing out here now,” says Sky’s man on the ground, Wayne Riley. Scottie Scheffler wears a fairly tight pant so it’s hard to see much trouser flapping on him. For that, we need Jason Day who likes to wear clothing about five sizes too big for him. Fortunately, he got done before the winds picked up, piecing together a fine 1-under 69. Scheffler, by the way, has just seen a 31-footer for birdie graze the hole at 5 so he stays at +1. Playing partners Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose also make pars, the former showing his mettle by sinking a 10-footer to avoid the dreaded three-putt. Just a note that Rose appears to be battling a stiff back/side. He was filmed earlier doing a series of twists and lunges on the fairway, more medicinal than Rasputin dance-based.

The wind has picked up a little for the afternoon starters. But Akshay Bhatia continues to bowl along merrily and the lefty birdies the long par-5 9th to turn in 3-under 32. Now for the second nine which measures 150 yards longer than the front – 3,749 yards to 3,600. The finishing stretch is particularly testing. These are the final five holes with difficulty level in brackets: 14th (3), 15th (4), 16th (17), 17th (7th), 18th (5th). The par-5 17th is a good birdie chance puts pars are very acceptable at the others.

Ouch Viktor Hovland. His three-footer for birdie at 6 horseshoes out and he remains at +2. Compatriot Kristoffer Reitan, who scored a superb win in last week’s Truist Championship, finished earlier at +1. Staying in the region, Sweden’s Alex Noren also signed for a 1-over 71 but the best Scandie golf is being played by the Danes. Nicolai Hojgaard, who finished runner-up to Reitan at Quail Hollow last Sunday, came in with a 1-under 69 while Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is -1 after 6. As for Nicolai’s twin, Rasmus Hojgaard is level par after 11. Oh, and let’s not forget that Ludvig Aberg had to settle for a 2-over 72 earlier.

Harrogate’s finest, John Parry, is one of the big bunch at -1. The Englishman is having a solid first crack as a PGA Tour player after winning his card last year. He’s had four top 20s, with a best of eighth in Puerto Rico. He’s an engaging chap too, like your chirpy, easy-going mate down the pub who comes back to the table with a few bags of crisps to share without being prompted.

Thanks Scott. Everyone jockeying for position it seems. Will those 67s be beaten? A 67 (Corey Conners) led the way at Kiawah Island in 2021 but since then the pacesetting totals have been 65 (2022), 66 (2023), 62 (2024) and 64 (2025).

… and with that, I’ll hand you back to David Tindall, who will take this baby home. Enjoy the rest of this opening round, and see you again tomorrow!

It’s not quite happening for Scottie Scheffler yet. His second into 3 rolls off the back of the green, inches away from gripping onto the putting surface and spinning back towards the cup. Instead he’s forced to bump a chip close. It’s not far from going in. But he remains at level par. No fast start to what is in theory the easier nine. But then they were predicting a low-scoring bomb-and-gouge riot before anyone actually teed it up, and look how that’s panned out for some of the lads. Theory schmeory.

The 31-year-old North Carolinian Andrew Novak missed the cut on his PGA Championship debut last year. But he’s since made cuts at the US Open and the Open, plus won the mixed Grant Thornton Invitational with Lauren Coughlin, and now he’s going very nicely in his second PGA outing. He’s responded well to bogey at 2, picking up shots at 5, 7 and 9 to hit the turn in 33. The third of those birdies, at the par-five 9th, was this close to becoming an eagle: a fairway wood with a gentle fade into the middle of the green followed by a 20-foot putt that stopped just short. He joins the group at -2.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Greyserman (F), Schauffele (F), Novak (9), Bhatia (8), Kaymer (6*), Campbell (3*)

Cameron Young, who is busy making good on his early promise this season, rattles in a 20-footer on 3. He moves into the red at -1. Meanwhile slow starts for Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood. They drop strokes at 1, 3 and 3 respectively, and are +1 early in their rounds.

Remember Michael Block? Of course you do. The club pro from California finished in a tie for 15th at Oak Hill in 2023, the high point a hole-in-one celebrated during the final round with his playing partner Rory McIlroy. Well, he’s back, and despite a month away from turning 50, is playing as well as ever. Three birdies on his card today already, on 10, 13 and 16. though that’s been slightly soured by a double at 12. But only slightly, and he’s currently the only one of the 20 club pros competing this week in red figures. He’s -1 through 17, his first eight holes, and one way or another, we’ll be hearing of him again this week.

Par at the last for Ryo Hisatsune. The 23-year-old Japanese prospect matches the best-of-day 67s by Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger and Min Woo Lee. Meanwhile news of last year’s Ryder Cup captains: par for Keegan Bradley at 1, but birdies on 5 and 6 for Luke Donald! The former was reward for one of the shots of the day, at the 179-yard par-three to six feet.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Hisatsune (F)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Greyserman (F), Schauffele (F), Bhatia (6), Donald (6), Kaymer (5*), Neergaard-Petersen (4*), Campbell (2*)

Scottie Scheffler nearly slam-dunks his second at 1 into the cup. The ball lands a couple of inches behind and to the left … but instead of spinning back into the hole, keeps going for another 20 feet. He can’t make the birdie putt, and that’s unfortunate for the world number one, who was so close to a sensational eagle. If anything, he hit that wedge in too well.

Rory McIlroy is always out of position on the par-five 9th. Having visited a deep fairway bunker and only just squeaked onto the green, he three-putts for bogey, his fourth in a row. What a disastrous end to his round. A four-over 74. To par, that equals his worst-ever showing at the PGA Championship. But it’s a birdie-birdie finish for Jon Rahm, who will be feeling much more chipper for his 69. Chipper being the operative word, seeing he holed out with one twice. And completing the match, it’s a par for Jordan Spieth: given those dropped strokes at 7 and 8, that’s a slightly disappointing one-under round of 69. His dream of completing the career slam this week is very much on; Rory’s hope of sweeping all the majors this year not so much.

Scottie Scheffler begins the defence of his title. In reverse order, his last three finishes at the PGA Championship are win, tied eighth, tied second. He missed the cut in 2022, then before that, another tie for eighth and a tie for fourth. It’s an astonishing record. Anyway, having come second in his last three tour events, he’s coming into this week in form … and he splits the 1st fairway with a boomer. Of course he does.

Brooks Koepka, winner in 2018, 2019 and 2023, has hardly made a putt all day. He misses a short birdie effort on 18, and slaps the face of his putter in irritation. By all accounts he was on the practice green yesterday with an array of flat sticks, putting having been his achilles heel of late. Some more decisions to be made, then … though he’s still managed to card a one-under round of 69. His playing partners: Xander Schauffele in with a 68, Tyrrell Hatton with a disappointing 72 that threatened to get out of control early doors, with a bogey-bogey-double run … so perhaps he’ll not be too disheartened. But there’s another player hotly tipped before the tournament started, only to stumble now the action’s underway.

The Players champion Cameron Young begins his bid for that as-yet-elusive maiden major. He crashes his first drive down the left-hand side of the 1st fairway. He’s going round today with the two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas, and the 2011 winner Keegan Bradley. Both find the fairway as well. Meanwhile some news of another erstwhile winner: Martin Kaymer, the 2010 champ following birdie on 11 by walking in another from downtown at 12. He’s -2 in short order.

Back-to-back birdies for Ryo Hisatsune, at 15 and 16, and the upcoming Japanese star joins the leaders at -3. Heading the other way: Max Greyserman, who can’t get up and down from sand at the front of 18 to save his par. Bogey to end an otherwise impressive opening round of 68. He’s -2.

… meanwhile the third member of that stellar group, Rory McIlroy, can’t get up and down from the side of 8. A third bogey in a row, his fourth in five holes, and the calendar slam is beginning to look like a pipe dream already. He’s +3. Which is bad, but not as painful as the 76 Bryson DeChambeau signs for, after taking two putts on the 9th and making his first birdie of the day on his very last hole. He’s +6, and two of the pre-tournament favourites may well have played themselves out of contention.

Jon Rahm holed out from 100 yards for eagle on 2; now he’s chipped in for birdie from the side of 8! That’s only the second birdie of the day on this long par-three, Ryan Fox with the other. He’s back to level par for his round. Meanwhile it’s two bogeys in a row for his playing partner Jordan Spieth: a careless three-putt on 7 and now a weak chip having left himself shortsided on 8. He’s -1.

Bryson DeChambeau has suffered an absolute shocker today. The latest indignity: chipping back and forth across the par-three 8th green for a double bogey that sent him clattering down the standings to +7. So with little left to lose on his final hole of the day, he opens his shoulders at the 609-yard par-five 9th and sends a ripper down the middle. Followed by a fairway wood whip-cracked into the heart of the green. He’ll have a look at eagle from 35 feet. One way or another, whatever the big man gets up to, it’s very difficult to take your eyes off him.

A fast start for Adam Scott. A monster putt on 1, and the 2013 Masters champion is immediately into red figures at +1. He’s playing in his 99th consecutive major this week; he’ll make it 100 should he tee it up at Shinnecock in next month’s US Open, which he will do unless life somehow gets in the way. If he does it, he’ll become only the second player in history to reach the century, the other being Jack Nicklaus, who made it all the way to 146.

Thanks David … and hey, a handover’s pretty much the perfect time for a leaderboard update, isn’t it? Now featuring Max Greyserman, who has just sent a tramliner chugging into the cup at 17.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), MW Lee (F), Greyserman (17)
-2: Brown (F), Theegala (F), Schauffele (16*), Spieth (16*), Hisatsune (15), Bhatia (3)

Bryson DeChambeau hits a monstrous drive at 8. But the graphic which pops up to show his score as he larrups it down the lengthy par 5 says +7. The latest calamity: a double bogey at 7, his 16th. With that, I shall hand you over to Scott Murray for 90 minutes of descriptive excellence.

Only one left-hander has ever won the US PGA Championship – Phil Mickelson. In fact, he’s won it twice, the second as a 50-year-old at Kiawah Island in 2021. It’s time for another southpaw to step up and how about Akshay Bhatia. The 24-year-old, who would surely fight at featherweight if he took up boxing, has started birdie-birdie and just now missed a 17-footer for the hat-trick.

It’s gone a bit snakes and ladders for Rory. Bogey, birdie and now another bogey at 6. He’s +1 with three to play.

David Howell describes Bryson DeChambeau’s tee-shot at 8 as “atrocious”. Not unfair. A waft that goes way, way right into gnarly rough. At +5 with two play, it’s been a thoroughly miserable day one at Aronimink for the two-time major winner. Not the sort of content he was looking to provide.

As a moron shouts “mashed potato”, we see Viktor Hovland warming up on the range. After compatriot Kristoffer Reitan won last week’s Truist Championship, could Viktor make it a glorious fortnight for Norwegian golf? Hovland is in rather skittish form this season but his record in this event is very good: tied second at Oak Hill in 2023 and solo third at Valhalla in 2024. Some exciting tee-times coming up soon, with Hovland teeing off in 20 minutes.

1832 Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry
1843 Chris Gotterup, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood
1854 Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas
1905 Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose

Jordan Spieth is on a roll. Remember, Spieth needs to win this to complete the Grand Slam of all four majors. And he’s certainly going about it the right way. At 5, he hits his tee shot to three feet and taps that in for birdie while he puts another circle on his card from double the distance at 6. Four tied at the top now.

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F) MW Lee (17*), Spieth (15*)

Tyrrell Hatton looked ready to throw many TVs out of many windows earlier. He’d suffered a run of bogey, bogey, double bogey at 13, 14 and 15 to slump to +3. But despite the fury still simmering after a couple of good chances went begging on his second nine, the Englishman has picked off birdies at 1 and 4 to return to +1 with three to play. And that’s just fine, Tyrrell. It’s just fine.

Brooks Koepka is popping up in the coverage fairly regularly and it’s easy to think you’re watching a replay. The story of his season is elite tee-to-green play and hopeless putting. And it’s the same story today. Every time we see him he’s hitting a glorious approach and then fluffing the putt. A glance at the stats on the very impressive US PGA app backs up the eye test. The three-time winner of this event ranks 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach but 83rd (of the 95 players currently finished or out on the course) for SG: Putting.

Talking of putts that won’t drop, Min Woo Lee misses his six-footer for par at 8 (his 17th) and falls back into a tie for the lead.

Much further down the leaderboard, Bryson DeChambeau still can’t get anything going. After a clumsy outward nine of 4-over 39, he’s made six straight pars on the front. The family of club pro, Tyler Collett, need to screengrab the leaderboard right now as their boy is one shot better than Bryson at +3.

Let’s do a leaderboard. An international top three.

-4: MW Lee (16*)
-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (17)
-2: D Brown (16), Theegala (16*), Cauley (15), Greyserman (15), Schauffele (14*), Spieth (14*), Hisatsune (13)

We have a new leader and it’s Min Woo Lee. Then again, how long will the Aussie stay there? He gets to -4 by sinking a 13-footer for birdie at 7 but at his penultimate hole, the long par 3 8th, he bowls a wide off the tee. It’s a mile right and in the thick stuff.

My bad suggesting Rory would two-putt from as 31 feet at the 5th. He needs just one use of the shortstick, his ball tracking into the heart of the hole at a healthy pace. Back to even par.

Rory rather flubs his chip at 4. His ball never has enough oomph and starts rolling backwards down the green just to prove the point. That leaves him 30 feet for par and, unsurprisingly, he needs two swishes. Bogey. He’s +1 which always sounds worse than simply saying he’s four off the lead. At the par-3 5th, playing 178 yards today, he’s probably a club short with his tee-shot so a two-putt par looks most likely there.

A loose tee-shot from Rory at 4. He sprays his drive right and comes up short of the green with his approach from the heavy grass. McIlroy had 15 birdies over his first 36 holes (67-65) when winning at Augusta last month. Still just one here but plodding along in 20th (even par) is fine for now. That’s just three back. Michael Block, the club pro who famously made a hole-in-one with Rory watching on at the 2023 US PGA when defying the odds to finish 15th, shows McIlroy the way with a birdie at his opening hole.

You want that quiz answer, don’t you. The man in question (see 17:04) was David Lynn.

Brown and Fox next to each other on the leaderboard on -2. Fox plays quick and if Brown jumps over a lazy brown dog we’re in business. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy cleans up for par at 3, his 12th hole of the day. Just one birdie so far for McIlroy. Since then: 10 straight pars.

Too much money in golf? Paul McGinley, in the Sky commentary box, reveals that Jon Rahm’s caddie, Adam, has just put his house up for sale. Asking price? $14m. Good grief. Meanwhile, the boss has a 44ft putt for birdie at 3. Will he make par? That’s the $64m question (or about four-and-half Adam’s houses). That third hole is playing as the sixth hardest so far (average 4.302) so par will be just fine.

Hats off to Garrick Higgo – which sounds like something you’d have watched at The London Palladium back in the day. The South African was hit with a two-shot penalty earlier for not making his tee-time (by a minute). But since that sloppy piece of timekeeping he’s made three birdies against a single bogey and sits even par for the tournament after 16 holes. That’s currently tied 22nd which tells us that 21 players are currently under par.

England’s Dan Brown made one of those two eagles and that’s helped him into a tie for the lead. It also leads us to a quiz question: who posted this on social media earlier?

Uspga week, always reminds me of 2012 kiawah island, RU [runner-up] on my own, a very fond memory. What’s mad though is I’m the highest placed Englishman in that tournament in 107 yrs, get your head round that, a quiz question no one would ever get right haha, play well boys.

Thanks Scott. Yes, Jon Rahm’s mood nicely highlighting the wild contrasts we’ve seen so far. Earlier, a shriek of ‘how’ and a thigh slap as his putt stayed left; now, a huge smile after he drained his second at 2. Fun fact: we’ve had two eagles so far and both have come via hole-outs on par 4s.

Nothing much had been going right for Jon Rahm. His approach into 1 toppled back off the false front of the green, and led to a bogey, his second of the day. No birdies. And he’s still not carded a birdie … but he does now have an eagle, holing out from 101 yards on 2! A couple of soft bounces and in. He’s back to level par …

… and with that, I’ll hand over to Dave Tindall for a wee while. See you again soon.

At the age of 21, the big-hitting South African Aldrich Potgieter already has appearances at the Open, Masters and US Open under his belt. Now, on his PGA Championship debut, he’s just carded his first sub-70 round at a major. Birdie at his last hole, the par-five 9th, to sign for a 67 … and a share of the lead!

-3: Potgieter (F), Jaeger (14), D Brown (13), Cauley (13)
-2: Burns (15*), MW Lee (12*), Schauffele (11*), Fox (11), Spieth (10*)

All change at the top! Dan Brown birdies 13 to grab a share of the lead, and the prospect of a first English winner since 1919 is now just 59 holes away. Stephan Jaeger sends his tee shot at 14 wide left of the green, from where he’s unlikely to get up and down. But though he sends his chip 15 feet past, he rattles in the putt coming back and saves his par. Par too for Bud Cauley, who tentatively prods at a good birdie chance on 13. But it’s another birdie for Jordan Spieth, who may finally have rediscovered his mid-2010s mojo in time to complete a career slam! This one at 1, and he’s just one off the lead now.

-3: Jaeger (14), D Brown (13), Cauley (13)
-2: Potgieter (17*), Burns (15*), MW Lee (12*), Schauffele (10*), Fox (10), Spieth (10*)

… but no, it’s just not happening for the two-time US Open winner. Bryson rolls his birdie putt four feet past, a confident rap but one that was never dropping, always destined to stay high on the left. Just a par. And it’s par too for Åberg, who chips up from the swale behind the green to 12 feet and tidies up. No pictures on the card, and he stays at -1. Bryson is +4.

Åberg airmails his second at 2 from trouble to trouble, the concessions area to a swale over the back of the green. Bryson finds the middle of the dancefloor from a similar position, though, and will have a decent look at birdie from 20 feet. That’s his shot of the day, though he’s not set his personal bar high. Perhaps that’ll kick-start one of the pre-tournament favourites into action?

… and Bryson DeChambeau follows Åberg, sending his ball towards the food and drink tent to the right of 2. Meanwhile on 13, the co-leader Stephan Jaeger nearly drains a 40-footer for birdie: he’ll stay in a share at -3. Xander Schauffele nearly joins them, but fails to read a little left-to-right drift on an uphill 12-footer at 1.

Ludvig Åberg moves into red figures for the first time today, with birdie at 1. He’s made a couple of fine up-and-downs to keep himself in good nick. But then he carves a wild tee shot at 2 over the gallery down the right and perhaps over a concession tent too. Meanwhile par for Rory McIlroy at 18, as he turns in level-par 35.

Sam Burns rattles in a 30-footer on 4. It’s his second birdie in four holes, and suddenly this is a solid start for the 29-year-old from Louisiana, who has been trending upwards in the majors, with recent near misses at the US Open and Masters. He’s -2.

The leader Stephan Jaeger sends his tee shot at 12 into a fairway bunker. He does extremely well to crack his second into the heart of the green, but he’s left with a long uphill putt, and leaves it a knee-knocking distance short. The par putt dies off to the low side on the right, and that’s a shot gone.

-3: Jaeger (12), Cauley (11)
-2: Potgieter (16*), C Smith (11*), Brown (11), Lee (10*), Detry (9), Schauffele (8*), Fox (8)

Xander Schauffele does pretty well to limit the damage at 17 to bogey. His chip back to the green, from miles wide left, nearly bobbles off the other side, but the fringe knocks his ball back, snooker style off the cushion. Two putts later and he’s -2. Meanwhile poor Bryson DeChambeau’s misery continues, as he shortsides himself in a bunker at the front of 18. Back-to-back bogeys, his third and fourth of the back nine, which he’s played in 39 strokes. He’s +4 and looking extremely downcast.

Alex Fitzpatrick goes from bunker to bunker at the par-three 14th, a slapstick route to double bogey. And then on 15, he finds himself in more greenside sand, and whistles his wedge out 30 feet past the flag. He swipes the sand a couple of times in great frustration. Bogey, and that’s three shots gone in short order. He’s +1, and how quickly a good day’s work can unravvel.

We’re just over four hours into the first day’s play, and finally somebody has made a birdie at the 245-yard par-three 8th. Ryan Fox with the reward for sending his tee shot to seven feet. And there are more crowd-pleasing antics on the 11th, where Dan Brown holes out from 102 yards for the first eagle of the week! The 31-year-old Englishman is making his major championship debut Stateside, though he finished in the top ten at the 2024 Open. Both Fox and Brown are -2.

Jordan Spieth finally gets something going. He steers in a 25-foot right-to-left curler on the par-five 16th, and that breaks a run of pars. He moves to -1, and the career slam is ON. There’d not be many more popular winners. Meanwhile his playing partner Jon Rahm gets up and down from the bunker he’d dunked himself into, scrambling his par to remain at +1. And a par for Rory, who stays at level par.

There is some entertainingly wild play going on. The sort that makes your weekend hacker feel a bit better about life in general. Jon Rahm dunks a chip out of thick rough into a greenside bunker at 16. Meanwhile up on 17, Xander Schauffele tugs a wild hybrid 50 yards wide left of the green. These are the best players in the world, and they’re putting themselves through this so we don’t have to.

Bryson does wonderfully well to clip his third from the filth at the side of 17 to a couple of feet. That required soft hands. A steely look in his eyes, though: straight ahead, expressionless, the look of a man seething inside. He’s +3. But a bounceback birdie for Cameron Smith at 1, and he’s -2 again. That’s a fine response to consecutive bogeys.

DeChambeau gets his drop away from the stand to the right of 17, but he’s still got work to do. He’s in deep rough and shortsided, with a hump to get over as well. Cam Smith did so well to whip up to 16 feet … but Bryson can’t match the achievement, his whip up and out landing just before the fringe and disappearing into more greenside rough. Trouble here, because now he’ll be doing very well to limit the damage to bogey. Meanwhile birdie for Xander Schauffele on the par-five 16th, and the 2024 champ returns to -3.

Bryson DeChambeau takes his time over his tee shot at the long par-three 17th. He switches out one iron for another, then moves his tee peg from one side of the box to the other. Then carves a wild shot into the punters down the right and towards a grandstand. He’ll doubtless get a drop, but he’s in a similar position to the one that did for Cameron Smith a while back, so there’s work to do. He doesn’t look happy, having struggled today from the off.

We’ve not heard much from Rory McIlroy of late. That’s because he’s been pootling along quietly since that bogey-birdie start. He teases a huge 60-foot left-to-right swinger on 15 to tap-in distance, and remains at level par. Meanwhile Cam Smith limits the damage on 18 to bogey, a staunch effort given that duck hook.

Cameron Smith drops on dusty ground between a generator and a skip. Throw in his mullet and fluffy moustache, and it’s quite the mise-en-scène of blue-collar heartland chic. As close as major championship golf gets to a John Cougar Mellencamp video. One for the kids there. Anyway, he chips back into the centre of the fairway, taking his medicine. But he’ll have to get up and down from 181 yards if he’s to scramble a par and avoid dropping two shots in as many holes.

Stephan Jaeger bounces back from his first dropped shot of the day with birdie at the par-five 9th. The German hits the turn in 31 strokes, regaining sole leadership of the tournament in doing so. Meanwhile a birdie for Alex Fitzpatrick, who tickles a downhill 20-footer into the cup on 13, and the in-form Sheffield star is back near the top of the standings again.

-4: Jaeger (9)
-3: Cauley (8)
-2: A Fitzpatrick (13), C Smith (8*), Greyserman (7), Schauffele (6*), Snedeker (5)

In other Fiasco News, Cam Smith sends a snap-hook dangerously close to the OB markers down the left of 18. He’s ended up behind a grandstand and a couple of buildings. He’s so far off piste he might get a favourable drop, with all sorts of man-made, tournament-specific obstacles in his way. Skips, cables, outhouses, goodness knows what else. Godspeed to the match referee as he wanders over to make his ruling.

Garrick Higgo’s best finish at the PGA came last year at Quail Hollow: a tie for 55th. Not the highest bar to clear, but the 27-year-old South African has put himself behind the eight-ball from the get-go this week, turning up late for his tee time by one minute. He was on the practice putting green at the time, an area deemed not close enough. That cost him a two-stroke penalty and so he opened with a double-bogey six. In the circumstances, he’s done extremely well to hit the turn in 35, level par, having birdied 3 and 9.

Cam Smith is the best part of 30 yards right of the 17th green. The pin’s on that side, too, so he’s not got much of a shot. He does exceptionally well to lash a vicious lob into the heart of the green, the best he could do, but it’s not enough to save his par. He can’t make the 16-foot putt coming back, and the bogey takes him out of the leading group and back to -2.

Xander Schauffele heads in the other direction, the result of dunking his tee shot at the par-three 14th into the bunker front left. And Cameron Smith is in a spot of bother on the 17th, carving his tee shot at the long par-three wide right. But for now …

-3: Jaeger (8), C Smith (7*), Cauley (7)
-2: Brennan (9), Greyserman (6), Schauffele (5*), Fox (5)

… and the leaders are now joined by Bud Cauley, who sends a 50-foot right-to-left swinger into the cup at 7 for his third birdie of the day. That was travelling. Had it not hit the hole, the 36-year-old journeyman from Florida might have been taking another couple of putts to get down. But here we are. He’s -3.

Cameron Smith has been tucked away, out of sight, mind and form on the LIV tour, for a while now. Missing the cut for six majors straight hasn’t helped matters. But he looks to have finally rediscovered the mojo that took him to the 2022 Open. He’s just added to those birdies at 10 and 13 by walking in a long putt across the par-five 16th, and he joins Stephan Jaeger and Xander Schauffele at -3.

One of the great up-and-downs from the career-slam-chasing Jordan Spieth on 13. Having sent his tee shot into deep nonsense down the left, he’s unable to reach the green, effing and jeffing as his second shot squirts almost straight right. Shortsided and behind a bunker, he whips over the flag to 15 feet, then rolls in the par saver. Scrambling is going to come at a premium this week, and there’s nobody better than the master escapologist Spieth. He’s level par.

A third birdie in four holes for Xander Schauffele. The 2024 champion now has a share of the lead, because it’s a first bogey of the day for Stephan Jaeger, at the long par-three 8th, all 245 yards of it.

-3: Jaeger (8), Schauffele (4*)
-2: Brennan (8), C Smith (6*), English (6), Cauley (6)

Rory McIlroy crashes a 352-yard drive down the middle of 12. By the looks of the graphic flashed up on the screen, that’s at least 30 yards further on than anyone else so far today. But his wedge is underhit, toppling back down a ridge running across the huge green, and his first putt isn’t all that either. In the end, after all that, he does well to tidy up for par. He remains level. Aronimink’s swales and large undulating greens are posing the world’s best players all sorts of puzzles and problems, and it’s captivating stuff. Whoever wins this week will have a short game to die for, their ball on the end of a tight leash.

Bryson DeChambeau’s travails continue apace. Having found the thick stuff with his iron off the 13th tee, he flies the green with his second, and is forced to hack out from more nonsense over the back. He can only bundle his ball to within 20 feet, and there goes another stroke. A very average start from the two-time major winner and prospective YouTube magnate: he’s +2. So much for playing it safe. Bomb and gouge, Bryson, bomb and gouge. However his playing partner Ludvig Åberg makes a fine birdie, taking advantage of a lucky break when his errant drive settled on rough trampled down by the gallery. A wedge to 12 feet and a putt later, and he’s back to level par.

These lads are spraying it around everywhere. Jon Rahm into the gallery down the left of 12. Ludvig Åberg into the trees down the right of 13. Bryson DeChambeau takes an iron for safety on 13 … and sends it into the thick rough down the right! That is absurd. You know what, this PGA is going to be a lot of fun.

Bounceback birdie for Rory McIlroy! He plays the 11th in fuss-free fashion: tee shot down the middle, wedge to three feet, putt into the centre of the cup. That’s wiped out his opening bogey, which was his first at the PGA Championship for five years. And up on 12, there’s some escapology from Ludvig Åberg, who sends his second over the back and into thick rough, down the bottom of a bank. He’s shortsided too, with the flag nearby, very little green to play with. But he whips out, ball sailing high but landing soft, rolling out to kick-in distance. That’s an outrageous par, and his wide smile tells the story. He knows that was damn good. But he’s +1 after a three-putt for bogey at 10.

Stephan Jaeger keeps on keeping on! He pours in a 25-footer on 6 to double his advantage at the top of the leaderboard.

-4: Jaeger (6)
-2: Hall (8), Brennan (6), C Smith (4*), Schauffele (2*)

No such problems – yet – for Stephan Jaeger. The 36-year-old German has made the cut on each of his previous PGA Championship appearances, though a tie for 50th is the best finish he’s managed. But he’s going very nicely this morning. Birdies at 1, 4 and 5, and he’s the first man to reach the -3 mark. Meanwhile the 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith birdies 10 and 13, while Xander Schauffele, who won this title in 2024, opens with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11.

-3: Jaeger (5)
-2: Hall (8), Brennan (6), C Smith (4*), Schauffele (2*)

Bryson’s touch is all over the shop. He overcooks his downhill 30-foot putt from the fringe at the back of 11 … and the ball catches the slope of the green, rolling 60 feet past! So nearly off back down the fairway! That leads to an inevitable bogey. Also dropping a shot: Jon Rahm on 1. His approach disappears down a swale to the right of the green, and he can’t get his ball back up with his first chip. Rory also bogeys, the result of that errant drive and skulled wedge, and for a course supposedly there for the taking, Aronimink sure is baring its teeth.

It Can Happen To The Best Of Them dept. Rory McIlroy’s ball, having hit a tree down the right of 1, comes straight down and disappears into thick rough. He lashes at it with great force, but the ball only squirts out of the cabbage, a topper that dribbles 100 yards down the fairway. We’ve all done it, Rory on fewer occasions than most. But here he is. So much for his pre-tournament claim that “strategy off the tee is pretty non-existent”, huh. And there’s no blaming a blister on his pinky toe for that one.

It’s safe to say Bryson doesn’t have his distances dialled in yet. Having come up short with his approach into 10, he overhits his wedge into 11. Then asks his caddie: “Was that short?” Once he works out where he is, he should salvage his par with a couple of putts from the fringe at the back, but it’s an uncertain start for the two-time US Open champion.

Here comes Rory! And immediately the back-to-back Masters champion tries his best to prove the drive-it-anywhere predictions a lie, carving his opening salvo at 10 hysterically towards a tree down the right. Clack clock! His ball pings back towards the fairway but disappears into thick rough. He’s going round today with Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth, the latter chasing a career slam of his own.

Bryson DeChambeau wastes his fine opening drive. A very average wedge into the 10th, then a severely underhit first putt, and he does well to tidy up from five feet for par. No such luck for his playing partner Ludvig Åberg, who three-putts his way to an opening bogey.

Michael Brennan is making his PGA Championship debut this week. The 24-year-old from Virginia tied for 24th at the Masters last month, and won his first title on Tour in Utah last October, and now he’s joint leader here, albeit with the usual fairly major early-Thursday caveats. He’s up there at -2 with Harry Hall, who finished in the top 20 last year at Quail Hollow. A neat start for the 28-year-old from Cornwall, with birdies at 5 and 6.

-2: Hall (6), Brennan (5)
-1: A Fitzpatrick (7), McCarthy (6*), N Hojgaard (6), McKibbin (3), Jaegar (3), C Smith (3*), Harman (3*), Cauley (2), Greyserman (1)

The course’s main defences are the many bunkers potted around the property, and the huge greens, which will take some working out. But some overnight rain has lengthened the track a wee bit. It’s a bit drizzly this morning, too, and it’s expected to stay cloudy for most of the day, with a chance of more showers and a little wind. The forecast for the rest of the week looks better, though: sunny with light winds for the most part. Should be a fun week.

Aronimink could prove a playground for the big hitters, with accuracy off the tee not a deal-breaker. There’s plenty of scope to whistle drives hither and yon: Rory McIlroy has described “strategy off the tee” as “pretty non-existent”, while Scottie Scheffler says “you can hit it pretty far offline” and still “kind of get away with it”. Good news for the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, then, though to be fair he blasts his opening tee shot, at 10, down the middle of the fairway. Gary Woodland won his US Open in similar circumstances; the popular veteran, whose win at the Houston Open a couple of months back was one of the feelgood stories of the year so far, is level par through his first two holes, 10 and 11.

Here we go, then, and let’s begin with the aforementioned “on-song Matt Alex Fitzpatrick”. He only got his PGA Tour card last month, courtesy of winning the Zurich Classic with his older brother Matt. That gave him a two-year exemption Stateside, plus secured his invite to this tournament. Since then he’s made the top ten at the Cadillac Championship and threatened to win last week at the Truist. Now he’s become the first player this week to reach the -2 mark, opening with birdies at 1 and 2. Admittedly he went out in the very first group, and he’s since dropped a stroke at 5. But he did do that, and he’s currently one of several players under par. Early days and quite a bit of golf yet to play, of course.

-1: A Fitzpatrick (5), McCarthy (5*), Hall (5), Hoge (3*), Brennan (3), Glover (2), McKibbin (1), Jaeger (1), Smith (1*), Brown (1)