CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—The PGA Championship marks the season’s second major tournament and sometimes falls between the cracks compared to the Masters and the U.S. Open. This year is different as the 107th iteration heads back to Quail Hollow.
But the first round featured a leaderboard that looked more like the Myrtle Beach Classic.
The leader is Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela at 7-under 64. It’s his lowest score in 45 rounds at the majors. And he hasn’t played the PGA Championship in three years. Masters champion and career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy shot 74. Jordan Spieth needs to win the PGA Championship for the career slam. He shot 76.
Here are some other details about the PGA Championship.
Who’s leading at the PGA Championship?
Vegas surprised even himself with his big finish. He took only nine putts over the last eight holes and he birdied five of the last six. It led to a 64 and a two-shot lead over PGA Tour rookie Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis of Australia.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shot a 67, a better score than all 12 of his European players who won at Marco Simone in 2023. Keegan Bradley is the U.S. captain. He shot 68, better than everyone on the American team last time in Italy.
How can I watch the PGA Championship?
Coverage of the PGA Championship on Friday starts at 7 a.m. on ESPN+ until noon, and then it switches to ESPN until 7 p.m. On the weekend, coverage goes from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on ESPN+, then moves to ESPN until 1 p.m. CBS and Paramount+ take over from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Which teams are considered the frontrunners for betting?
Scheffler started as a slight favorite and now is listed as the clear favorite by BetMGM Sportsbook at 7-2 after opening with a 69. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau shot 71 and was next at 10-1. McIlroy has fallen to 12-1 after starting at 9-2.
Vegas, the 18-hole leader, is at 25-1. This is only the second time he has finished a round in a major in the top 10, and he has never finished in the top 20 in a major.
What’s at stake?
The winner
gets the Wanamaker Trophy
, weighing 27 pounds, it is the heaviest among the four main championship trophies.
McIlroy faces a difficult path toward becoming the fifth player since 1960 to win the first two majors of the year. Spieth hopes to become the seventh player with the career Grand Slam.
Schauffele (72) aims to be just the third golfer to claim back-to-back victories at the PGA Championship under stroke-play format. Should Justin Thomas (73) secure the title, he would join an elite group with Tiger Woods as the sole players to have won the PGA Championship twice at the same venue.
Who are the players to watch?
The world’s top three players — Scheffler, McIlroy and Schauffele — will be grouped together on Friday, although they will tee off in the afternoon this time.
Scheffler is just five shots off the pace, which is nothing for world’s top player. McIlroy, who is 10 shots back, will need to go on one of his famous Quail Hollow runs if he hopes to climb back into contention. He has won four times here, more than any other golf course in America. He never looked comfortable with his driver on Thursday.
Schauffele, the defending PGA champion, is eight shots back.
Bradley, who shot 68 despite a bogey on No. 18, might be a player to watch.
In 2017, Thomas clinched victory at the PGA Championship when it took place at Quail Hollow, breaking his dry spell after securing triumph at the RBC Heritage just last month. Nonetheless, he still faces considerable challenges ahead.
What about LIV?
There are 16 players from LIV Golf in the field at the PGA Championship, the same number as last year. That includes John Catlin, a regular reserve for the Saudi-funded league.
Tyrrell Hatton could be the one to watch after shooting 68. Two-time U.S. Open Bryson DeChambeau isn’t out of contention after a 71. As for two-time PGA champion Phil Mickelson, he only beat club pros.
What’s the forecast?
Mostly sunshine for the second round Friday with a high pushing 90 degrees. There is less than a 10% chance of rain.
What happened last year?
Schauffele won the PGA Championship last year at Valhalla for his first major, making a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over DeChambeau. That’s what happened inside the ropes.
Outside the ropes was an astounding development: Scheffler, the Masters champion and No. 1 player in the world, was arrested by Louisville police on the morning of the second round and taken to jail in handcuffs on charges he did not follow instructions by police investigating a traffic fatality.
Scheffler was released in time to make it back to Valhalla — there was a rain delay — and then shot 66 and was three shots off the lead. It caught up with him the next day, when he shot 73, and he finished in a tie for eighth.
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Doug Ferguson And Steve Reed, The Associated Press
