Xander Schauffele wasted no time at Valhalla on Thursday morning.
Schauffele went low to kick off the 106th PGA Championship. He posted a course-record 9-under 62 to grab an early three-shot lead over the field when he hit the clubhouse. His bogey-free round tied the lowest round in major championship history, something he's now done twice.
Schauffele finished in second last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, which marked his eighth top-10 finish so far this season on the PGA Tour. He hasn't won a major championship yet in his career, but he's inside the top 20 at every major but two since 2019. By all accounts, he's due.
Though his early lead was impressive, and it matched the largest opening-round lead in tournament history, it likely won't hold. There's still plenty of golf to be played the rest of the week in Louisville. Tiger Woods stumbled to close out his round. He made back-to-back bogeys in his final two holes and carded a 1-over 72 in the early wave. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, made three birdies in his final five holes to get to 5-under — which has him right in the mix.
Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala are tied in second at 6-under. Robert MacYntire, Tom Hoge, Tom Kim, Thomas Detry and Collin Morikawa joined McIlroy at 5-under. Scottie Scheffler, who pulled out a wild eagle hole out to start his day, finished at 4-under.
If you're looking for the leaderboard, click here.
And if you're looking for on-course updates, stick right here. We got you covered.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER69 updates
Ryan Young
Friday Tee Times
With weather likely going to be a factor throughout the day, here are some notable tee times for Friday's second round.
All times ET | *10th tee start
8:26 a.m. - Morikawa, Mickelson, Fitzpatrick*
8:37 a.m. - Fowler, Rahm, Young*
8:48 a.m. - Clark, Harman, Scheffler*
1:18 p.m. - Åberg, Schauffele, Thomas
1:29 p.m. - Woods, Scott, Bradley
1:40 p.m. - McIlroy, Johnson, Rose
2:24 p.m. - Bhatia, DeChambeau, Fleetwood
Ryan Young
We've got a record for the most players under par after the opening round at the PGA Championship. The cut will be top 70 players and ties tomorrow, which has that number now around E.
There are currently 65 players under par, which would be a first-round record for the PGA. The record was 60 in 2006 at Medinah.
After Thursday's opening round, here's a look at where things stand at Valhalla.
Leaderboard:
1. Xander Schauffele (-9)
T2. Tony Finau (-6)
T2. Sahith Theegala
T4. Rory McIlroy (-5)
T4. Robert MacIntyre
T4. Tom Hoge
T4. Thomas Detry
T4. Collin Morikawa
Other Notables:
T10. Brooks Koepka (-4)
T10. Scottie Scheffler
T18. Max Homa (-3)
T18. Bryson DeChambeau
T31. Jordan Spieth (-2)
T31. Justin Thomas
T45. Jon Rahm (-1)
T87. Tiger Woods (+1)
T127. Phil Mickelson (+3)
T155. John Daly (
Ryan Young
After his eagle to start the day, Scottie Scheffler finished with three straight pars to close out his round. He carded a 4-under 67, and trails Xander Schauffele by 5 heading into Friday.
Ryan Young
Rickie Fowler really settled in after a wild front nine today.
He had to throw a club, but Jon Rahm got into the red to close out his opening round on Thursday afternoon. Rahm made four birdies in his final six holes to finish with his 1-under 70.
After his four early birdies to start the round, that's a very impressive finish.
Jon Rahm today:
First 12 holes: +3, -2.50 strokes gained putting Last 6 holes: -4, +1.14 strokes gained putting
Phil Mickelson just doubled the 18th, and went 4-over in his last four holes to card his 3-over 74. He was under par before that last stretch. Just a brutal finish as he's trying to make a record 28th cut at the PGA Championship this week.
Ryan Young
Tom Kim finished with a 5-under 66, which makes him the youngest player to shoot a 66 or better to open the tournament in more than 20 years. He's T5 now, four shots back of Xander Schauffele
Tom Kim (66 today, age 21) is the youngest player to begin a @PGAChampionship with 66 or better since Sergio Garcia opened with 66 in 1999 at age 19.
It was only a matter of time, and Jon Rahm finally lost his cool. His frustration had been building all day. Of course, he scrambled for par right after this ...
Thomas Detry is still scoring, but he's about the only one. He just picked up his fifth birdie of the day to get to 5-under, which has him T4.
Rickie Fowler's scorecard ...
... is a piece of art. Behold:
(PGA)
Am > PM
Scoring has definitely gotten harder as the day has gone on. Only four of the top 19 players on the leaderboard are on the course. Only one player in the top nine — Thomas Detry (-4) — is still playing.
Scheffler gets one back ...
After a bogey at five stalled his round for a moment, Scottie Scheffler took advantage of the par-5 seventh, knocking in a four-footer for birdie to get back to 3-under.
Rahm struggling ...
It's not been a good day for Jon Rahm. He's bogeyed four of his first six holes, including an absolute shank on No. 6. He missed the green by 40 yards to the left. He did birdie the seventh to slow the bleeding, but he's got a lot of work to do if he's going to get back in contention.
(PGA)
Ryan Young
"Some days, it's better than others. It's just the way it is."
Tiger Woods clawed out a 1-over round to open the PGA Championship on Thursday.
Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods' opening round at the PGA Championship on Thursday. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ryan Young
Scottie Scheffler just bogeyed the fifth after landing in a greenside bunker. That dropped him back to 2-under for the day. Matching Xander Schauffele's bogey-free round is now out of the question.
Ryan Young
Scheffler 3-under thru 4
Scottie Scheffler just birdied No. 4 to get to 3-under for the day. It's still early, but...
Scottie Scheffler is now -3 after four holes and ahead of Xander's pace. Hang on tight.
Scottie Scheffler birdies the fourth, taking him to 3-under after his first-hole eagle.
Ryan Young
Can Scottie Scheffler follow in Wyndham Clark's footsteps?
You don't have to go back far to find the last major winner who started their week with an eagle - Wyndham Clark did it last summer at LACC when he won the U.S. Open.
LOUISVILLE — Scottie Scheffler stood at the first tee nine strokes behind clubhouse leader Xander Schauffele. Two swings later, Scheffler had sliced Schauffele's lead to seven.
More on the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world's start from on the ground at Valhalla.
Click the photo to read more about Scottie Scheffler's start to the PGA Championship on Thursday. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Ryan Young
The last time the PGA Championship was played at Valhalla, Rory McIlroy won. Since his two major titles in 2014, however, he's come up short every single time.
But McIlroy is back near the top of the leaderboard after his opening round 66 on Thursday in Louisville.
Click the photo to read more about Rory McIlroy's opening round at the PGA Championship on Thursday. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Ryan Young
Scottie Scheffler eagles immediately
Scottie Scheffler wasn't going to let anybody forget about him. He just holed his second shot at the PGA Championship from the middle of the fairway to immediately get to 2-under, because of course he did.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 16, 2024
That eagle at No. 7 (he started on the back nine) put him at 2-under and into the hunt (somewhat).
Ryan Young
Xander Schauffele is now the first person to ever shoot a 62 in a round at a major championship multiple times.
More on Schauffele's historic start from Jay Busbee on the ground at Valhalla.
Click the photo to read more about Xander Schauffele's historic start at Valhalla on Thursday afternoon. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Round 1 so far ...
Here's a quick recap on the day so far:
- Xander Schauffele has set a course, PGA and major (tied) record with a 9-under 62. Yeah, he's in first, three shots clear of ...
- Tony Finau, who's just ahead of ...
- A collection of big names that includes: Rory McIlroy (-5), Brooks Koepka (-4) and Cam Smith (-3)
- Tiger Woods bogeyed his last two holes and is at +1.
- The morning tee times look to have the advantage as they got out before the course dried out. The afternoon crew won't be hitting to the same soft greens. That wave includes world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who's about to tee off.
Cam Smith makes things interesting
This is just Cam Smith hitting his second shot on No. 7 out of the water ... and ultimately saving par.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 16, 2024
Ryan Young
Rory McIlroy in T3
Rory McIlroy missed a long birdie putt at the ninth, but he's right in the mix after a solid opening round. McIlroy posted a 5-under 66, thanks to four birdies on his back nine, and now sits in T3.
It was his 19th career round of 66 or lower at a major.
Rory McIlroy: 19th career round of 66 or lower in major championships
Most rounds of 66 or better in majors, last 30 seasons: Tiger Woods, 28 Rory McIlroy, 19 Phil Mickelson, 18 Brooks Koepka, 17
After briefly getting into the red, Tiger Woods stumbled a bit to close out his opening round at Valhalla. He ended his day with a pair of bogeys after back-to-back 3-putts.
He finished with a 1-over 72. That has him in T55, 11 shots back of Xander Schauffele.
With Xander Schauffele's historic round now complete, here's an early look at where things stand at Valhalla.
Leaderboard:
1. Xander Schauffele (-9) (F)
2. Tony Finau (-6) (14*)
T3. Rory McIlroy (-5) (16*)
T3. Robert MacIntyre (-5) (15)
5. Ben Kohles (-4) (F)
Other Notables:
T9. Justin Thomas (-2) (F)
T9. Jordan Spieth (-2) (14*)
T19. Brooks Koepka (-1) (14*)
T31. Tiger Woods (E) (17*)
T78. Michael Block (+5) (F)
Yet To Tee Off:
Cam Davis
Jason Day
Phil Mickelson
Collin Morikawa
Rickie Fowler
Jon Rahm
Patrick Reed
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Xander Schauffele sets course record
Xander Schauffele's historic round is now officially in the books.
Schauffele posted a 9-under 62 to open the PGA Championship. That set a new course record at Valhalla, and gave him a 3-shot lead over the field in the early wave.
Schauffele's bogey-free round surpassed José María Olazábal, who fired a 63 in his third round at Valhalla in 2000. The 62 tied the lowest round at a major championship in history, too, something he's now done twice.
Max Homa is finally making moves. He's just made his third straight birdie, and his sixth of the day, to get to 3-under.
Ryan Young
Tiger Woods back under par
Finally, after missing a few chances earlier, Tiger Woods is back in the red. Woods sank a birdie putt at the 7th, which marked his first birdie at a par 5 today.
He's still well back of Xander Schauffele, but he's T17 with two holes to go in his opening round. Not a bad spot to be.
After nearly landing in the bunker at No. 5, Rory McIlroy just pulled out a birdie chip-in. He's at 3-under now in T4.
Ryan Young
Xander Schauffele's lead is at four now after a simple two-putt birdie at the par-5 7th. He's at 9-under, and seriously looking at the new course record at Valhalla.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 16, 2024
The plight of Xander
Here's what Xander Schauffele is trying to overcome:
No, he hasn't won a major yet, but he's ALWAYS in contention. Outside of two missed cuts (Masters 2022, PGA 2021) and a T41 at the 2019 Open, he's finished inside the top 20 at every major since 2019 — 17 of the last 20. That includes nine top 10s.
He's got the game to win, he just needs to finish.
Ryan Young
Tiger Woods just missed a very makeable birdie putt at No. 5. He's hanging out at even par with four holes to go in his opening round.
Ryan Young
Xander Schauffele is just a few birdies away from a historic opening round at Valhalla.
What's in play for Xander: Lowest score at a PGA Championship round at Valhalla was Jose Maria Olazabal, who put a 63 on the board in 2000's Round 3, per @EliasSports. Twelve players have shot 65.
It's almost too easy for Xander Schauffele out there right now. He tapped-in for another birdie after just missing an eagle at No. 4 to grab a 3-shot lead over the field.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 16, 2024
He's at 2-under now after a birdie to open his back nine.
Ryan Young
Xander birdies again
Xander Schauffele just birdied again at the par-4 2nd. It's one of the hardest holes on the course, and he stuck his approach just a few feet from the cup for an easy birdie putt.
Birmingham-Southern fell behind 7–0 in its Division III College World Series matchup with Salve Regina and couldn't overcome the deficit in a 7–5 defeat.
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