LOUISVILLE (AP) – Xander Schauffele saw no reason to change anything in his swing or think any less of his game after yet another close call at ending two years without winning. The idea was to “keep chugging along”.
Thursday looked more like a sprint, right into the PGA Championship record book.
Schauffele seized on soft, still conditions that hardly resembled a major championship test for a NINE-under 62, the lowest score in PGA Championship history, and matched another PGA record by building a three-shot lead after the opening round at vulnerable Valhalla.
Sixty-four players broke par, the most ever for a first round at the PGA Championship. The field of 156 players produced 542 birdies and seven eagles on the spongy turf and forgiving greens, with cheers coming from all corners of the course.
It still wasn’t enough to get Schauffele, a 30-year-old who oozes California chill, all that excited. He also shot 62 in the first round of the United States (US) Open last year at Los Angeles Country Club – so did Rickie Fowler – and finished the week in a tie for 10th.
Schauffele led by three shots over Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Mark Hubbard, all reaching 65 with a burst of birdies somewhere along the way.
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler saw Schauffele’s score and cared only about putting together a good round in his first competition since his son was born last week.
That he did, holing out with a nine-iron from 167 yards on the first hole for eagle, the highlight in a round of 67. Scheffler failed to birdie the par 5s on the back nine and had a few other mistakes that sent him to the range after his round.
“I felt like there was a couple things I can clean up going into tomorrow, but overall today was a solid round,” Scheffler said after his 41st consecutive round at par or better.
This was an easy day to keep that streak going. Valhalla didn’t put up much of a fight. And even players who stumbled from the start had ample opportunity to turn it around.
Jon Rahm opened with four bogeys in six holes, threw a club in disgust on the 16th hole and still managed a 70 by making four birdies down the stretch. Collin Morikawa was two over through five holes, but he responded with three straight birdies and finished with a 65.
Even so, Schauffele posted a special round. He one-putted 12 times – two of them for par that he considered crucial to his round – and he didn’t go more than one hole without a birdie until the very end, when he finished par-par for the record.
The three-shot lead matches the 18-hole record held by Bobby Nichols in 1964 at Columbus (Ohio) Country Club and Raymond Floyd in 1982 at Southern Hills. Both went on to win, something Schauffele could use.
He had a 54-hole lead last week at Quail Hollow, only for Rory McIlroy to blitz him on the last day with a 65. Schauffele also had a 54-hole lead at The Players Championship and Scheffler shot 64 to beat him by one.
Schauffele had plenty of attention, playing alongside Louisville native Justin Thomas and in the group ahead of Tiger Woods, who was followed by McIlroy. Thomas rallied late for a 69 that required some perspective of his own.
