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Key events
The 2020 PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa has opened his 2024 account with a drive to the 1st fairway (just). Valhalla was designed by Jack Nicklaus, and Morikawa has claimed victory on three different Golden Bear-created layouts – Montreux, Muirfield Village and The Concession. His 192-yard approach has just plummeted into the front greenside bunker, however.
Eagle for Bryson DeChambeau! It’s been a quiet day for the 2020 US Open champion but he’s just holed a 51-yard pitch for a three at the par-five 8th. He’s now -2 with one hole to play.
It’s been an electric start to the year’s second major. Scott’s work on the early wave has been akin to standing on a motorway bridge, frantically scribbling the registration plates of every passing vehicle. So thank you, Scott, you deserve a lie down. And hello all – here’s hoping for more of the same with the afternoon starters.
Time to hand over the reins of this hole-by-hole blog to the one and only Matt Cooper. He’ll take it home, and I’ll see you again tomorrow afternoon. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks right now, with the second wave – including the world number-one Scottie Scheffler – ready to start their bid.
-9: Schauffele (F)
-6: Finau (16*)
-5: McIlroy (F), MacIntyre (17)
-4: Kohles (F), Koepka (17*), Theegala (16*)
Rory McIlroy talks to Sky. “I rode my luck a little bit [on 1] … I took advantage of my ball not being in the sand [at 6] … I hope I drive it a little bit better, like Rory 2014 … fairway woods were OK … if I can put the ball on the fairway a bit more … my game in terms of putting, scrambling and iron play is coming together … if I can do all that the way I have been, and just hit a few more fairways with the driver, I’m feeling pretty good.”
Brooks Koepka is making a move all right! He drains a monster across 8 and all of a sudden he’s right in the mix at -4.
Tiger speaks to Sky. “It was a grind … I struggled with the speed of the greens … I should have been under par but ended over par … we’ve got a long way to go … it’s a big-boy course now … it’s a lot bigger or maybe I’ve just gotten shorter!”
Another big eagle, this time on 18, as Adam Hadwin turns an average round into a fine opening 68 in one fell swoop. He’s -3.
The defending champion Brooks Koepka creams his second at the par-five 7th from 211 yards to a couple of feet, and tidies up for his eagle. He’s -3 and he’s successfully defended this championship before.
McIlroy cards 66
A garden-variety par for Rory McIlroy up the 9th. He’s back in 31 strokes, and signs for a 66. That round threatened to spiral out of control in the middle, some thoroughly average driving getting him into all sorts. But a couple of scrambled pars, at 16 and 18, followed by an outrageous birdie at 1 after hitting the flagstick from 165 yards, got him back on track, after which he took full advantage of the momentum. Xander Schauffele will of course be delighted with his round of 62 … but he’ll also be looking over his shoulder at the man who caused him so much grief in North Carolina last weekend. He’s not going away.
-9: Schauffele (F)
-6: Finau (15*)
-5: McIlroy (F), MacIntyre (17)
Some Jean van de Veldeian capers for Cameron Smith down the par-five 7th. He sends his drive into shallow water, so takes off his shoes and socks, rolls up his breeks, and batters his second back out onto the fairway. All good knockabout fun, and well worth it too, as he escapes the hole with a par. He remains at -3.
Xander Schauffele, PGA Championship record breaker, speaks to Sky Sports. “It’s just a great start … I still have three more rounds to play … we got put on the clock and I just got in a rhythm … nobody ahead of us and I got the ball rolling … I’ve cleaned up a lot of action in my swing, which has been very helpful.”
Another careless three-putt bogey for Tiger Woods, this time at 9. Very avoidable errors, back to back, and he’s signing for a one-over 72.
Two putts for Rory on 8. The first never reaching, but it had enough pace for the second to be a formality. He remains at -5.
A really fine fighting par for Tony Finau at 5. Having sent his drive into thick filth down the right, he powers his ball out to the front of the green. Imagine the strength; Cameron Smith was only able to hack out from a similar spot. His long first putt isn’t great, but he rolls in the eight-footer he leaves himself and that keeps him three off the lead at -6. Meanwhile up on 8, Rory McIlroy – who converted his birdie at 7, his third in a row – finds the heart of the green and will have a look from 20 feet to make it four.
-9: Schauffele (F)
-6: Finau (14*)
-5: McIlroy (16*), MacIntyre (15)
-4: Kohles (F)
-3: Smith (15*), Homa (14*), Spieth (14*), Theegala (14*)
Schauffele shoots 62, a new PGA Championship record!
Xander Schauffele faces an uphill putt from 30 feet. He gives it a good roll, ensuring at least he doesn’t leave it short, so he won’t die wondering. But it breaks to the right near the end and he’s got a tricky three-footer for par. But he’s not making any mistakes today, and that’s a blemish-free round of 62! He ties the lowest round in major-championship history – something he’d already done at the US Open last year – and breaks the scoring record at the PGA! What a round of golf. Outstanding, especially in the light of the disappointment he suffered at Quail Hollow last Sunday!
-9: Schauffele (F)
A really clumsy three-putt bogey for Tiger on 8. A 40-foot birdie effort sent sailing 12 feet past. He can’t make the one coming back, and there goes the shot he’d just picked up at 7. He’s back to level par. Meanwhile on the par-five 7th, Rory McIlroy gently clips his third to a couple of feet, and will surely be moving to -5 shortly.
Xander Schauffele sends his second into 9 from 137 yards. He yelps in mild irritation as he can only find the heart of the green. It’s hardly a disaster, as he’ll have two putts from 30 feet for a round of 62, but he’ll still be dreaming of a record-breaking 61. So in that respect, it’s not ideal. Big putt coming up!
Xander Schauffele clips a 3-wood down the centre of 18. Up on the green, a birdie for Ben Kohles, who signs for a superb 67; not a bad start to his PGA Championship career, huh? He’s -4. Meanwhile up on 5, Max Homa sends a tramliner into the cup from 40 feet. It’s his third birdie in a row, and suddenly he’s right amongst it as well. To repeat, reiterate and ram home: it is all happening.
-9: Schauffele (17*)
-6: Finau (13*)
-5: MacIntyre (15)
-4: Kohles (F), McIlroy (15*), Homa (14*)
-3: Kaymer (16), Smith (14*), Spieth (13*), Theegala (13*)
Eagle-eyed leaderboard enthusiasts will have spotted the absence of Cameron Smith at -4. That’s because he couldn’t scramble his par on 5. Meanwhile birdie for Tiger at 7 and he’s back into the red. And back on 4, Tony Finau isn’t far away from holing out with his second, but birdie will be more than sufficient and he takes sole ownership of second spot at -6. It is all happening.
Rory McIlroy takes advantage of a big stroke of luck at 6. His second should by rights drop into a bunker to the left of the green, but instead somehow sticks on a little inlet of turf at the top. He’s left with a very inviting chip … which he carefully clips in for birdie! He’s now -4 and what a turnaround this is. Meanwhile on 8, Xander Schauffele gets his relief from the drain cover, then clips a wedge up the swale to a couple of feet. He tidies up for a par. One more, and he’ll be signing for a 62. The dream, of course, is birdie. God speed, Xander.
-9: Schauffele (17*)
-5: MacIntyre (14), Finau (12*)
-4: McIlroy (15*)
Hats off to Michael Block, last year’s fairytale, who began his round today with a horror-show bogey/quadruple-bogey whammy. He made it round the following 16 holes in level par, and ends the day at +5, signing for a 76. That’s some effort after such a confidence-sapping start!
Xander Schauffele makes perhaps his first mistake of the day at the par-three 8th. He takes one club too many and his ball, while landing on the green, disappears over the back. It rests in a drain cover, from which he’ll get relief. But it’ll be a test to get up and down from there, even if he can take putter to it. A reminder: a par-par finish will give him a PGA Championship record round of 62, and equal the men’s major record he already jointly holds. But what he’d give for another birdie and a record-book-rewriting 61!
Xander Schauffele leaves his lengthy eagle putt a couple of feet short. Fine judgement from 55 feet. In goes the birdie putt, and he’s two pars away from the second major-championship 62 of his career! Hatton meanwhile does indeed make his birdie two at 3. He’s -1. But some trouble for Cameron Smith down 5. He sends his tee shot into knee-high rough, and can only gouge back out into the fairway. He’ll need to get up and down from distance to remain in sole ownership of fourth place.
-9: Schauffele (16*)
-5: MacIntyre (13), Finau (12*)
-4: Smith (13*)
Tyrrell Hatton is this close to a hole-in-one at 3. An iron lashed straight at the flag, his ball rolling along the right-hand lip but stubbornly staying out. Unless he does something very twitchy with his putter, he’ll be moving to -1 shortly.
Another birdie for Cameron Smith, this time at 4. The 2022 Open champion firmly in the mix. And a big chance for Rory McIlroy at the 5th, after sending his second to six feet. He rolls it in without fuss but with great confidence, and that mid-round flounder seems a long time ago now. Smith is now alone in fourth at -4, while McIlroy joins the pack tied for fifth at -3.
Xander Schauffele sends his second at 7 over the water from 240 yards and into the front of the green. He’ll have a very long look at eagle. Meanwhile Max Homa is inches away from an ace on the par-three 3rd, but he’s happy enough to tap in from 18 inches for a birdie that brings him back into the red at -1.
The 2010 champion Martin Kaymer’s approach at 15 only just squeaks over the water … but it turns out to be perfect. Pin high, four feet from the flag. In goes the birdie, his third in six holes, and having recovered from a long-term wrist injury, well, what a story this could be. He’s not made the cut at a major since the 2021 US Open; he’s not made the top ten at one since the 2016 PGA. He’s still only 39, and well, you never know. He’s -3.
-8: Schauffele (15*)
-5: MacIntyre (13), Finau (10*)
-3: Kohles (16), Kaymer (15), Smith (12*), Matsuyama (12*), Spieth (11*), Theegala (10*), Moore (9)
Cameron Smith is going along nicely. A third birdie of the day, this one at 3, and he’s up to -3 with a blemish-free card. Back on 2, Jordan Spieth gets up and down elegantly from a deep bunker to remain at -3. Par for Rory McIlroy on 4 to stay at -2. And on the par-five 7th, which offers a choice of routes to the green, Xander Schauffele goes for the smaller fairway on the left. He finds it, and will have a shorter second shot in. A man in complete control of his game at the moment.
Schauffele had taken no liberties on the notoriously difficult 6th, happy just to get on the putting surface, not taking aim at the flag. Even so, he nearly drains the 50-footer for birdie. He taps in for par, on a hole named Long Shot, which according to the official literature “refers not to distance but one’s chance of making a par”. Nothing beyond Xander right now. He remains at -8.
Another birdie for Bob MacIntyre! This one at 12, and what a leaderboard – now also featuring Ben Kohles, making his tournament debut at the age of 34 – we have here!
-8: Schauffele (14*)
-5: MacIntyre (12), Finau (9*)
-3: Kohles (15), Spieth (10*), Moore (9)
At the risk of tempting fate, and the ire of the golfing gods, we’re going to have to talk about this. Xander Schauffele has four holes left to play. If he pars his way home, he’ll be signing for a 63, which would equal the tournament record jointly held by (deep breath) Bruce Crampton, Ray Floyd, Gary Player, Vijay Singh, Michael Bradley, Brad Faxon, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mark O’Meara, Thomas Bjorn, Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jason Dufner, Hiroshi Iwata, Robert Streb, Brooks Koepka (twice), Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson. One more birdie, and it’ll be a 62 that’d tie the men’s major-championship record co-held by Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Schauffele himself. Two more birdies, and it’s new ground with a 61. Anyway, he’s on the long par-four 6th in regulation, so we’ve not spoilt everyone’s fun yet.
Make that three. Xander Schauffele is a machine. He sends his second at 5 to eight feet, and forensically guides the putt into the centre of the cup. It was never missing. This is an absolute clinic.
-8: Schauffele (14*)
-5: Finau (9*)
McIlroy rattles in his par putt. He’s not bringing his best stuff at the moment, but he’s battled through a difficult few holes with minimal damage, and come out the other end at -2. He could do with finding a couple of fairways going forward. Meanwhile at 18, Tony Finau leaves himself short when chipping out from greenside sand, but he rolls in the ten-footer that remains, and the birdie means he’s turning in 31 strokes. The equal of Xander Schauffele, who he trails by a couple.
-7: Schauffele (13*)
-5: Finau (9*)
Sahith Theegala rakes a monster across 18 for birdie. He’s turning in 34. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy can only hack out from the thick rough down the left of 2. He leaves himself a tricky chip from 35 yards over a bunker, with not much in the way of green to play with. A delicate lob sends his ball rolling to four feet, and he’ll have a great opportunity to escape with par.
Bob MacIntyre sends his tee shot at the par-three 11th over the flag to ten feet, and tickles in the gentle left-to-right downhill slider for another birdie. This is a magnificent performance by Scotland’s finest. Elsewhere, birdie for Tiger at 4 to return the great man to level par, while defending champ Brooks Koepka birdies 18 to move into the red.
-7: Schauffele (13*)
-4: MacIntyre (11), Finau (8*)
-3: Spieth (9*), Moore (8)
Jordan Spieth bounces back from that careless bogey on 18 with birdie at 18. He turns in 33. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Ludvig Aberg, who repairs much of the damage inflicted by that slow start. He’s just +1 now.
Rory’s driver is misbehaving, though, and his tee shot at 2 disappears down a bank to the left of the fairway. Meanwhile Schauffele continues to have the time of his life, battering a 330-yard drive down the short par-four 4th, then chipping up to kick-in distance. He’s -7!
McIlroy walks in his birdie putt on 1, and that’s a birdie out of nowhere! Having scrambled his par on 18, that’s a passage of play that’ll give him a welcome confidence boost after a few shaky holes. He’s back to -2. Meanwhile Taylor Moore drains a long putt on 7 for his third birdie of the day so far to move to -3.
“Nah, nah, nah, this guy should be locked up!” Sky colour man Wayne Riley on Rory McIlroy, who having sent his tee shot into thick rough down the right of 1, leaving himself with an awkward lie, the ball well above his feet, lashes an iron from 165 yards straight at the flagstick. Clatter! The ball deflects pin high, six yards away, and he’ll have a great look at birdie. He’d have been merely happy to save par, so tricky was the lie, and his broad smile reflects that. No ambivalence this time!
Stephan Jaeger is a man in form. He’s the guy who pipped Scottie Scheffler at the Houston Open back in March, the only tournament the world number one has failed to win in his last five starts. The 34-year-old from Munich has since had three decent finishes on Tour – T18, T20, T21 – and was going along very nicely this morning, cancelling out an early bogey at 11 with birdies at 15, 17, 1 and 2 … but he’s just three-putted 4 to drop back to -2. A dropped shot for Doug Ghim as well, at 5, and suddenly the top of the leaderboard has thinned out a bit.
-6: Schauffele (11*)
-4: Finau (7*)
-3: MacIntyre (9)
Rory makes his par putt! That’ll make him feel a whole lot better about himself. He remains at -1 having played the back nine in 35 strokes. Bogey for Jordan Spieth at 17, the result of quitting on a chip coming up the bank; he’s -2. In the meantime, Schauffele rattles his birdie putt into the cup with absurd confidence, the ball battering the back of the cup and dropping with a satisfying death rattle. He’s two clear!
-6: Schauffele (11*)
-4: Finau (7*)
-3: Ghim (13*), Jaeger (12*), MacIntyre (9)
Corrections and clarifications dept. Rory isn’t wedging in from 100 yards. It’s 99. Many apologies. He screeches his fourth shot pin high, spinning it back a little, and will have a look at saving his par from seven feet or so. As he trudges up to the green, it’s hard to work out whether he’s wearing a look of relief at having a chance to escape, or irritation at having got into so much trouble. A study in ambivalence, let’s settle on that.
McIlroy can only whip back out with a 7-iron. He finds the fairway but he’ll need to get up and down from 100 yards if he’s not to card back-to-back bogeys. How quickly things can spin out of control. Meanwhile up on 2, Schauffele is making things look absurdly easy, clacking his approach to five feet. As Rory battles, Xander will have another great look at birdie!
McIlroy tiptoes around the waterfalls as he works out where his ball entered the hazard. Eventually he drops but he’ll surely not be able to take a shy at the green with his third stroke, so par will be some result from here after all. Just as well this didn’t happen with darkness descending a decade ago.
Rory McIlroy is beginning to get a little ragged. When he won here in the gloaming in 2014, he nearly found the water down the right of the hole. Well, this time he’s gone in. It’s a par five, so escaping without dropping a shot is still very possible, but it’s a job of work now, and he’d have fancied himself for a bounceback birdie, so these are testing times for McIlroy all of a sudden.
Xander Schauffele’s drive at 1 finds rough down the right, and his second sails into a big bunker to the left of the green. The calmest of up and downs secures his par. And it’s a fine street-fighting par for Jordan Spieth on 16, as he chips up from the back of the green, 90 feet to six, and knocks in the putt. They remain at -5 and -3 respectively.
Disappointment for Tiger on 18. Two big hits to reach the fringe, but a weak chip up costs him the opportunity of birdie and chance to hit the turn in level par. Disappointment also for Rory back on 17, as he’s unable to get up and down from greenside sand for two holes in a row. He slips back to -1, and a fast start suddenly looks average with Schauffele and Finau going gangbusters.
Bob MacIntyre had a birdie putt lip out on 6. He hasn’t let it affect him. He sends his approach at 7 over the flag to four feet, and mops up without fuss. Meanwhile a third birdie on the bounce for Tony Finau, the latest at 15, and he moves to -4. And also heading in the right direction, Viktor Hovland, who responds to that dropped stroke at 14 with birdie at 16. He rejoins the group at -3.
-5: Schauffele (9*)
-4: Finau (6*)
-3: Ghim (12*), MacIntyre (7), Hovland (7*), Spieth (6*), Finau (5*), Burmester (4*)
-2: Donald (11), Herbert (11*), Fox (10), Jaeger (10*), Hisatsune (9), McIlroy (7*), Matsuyama (6*), Hatton (5*), Moore (4)
Xander Schauffele has been working on his putting after last weekend’s malfunctions. The effort has been worth it. He walks in yet another birdie putt, this time at the par-five 18th, and he’s played the back nine flawlessly, taking just 31 strokes. All of a sudden, a little daylight at the top of the leaderboard.
-5: Schauffele (9*)
-3: Ghim (12*), Spieth (6*), Finau (5*), Burmester (4*)
The big-hitting Dean Burmester will fancy his chances around Valhalla. He’s flown out of the traps, too, having just made his third birdie in four holes at 13. The best of the bunch came at the par-three 11th, bundling in a chip from the side of a bank.
-4: Schauffele (8*)
-3: Ghim (11*), Spieth (6*), Finau (5*), Burmester (4*)
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