Jon Rahm he fixed his well debut in US PGA in Valhalla (Louisville, Kentucky) after a very poor start to the day that could leave him without any chance of the title. Last round of 70 (-1) for the Basque, with a delay of 4 bogeys between holes 2 and 6 that could be a slab to achieve the ‘moment’ that will change the tables. However, Jon weathered the storm, suffered, reacted, as he would when he saw the wolf’s ears, to redirect the score in the final holes: five birdies between 10 and 18 and four on the last six.
Jon, that should all be said, there’s still a lot of work to do this Friday and far from the big star on this first day, Xander Schauffeleleading with authority after scoring his second 62 in the majors (the first was in June 2023 at the US Open in Los Angeles), a new course record he took from Txema Olazabaland the lowest card in PGA history.
Schauffele nailed it and his performance was crucial, the same level he’s shown in recent weeks, where he’s come off second at the TPC, fifth at the Valspar, eighth at the Masters and second at the Wells Fargo in his last five outings.
Two birdies on two par 5s, 7 and 10, showed some changes in Rahm’s game, but a bogey on 11 sent him back to harsh reality (+3 then 12 strokes off the lead!). However, a good second shot on the 13th hole brought Barrika’s first smile of the day: a birdie that was almost an eagle on this par 4. And on the 14th hole he holed the first putt from about 7 meters for his second straight birdie. Pars on 15 and 16 and a great birdie on 17, sinking another good putt to reach par overall. Great recovery without a doubt for the champion of the USA Open in 2021 and the Masters in 2023. And on top of the job, birdie on the 18th he finished in 45th place when he reached the tenth from bottom.
Schauffele’s result puts extra pressure on many favourites, all the time Rory McIlroy (-5) he signed for 66 strokes with a single bogey. It was his 19th Grand Slams round of 66 or lower, the most in the past 30 years behind only Tiger Woods. McIlroy started with the same round of 66 in 2014… and ended up winning, although the leaders were at -6. The Scotsman is tied to Rory Robert MacIntyre (-5), a back shot Tony Finau (-6) and Sahith Theegala (-6).
The other top player to start hot is the defending champion Brooks Koepka (-4), the Australian Cameron Smith (-3), Max Homa (-3), a ‘born again’ Victor Hovland (-3), Jordan Spieth (-2) or Justin Thomas (-2), champion in 2022.
World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was on the verge of not playing in the tournament due to the birth of her first child less than ten days ago, starred in the shot of the day on the first hole, holing out for eagle-2 straight from the fairway on her second shot with 9 iron. Reluctantly, despite several greens in three putts (he still had short circuits on the green mat), he finished with a 67 (-4).
On the other hand, there are others who have left a lot of land. The most important case is that of Dustin Johnson (+2), but also Tiger Woods (+1) or the Swedish phenomenon Ludwig Aberg (+1).
About Adrian Otaeguithe native of Gipuzkoa, winner of the Volvo China Open three weeks ago, managed to finish this first day under par, 70 strokes, with 4 birdies and 3 birdies and, above all, overcome a bad beginning.
The golfer from San Sebastián was able to turn around a bad start in this PGA Championship, proving at the end of the day his second best start to a Grand Slam after last year’s British Open at Hoylake and his lowest results on Thursday at a PGA .
Therefore, we must evaluate this Basque debut in Valhalla positively. Otaegui finished his lap very pleased with her reaction. “It’s always nice to go from less to more. I finished very well, it was a plus to make the birdie on hole 8, my penultimate hole, with a good putt of about six meters. I’m happy,” he said in the mixed zone.
With his fourth best round in a ‘Big’, Adrián proved what he showed after his great final in Shenzen, and when analyzing his round on Thursday he emphasized his “cool head and the importance of playing the ball from the fairway. At first I had problems with the drive, then I was more relaxed, I had more birdie opportunities because I put the ball more in the fairway, so you have more options , and that will be a summary of the round.”
The Catalan David Puigwith a good round, lost the rhythm with a double bogey on the 16th hole, but the Barcelona GC golfer did not give up and closed his round with a birdie on the 18th, for 72 strokes (+1) in the clubhouse.
“I played better than the result said. It may seem like an excuse but it’s the truth. I took thirteen greens and closing a birdie is always good, but I want to clean up some mistakes there. There was no more. We’re not in the cut but looking out of the corner of our eyes and pretty close to the good spots, we’re in a tight spot but I’m hoping for a good day tomorrow and to see if we can take advantage of it,” Puig told Movistar Golf in the mixed zone.
Classification on the first day (par 71):
62 Xander Schauffele (USA)
65 Tony Finau (USA)
Sahith Theegala (USA)
66 Rory McIlroy (GBR)
Robert MacIntyre (GBR)
Tom Hoge (USA)
Tom Kim (CDs)
Thomas Detry (Bel)
Collin Morikawa (USA)
…
67 Brooks Koepka (USA)
Scottie Scheffler (USA)
70 Adrian Otaegui (Esp)
Jon Rahm (Esp)
72 Tiger Woods (USA)
David Puig (Esp)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
