CHARLOTTE — European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald of England shot a first-round 4-under-par 67 to become among the early leaders in the PGA Championship on Thursday from golfers in the morning wave at Quail Hollow.
Alex Smalley, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Germany’s Stephan Jaeger also checked in with 67s as the clubhouse co-leaders.
Ryan Gerald, a Raleigh native who played collegiately for North Carolina, was at 7 under through 15 holes by the early afternoon and could potentially be the first-round leader if he maintains that clip.
Donald held the clubhouse co-lead when he completed his bogey-free round before others joined him with 67s.
Jaeger navigated the course with six birdies and two bogeys, including on the final hole that cost him the solo lead.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 69, while defending champion Xander Schauffele finished at 72 and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the recent Masters champion and four-time winner of the PGA Tour stop at Quail Hollow, recorded 74.
Scheffler started on the backside and notched an eagle on No. 15. But on the next hole, the trio of Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy all took double-bogey 6s.
Scheffler finished with birdies on two of the last three holes.
Smalley, who lives about 90 minutes away in Greensboro and has additional in-state ties as a former Duke golfer, was added to the field Wednesday when Sahith Theegala withdrew because of a neck injury.
J.T. Poston, also North Carolinian, finished at 3 under after a bogey on the final hole. Colombia’s Nico Echavarria, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Sweden’s Alex Noren also completed rounds at 3 under.
As of early afternoon, more than half the field had yet to complete the first round, while others were waiting to begin with tee times that stretched to 2:42 p.m. ET.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
Comments