PGA Championship First Round Live Updates: Xander Schauffele Sets Course Record, Takes Early Lead

remon BuulMay 17, 2024

13 5 minutes read

PGA Championship First Round Live Updates: Xander Schauffele Sets Course Record, Takes Early Lead

Xander Schauffele wasted no time at Valhalla on Thursday morning.

Schauffele dropped low to start the 106th PGA Championship. He posted a course-best 6-under 62 to take a three-shot lead on the field when he hit the clubhouse. His bogey-free round tied the lowest round in major championship history, something he has now done twice.

Schauffele finished second last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, which marked his eighth top 10 finish so far this season on the PGA Tour. He has yet to win a major championship in his career, but he has been in the top 20 in all but two majors since 2019. Clearly, he is due.

Although his early lead was impressive and matched the largest first-round lead in tournament history, it probably won’t hold. There’s still plenty of golf to play the rest of the week in Louisville. Tiger Woods stumbled to close his round. He made back-to-back bogeys in his final two holes and shot a 1-over 72 in the opening round. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, made three birdies in his final five holes to reach 5 under – putting him right in the mix.

Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala are tied for second at 6 under. Robert MacYntire, Tom Hoge, Tom Kim, Thomas Detry and Collin Morikawa joined McIlroy at 5 under. Scottie Scheffler, who holed a wild eagle to start his day, finished at 4 under.

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Live69 updates

Thu May 16, 2024 at 8:18 p.m. EDT

Friday departure times

With weather likely to be a factor throughout the day, here are some notable start times for Friday’s second round.

All times ET | *10th 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
Thu May 16, 2024 at 8:15 p.m. EDT

We have the record for the most players under par after the first round of the PGA Championship. The cup will be made up of the top 70 players and ties tomorrow, which now brings that number 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 in Medina.

-Bob Harig (@BobHarig) May 17, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 8:14 p.m. EDT

Scottie Scheffler will start tomorrow, 5 shots behind Xander Schauffele.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:44 p.m. EDT

Ranking update

After Thursday’s opening round, here’s a look at the situation in Valhalla.

Ranking:

1. Alex Schauffele (-9)

T2. Tony Finau (-6)

T2. Sahith Theegala

T4. Rory McIlroy (-5)

T4. Robert MacIntyre

T4. Tom Hoge

T4. Thomas Detry

T4. Colin 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 (
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:40 p.m. EDT

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.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:37 p.m. EDT

Rickie Fowler really settled in after a savage ahead of nine today.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:31 p.m. EDT

Xander Schauffele will maintain his 3-shot lead through Friday. The bottom two who had such a large lead after the first round were victorious.

A 3-shot lead for Xander Schauffele will tie the largest after the first round of @PGAChampionship history.

1963 Dick Hart (completed T-17)
1964 Bobby Nichols (won)
1982 Raymond Floyd (won)
2024 Alex Schauffele

– Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 16, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. EDT

Jon Rahm is under par

He had to throw a club, but Jon Rahm fell into the red to close out his first round 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, it was a very impressive finish.

Jon Rahm today:

First 12 holes: +3, -2.50 strokes gained on putting
Last 6 holes: -4, +1.14 strokes gained putting

– Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 16, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:21 p.m. EDT

Phil Mickelson just doubled the 18th and went 4-over in his last four holes to get his 3-over 74. He was under par before this last sequence. Just a brutal end as he attempts to make a record 28th cut at the PGA Championship this week.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:06 p.m. EDT

Tom Kim finished with a 5-under 66, making him the youngest player to shoot a 66 or better to open the tournament in more than 20 years. He is T5 now, four shots behind Xander Schauffele

Tom Kim (66 years old today, 21 years old) is the youngest player to have started a @PGAChampionship with 66 or better since Sergio Garcia opened with 66 in 1999 at age 19.

– Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 16, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 7:02 p.m. EDT

Rahmbo makes an appearance

It was only a matter of time, and Jon Rahm finally lost his cool. His frustration had been building up all day. Of course, he strove for par right after that…

And then he birdied No. 17 to bring it back into a tie. So, the lesson for all of you young people…
Thu May 16, 2024 at 6:57 p.m. EDT

Jon Rahm still saved par after this clover throw. So everything worked out for him, I guess. He is now at 1 with two holes to play.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 6:45 p.m. EDT

Scottie Scheffler has just made a birdie-bogey-birdie to get to 4 under that day. After stalling a bit after his strong start, he’s back in the mix.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 6:09 p.m. EDT

Despite being a long way from Xander Schauffele, Lefty still has a lot on the line this week in Valhalla.

Phil Mickelson moves to 1 under. He has 46 career rounds under par at the PGA Championship, second all-time behind Jack Nicklaus (53 rounds).

Mickelson has 27 career PGA cuts, tied with Nicklaus and Ray Floyd.

– Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 16, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 6:04 p.m. EDT

That might have been the first smile we saw from Jon Rahm all day.

He is now at 3 on his last nine.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 5:40 p.m. EDT

This is Tom Kim. He made three birdies in his final four holes to reach 5 under on the day.

This moved him up to fourth alongside McIlroy, MacIntyre and Detry.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 5:20 p.m. EDT

Even though things have slowed down, we’re still on record pace today in Valhalla.

There are currently 64 players under par in Valhalla GC.

Most players under par after the first round of @PGAChampionship at 60 years old – in 2006 in Medinah CC.

– Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) May 16, 2024
Thu May 16, 2024 at 5:14 p.m. EDT

Thomas Detry always scores, but he is almost the only one. He just landed his fifth birdie of the day to reach 5 under, which places him at T4.
Thu May 16, 2024 at 4:57 p.m. EDT

Rickie Fowler’s dashboard…

…is a work of art. See:

(PGA)
Thu May 16, 2024 at 4:44 p.m. EDT

Morning > PM

Scoring definitely got tougher as the day went on. Only four of the 19 best players in the ranking are on the course. Only one player from the top nine – Thomas Detry (-4) – is still playing.