It has been five years since Jason Day won his only major title. Since then the Aussie has endured plenty of personal and professional strife, never really coming close to the sweetness that enveloped him when he won at the Whistling Straits in 2015. Having parted ways with his longtime mentor Colin Swatton, Day played with renewed purpose to score a measured 65 for a one-stroke advantage over seven golfers, including former PGA Champ Martin Kaymer and Scottie Scheffler.
Brendon Todd, already twice winner this season, continued his good run. He shot 65 in the afternoon rounds to gain a share of the lead. It was a good day too for some of the Asian golfers. Haotong Li was the best placed at 67, with Si Woo Kim on 69. Sungjae Im and Joohyung Kim are even alongside Hideki Matsuyama – each of them made 70.
Day made five birdies and kept his card clean for a gratifying round at the TPC Harding Park, the venue of the first PGA Championship on the West Coast since 1988. The event is being played without spectators to fulfil the COVID-19 regulations at this time.
“I got off to a great start,” Day said. “I got a little bit lucky between the bunkers on 10. you got to take the luck when it comes by. Today, I drove it really nicely. When I was out of position and I left myself on the right side of the fairway to at least get somewhere around the green. If did miss the green, I left it in the right spot.”
“You got to be careful,” added Day about being cautious about the back in the cold weather off the coast. “It was nice to play in the hot weather last week and coming to this week you are always cautious doing certain things — bending over. But I pretty much lather up in deep heat (ointment) and go out. I try to burn the skin off my back to be honest. I feel pretty good.”
Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Brendan Steele, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, Bud Cauley and Xander Schauffele were all tied in second at 66.
Tiger Woods makes a good start
The star studded morning session included the grouping of world No.1 Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. While Thomas lost his way toward the later part of the round, Woods found momentum. The 15-time major champion came out on top with a 68, while Thomas signed on a 71. McIlroy played his heart out but could go no farther than an even 70.
“Not necessarily the birdies but the par putt I made on 18, which was nice. Making, I think, the big par putts is what enabled, over the course of a tournament, to keep momentum of the round going, and that was a big putt for me to make after making a mistake on my tee shot, missing it left,” said Woods when asked what he thought were the highlights of the first round for him.
“You know, kept it rolling from there. I made some good putts. For the most part of the day, I missed the ball on the correct sides. This golf course, you have to hit the ball in the fairway. You get a ball in the rough, into the grain, there’s no chance you can get the ball to the green. I felt like I did a decent job of doing that, and the golf course is only going to get more difficult as the week goes on.
Woods was most impressive around the greens, playing well within himself for a solid start. He made three birdies in four holes from the 4th on his inward stretch. Incredibly, the 68 is the best opening round in a major for Tiger Woods, since the US Open in 2012.
Kaymer began his round on the 10th, but got much of his work done on the second nine. After two birdies in three holes after the turn, he cushioned his card with an eagle on the fourth to account for his 66.
Brooks Koepka chases rare threepeat
Brooks Koepka is the two-time defending champion. His quest for a threepeat took off to a rosy start, with Koepka making a 66 to join a group of seven golfers at the score.
Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Gary Woodland and Alex Noren were all sitting on the edge of the top 10 with a 3-under 67 to their names.
Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson were tucked further back at 69 after they too were among the early starters.
Sung Kang shot an even 70, after starting on the 10th hole. He made a bogey and birdie on either side of his disciplined round at the municipal course. Haotong Li, Byeong Hun An, Joohyung Kim, Sungjae Im, Xinjun Zhang, Ryo Ishikawa (72) & C. T. Pan (72) were among the Asians in the field.
