Scottie Scheffler enters the PGA Championship opening round at Valhalla as the favorite. Tiger Woods is off with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.
Scottie Scheffler enters the PGA Championship opening round at Valhalla as the favorite. Tiger Woods is off with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott.
The 2024 PGA Championship is officially underway with Round 1 in progress at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, .
Tiger Woods teed off early this morning along with Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott. Woods, 48, has won the PGA Championship four times (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007). Due to injuries, the last time he played the PGA Championship was 2022 in Tulsa, where he withdrew after shooting a 9-over 79 in the third round.
Scottie Scheffler enters as the No. 1 player in the world and as winner of the year’s first major championship at the Masters. He has won three other times in 2024 (RBC Heritage, The Players Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational). Scheffler tees off at 2:13 p.m. alongside Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark.
USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest on live updates, Tiger Woods’ status, the leaderboard, highlights and more throughout the day. Follow along.
Xander Schauffele on record-setting pace
Continuing his early assault on Valhalla, Xander Schauffele has jumped out to a big lead with two holes to play in his opening round. With a two-putt birdie on the Par-5 seventh hole, Schauffele moved to an astounding 9 under par.
It was his fourth birdie on the front nine – after starting with five birdies on the back nine. If he birdies one of his two remaining holes and gets to 10-under, he would find himself in uncharted territory.
No player has ever shot 61 in any round of any major championship.
Schauffele leads Tony Finau and Robert MacIntyre by four shots.
Tiger Woods finally took advantage of a Par 3 on No. 3, using an iron to get within 5 feet of the cup and easily tap in for birdie. But no one has been able to stop Xander Schauffele (-7), who added another birdie at No. 4 and has a two-shot lead over Tony Finau, after he birdied 18 to close out his front nine.
Xander Schauffele moves to 6-under
Another hole and another birdie for Schauffele. He made good on the par 4, No. 2, while Rory Mcllroy hit the pin on the first hole of the back nine and tapped in for an easy birdie putt. McIlroy sits at 2-under, four shots off the lead.
Rory McIlroy struggling at end of front nine
Rory McIlroy showed a bit of frustration after his long putt for par on 17 went wide and settled for a bogey. He is 1-under and seeking his first major in 10 years, while Viktor Hovland’s struggles on 17 also led to a bogey, and he is at 2-under. Three Americans are on top of the leaderboard, led by Xander Schauffele (-5), Tony Finau, who missed a birdie chance at 16, and Doug Ghim, who are one shot back.
Tiger finishes up and down front nine, Schauffele increases lead
Tiger Woods had one birdie and two bogeys in an uneven first nine holes and finds himself at 1-over after he settled for par on the Par 5 18th. Xander Schauffele is the leader at 5-under at the start of the back nine after another birdie on the 18th. Tony Finau is off to a torrid start as well and is one shot back after three straight birdies on 13, 14 and 15.
Schauffele, seeking his first major victory, birdied Nos. 13, 15 and 16 to take the outright lead at 4-under through his first seven holes. Doug Ghim and Jordan Spieth, who is off to a great start with birdies on three of his first four holes to start the day, are one shot back. After a bogey on 15, Tiger Woods, who has been playing with fire with his putting all morning, is back to 1-over for the round.
With golfers usually making up scores when a hole is a Par 3, the early stages of Round 1 at the PGA are proving difficult. So far, only nine birdies have been made on the four Par 3 holes that have been played (No. 3, 8, 11, 14). But there have been 20 bogeys on those holes as well. Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, after his birdie on No. 13, Doug Ghim, Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre, Jordan Spieth and Sahith Theegala are on top at 2-under.
Through the early portion of the first round, no golfer has broken through to establish themselves as the one to beat. Doug Ghim and Xander Schauffele are the early leaders at 2-under, and there are nine golfers at 1-under, including Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald. Tiger Woods again settled for par on No. 13 and is still 1-over through three holes. Find the live updating PGA Championship leaderboard here.
After Tiger settled for par on his first hole, his tee shot on the par 3 No. 11 went awry, and he had to settle for a bogey. Woods sits at 1-over, and his putting will be the key moving forward to see if he can take advantage of the multiple holes set up for easy scores.
