The PGA Championship has thrown up plenty of surprises after round one, with Jhonattan Vegas emerging as the early leader.
Vegas is the solo leader at Quail Hollow after one round of the PGA Championship, having carded a seven-under 64.
Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis are close behind on five-under, with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald among a group on four-under.
Xander Schauffele, defending his 2024 PGA Championship title from Valhalla, finds himself T60 on 1-over at the latest PGA Tour event of 2025.
World number one Scottie Scheffler meanwhile sits T20 on 2-under, with The Masters champion Rory McIlroy T98 on 3-over.
PGA Championship told it has missed a ‘golden opportunity’ after round one
But along with star names failing to shine, the course conditions have dominated much of the early talk at the PGA Championship.
And adding to the discussion is Ryan Lavner, who said on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav: “The PGA Championship at Quail Hollow does not feel a whole lot different to what used to be the Wells Fargo Championship on this golf course.
“The sight lines are the same, mow lines are the same, the rough might be slightly, marginally longer and more dense but it is not a demonstrable difference.
“But the biggest thing which felt like a missed opportunity for the PGA of America is some of these lack of shaves areas.
“I am thinking right of seven on the fairway, leading into the creek, I am thinking left of 14 on the drivable par four, I am thinking left of 15 at the reachable par five, I am thinking of 16 long and left of that very difficult par four.
“I think even long and left of 18, where we saw Justin Thomas’ ball hang up there. There was a number of instances.
“Whether it was Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas’ ball hanging up there on 16 which allowed him to chip in, whether it was other players who missed left when that ball could have run into the water.
“Rory McIlroy on 15 the ball could have run into the water. It seemed a little bit too player-friendly when this seemed like a golden opportunity to distinguish Quail Hollow the major championship venue, more penal for errant shots, more punishing and Quail Hollow the PGA stop.
“There did not seem to be a line of demarcation between the two and to me that felt like a big missed opportunity between the two, to me this was essentially just a PGA Tour event on steroids.”
Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka among early PGA Championship strugglers
The rainfall at Quail Hollow earlier in the week has provided testing conditions, with even the world’s best players struggling.
Such struggles were particularly evident on the par-4 16th, where the marquee group of Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy all made double bogey.
The American pair found the water as the Northern Irishman slipped in the challenging conditions, where mud balls took centre stage.
Soft fairways have made mud balls unavoidable, although the greens have at least firmed up thanks to Quail Hollow’s sub-air system.
And while Thomas did manage to produce a superb effort on 16, his two-over 73 places him down in 73rd in the leaderboard.
Koepka meanwhile fared even worse, with the LIV Golf star in T112 after a four-over 75 on Thursday in North Carolina.
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