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US PGA Championship 2018: first round – as it happened

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Thu 9 Aug 2018 20.02 EDTFirst published on Thu 9 Aug 2018 08.00 EDT
Gary Woodland lines up a putt on the 10th green on his way to a stunning round of 64.
Gary Woodland lines up a putt on the 10th green on his way to a stunning round of 64. Photograph: Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports
Gary Woodland lines up a putt on the 10th green on his way to a stunning round of 64. Photograph: Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports

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A couple of stragglers left out on the course. But nobody’s catching Gary Woodland tonight. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for the second round of what promises to be a hotly contested PGA Championship! Wherever you are in the world, sweet dreams and nighty night!

-6: Woodland
-5: Fowler
-4: Stone, Z Johnson
-3: Cook, Poulter, Perez, Day, Gay, Cink, Schniederjans, D Johnson, Kisner, Rose, Pieters

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Thomas Pieters finds 18 in regulation, then takes two putts from 30 feet for a closing par. That gives him a three-under round of 67. Par for Joaquin Niemann at 17; he remains at -2.

Zach Johnson finishes with a birdie at 18 that gives him a share of third place. He’s in the clubhouse with a 66! Those determined scrambles at 16 and 17 look super-important now. Pieters meanwhile reclaims the shot he yipped away on 16 with birdie up the par-five 17th.

-6: Woodland (F)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F)
, Z Johnson (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Rahm (F), Rose (F), Pieters (17)

Some trouble for young Niemann down the side of 16, and he slips back to -2. Patrick Cantlay birdies 9, and he ends with a 68. Tommy Fleetwood finished the day with a 69.

Bogey for Jon Rahm at the last. He still looks content enough with his two-under 68, though. Justin Rose pars, and he’s in with a fine 67. Zach Johnson scrambles another par, this time getting up and down from sand at the front of 17. He remains at -3. This round could easily have spun out of control, but he’s done well to hang in there.

Thomas Pieters misses a tiddler on 16 for par, and drops back to -2. The 2009 winner YE Yang, who had a share of the lead for a brief moment at -3, ends the day signing for a 73. A double and four bogeys on the way back. And more trouble ahoy! for Jordan Spieth: he wangs his drive into trouble down the right again, this time at 18, and sends a hot one through the back of the green. His chip comes out fast, flying 12 feet past the hole. The putt coming back doesn’t look like dropping, and he walks after it in high dudgeon, but suddenly it turns to the right and drops. A scrappy par to end, but he’s signing for a 71. He shakes his head sadly, knowing he’s really not been on it today ... by his own high standards.

Joaquín Niemann doesn’t hang about. The 19-year-old Chilean prospect has taken the Jordan Spieth / Jon Rahm quick route gaining a PGA Tour card, and he’s showing his promise in his first PGA appearance. He’s made six birdies today, at 2, 7, 8, 12, 14 and now 15. A smattering of bogeys to go with them, sure, but he’s -3, tied for fourth right now. Could the Santiago swinger launch a Sergio-at-Medinah-style teenage challenge?

Zach Johnson underclubs at the par-three 16th, but manages to get up and down from the front. He remains at -3. Birdie on 17 for Jon Rahm: he’s suddenly -3. Ditto Justin Rose! Jordan Spieth can’t rescue himself after that wild drive at 17, and he’s +1, a lot of good work undone with one bad tee shot. And on 18, Gary Woodland is a turn of the ball away from coming back in 29 strokes. He’ll have to make do with par, a back nine of 30, and a stunning round of 64. He’ll be the leader tonight. Meanwhile a 67 for Kevin Kisner.

-6: Woodland (F)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (F), Rahm (17), Rose (17), Z Johnson (16), Pieters (15)

Francesco Molinari leaves a chip 15 feet short on the 18th ... but confidently curls in the right-to-left par saver! The Open champion signs for a first-round 68. At -2, he’s in good nick, and looking to repeat the back-to-back Open-PGA trick previously performed by Walter Hagen, Nick Price, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy. Meanwhile it’s a 72 for the Masters champ Patrick Reed ... and a 69 for the US Open winner Brooks Koepka.

Jordan Spieth, having used up all his good luck, sends his drive at 17 into the water hazard down the right of the par-five. A dropped shot for Zach Johnson at 15; he’s back to -3. And Gary Woodland, who was +1 through seven holes, now grabs sole ownership of the lead with a birdie at 17!

-6: Woodland (17)
-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (17), Z Johnson (15), Pieters (14)

Francesco Molinari’s Open hangover didn’t last long. Bogey at 5 and double at 6 saw Italy’s first major champion slip to +3. But since then he’s birdied 8, 11, 12, 14 and now 17 to zip up the standings to -2. That’s some going, though with the benefit of hindsight, it’s a predictable response by a player who didn’t card a single bogey all weekend at Carnoustie. All weekend! At Carnoustie! Meanwhile it’s all happening at 16: Jon Rahm rakes in a long one for second birdie in three holes, and he’s -2. Justin Rose knocks in a long one as well, though that’s just for par to remain at -2. And Jordan Spieth gets up and down from the greenside bunker he found himself in, and that’s a mighty precious par save!

Dustin Johnson manages to get his second at 18 onto the green, and very nearly drains the putt. He’ll settle for a par and a three-under 67. A level-par 70 for the 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott; ditto for Bubba. Kyle Stanley pars 9 to sign for a two-under 68. Brooks Koepka whistles his third at 17 to kick-in distance, and will move into red figures for the first time today.

-5: Fowler (F), Woodland (16)
-4: Stone (F), Z Johnson (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (F), Kisner (16), Pieters (14)

Gary Woodland joins Rickie Fowler in the lead! He sends his tee shot at the par-three 16th over the flag, and teases in the left-to-right slider coming back for birdie. That’s five birdies since the turn; seven in the last nine holes. This is sensational! Meanwhile Jordan Spieth nearly yips his short birdie putt on 15, but it drops eventually. Spieth smiles thinly, then blows out hard. He knows he’s got away with one there. And then on the par-three 16th, he benefits from another huge stroke of good fortune. He slices his tee shot deep into the woods to the right of the green. He turns his back in disgust ... and misses the ball ricocheting back off a trunk and near the side of the green! Still some work to do to scramble his par, but my, he’d have taken that.

Kevin Kisner isn’t far away from draining a birdie putt across 16. He’ll remain at -3. The super-resilient Jordan Spieth arrows an approach straight at the flag at 15: he’ll have a straight uphill one from six feet to make it back to level par. And it’s another reckless tee shot from big DJ, who slices deep into the trees on the right at 18. He gets a very lucky bounce back out, the ball rolling with some purpose back towards the fairway. Not sure that’s got all the way back, but he’ll have taken that outcome when the little white dappled thing was making its way into the thicket.

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So it’s been all change near the top, if not at the top. Here’s how they’re standing right now - and note Belgium’s big-hitting Thomas Pieters, who has been quiet since his top-five finish at Augusta in 2017, creeping into view after birdies at 11 and 12!

-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (F), Woodland (15), Z Johnson (13)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), D Johnson (17), Kisner (15), Pieters (12)

Dustin pulls his par putt left of the cup on 17. It would have been an outrageous escape, tell the truth, but that’s what these guys do. However that’s a second bogey in four holes, and having joined Rickie Fowler in the lead momentarily, he’s now slipped back to -3.

Dustin’s wet. So he has to take a drop. He’s hitting three down the long par five. He’ll need to get up and down with his wedge from distance. He sends his fourth to eight feet; it’s a wonderful chip that’ll give him a chance of escaping with par. Meanwhile back on 15, Kisner finds greenside sand; Woodland nearly does. The former gets up and down from the bunker; the latter nearly holes out from the fringe for birdie, but settles for par. And on 14, Justin Rose is out of position all the way down the hole, and the bogey drops him back to -2.

Dustin sends a wild slice towards the hazard down the right of the par-five 17th. That is quite spectacularly reckless. He might have escaped the creek; we saw the ball bounce but not settle. Wet or dry, that’s not going to be good. His namesake Zach makes it four birdies in five holes at 12: he’s -4. Meanwhile a par for Brandon Stone at the last, and the Scottish Open champion signs for a 66.

Woodland and Kisner make their birdie putts. Meanwhile Big Dustin’s tee shot at 16 isn’t much to write home about. It stays on the green, but only just. But from the back, 30 feet away, he very nearly guides in a big curling birdie putt. Not quite. Par. And Jordan Spieth can’t get anything going: a tee shot at the par-three 13th is dead on line, but fails to spin forward. From 12 feet, his birdie putt dies off to the left. He stays at +1.

-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (17), D Johnson (16), Woodland (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Kisner (14), Rose (13), Z Johnson (11)

Kevin Kisner clatters the flagstick at 14. He’s got a putt from two feet to move to -3. His playing partner Gary Woodland responds by landing his second four feet away. That one will take him to -4. It took a while for the afternoon starters to make their mark, but quite a few are launching a challenge now.

Another birdie for Brandon Stone, this time from the fringe at the par-five 17th. The 25-year-old is one off the lead at -4. Could he become Bellerive’s third major winner out of three from South Africa, after Gary Player and Nick Price? Meanwhile another birdie for Zach Johnson, at 11, and there are quite a few big names knocking around at the top of the leaderboard!

-5: Fowler (F)
-4: Stone (17), D Johnson (15)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Woodland (13), Rose (12), Z Johnson (11)

Justin Rose has been pootling along steadily since his birdie at 8. A patient game, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. And when it comes around, from the centre of 12, he pounces. A gorgeous wedge that lands six feet past the hole and spins back to kick-in range. That was controlled brilliance. Shot of the day. He’s going to rise to -3 in a minute. Par meanwhile for DJ on 15; his playing partner Bubba tugs at a short one and he’s back down at -1.

Gary Woodland keeps rolling on. A fourth birdie in five holes, a 25-foot left-to-right curler on 12. A player whose best finish at a major is a tie for 12th in this competition at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011 is now two off the lead, in a tie for third place at -3. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth misses a tiddler for birdie at 11 that’d bring him back to level par, and spins his club like Stevie Nicks in frustration. Real savage like.

The birdie putts are dropping now! Another for Brooks Koepka, at 12, and he’s fought back to level par. On 14, Bubba rolls one in to rise to -2. Adam Scott makes one at the same hole to join the large group at -1. Birdie on 16 for Brandon ‘Mr 60’ Stone: he’s -3 again. But there’s no good news for DJ back on 14, who chips up to 13 feet, but sends a poor effort at a left-to-right slider off to the low side, and he drops out of the lead almost as quickly as he got there.

-5: Fowler (F)
-4: D Johnson (14)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stone (16)

Gary Woodland guides in a 50-foot left-to-right swinger on 11. It’s his third birdie in four holes, after picking up strokes at 8 and 9, and he joins the group at -2. And there’s more sensational action on 9, where the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open champion Zach Johnson flops from a tight lie off the back of the green, straight at the flag, landing ten feet short and rolling into the cup. Phil Mickelson would have been proud of that one. After birdie at 8, he’s -2.

DJ’s tee shot at 14 finds the thick stuff down the right. He doesn’t catch his second at all, sending it hooking violently towards the hazard on the left. It looks like the ball’s stuck on the bank, but he’ll have a job getting up and down from there for his par.

Yet another birdie for DJ! It’s six in eight holes! He sends his tee shot at 13 pin high to 12 feet, then rolls in the straight putt. He joins Rickie Fowler in the lead, and if he keeps going like this we’ll soon have to start talking about Branden Grace’s major-redefining 62 at Birkdale. Meanwhile birdie for Marc Leishman at 12: he’s -2. A birdie finally for Brooks Koepka: the US Open champion makes it at 11 to move back to +1. But Brandon Stone can’t get up and down from a bunker at the back of 15, and he’s -2. As is Kyle Stanley, who bogeys 4.

-5: Fowler (F), D Johnson (13)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F)

Another long putt stroked in for birdie by Dustin Johnson! This time on 12. He’s wandering around in the insouciant style, caring not a jot. Golf’s so easy when you’re in the zone. That’s five birdies in seven holes, and the world number one is closing in on Rickie Fowler. As is the Scottish Open champion Brandon Stone, who cards the third birdie of a currently blemish-free round at 14.

-5: Fowler (F)
-4: D Johnson (12)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stone (14), Stanley (12*)

Tommy Fleetwood finally gets it going. A 20-footer across 11 drops for birdie - eventually, after running 360 degrees round the wall of death - and he’s back to level par! On that subject, there’s Giddy Gary Naylor in response to our concerns of 9.11pm: “If the Long-Haired Putter From (near) Liverpool was following Everton’s transfers today, it must have reminded him of Ian Poulter’s run of birdies in the Ryder Cup. You kept thinking, ‘This can’t go on like this’ - but it did!”

Another birdie for Dustin Johnson, a big left-to-right curler toppling in at the very last turn on 11. That’s four birdies in six for the big man, and he’s now -3. Just a shot behind him, Kevin Kisner, who came close at Quail Hollow last year, and nearly won at Carnoustie three weeks ago. He keeps knocking at the door, and after a dropped shot at 4, has just birdied 6, 8 and 9 - the latter the reward for a 50-footer whistled straight into the cup. He’s -2.

-5: Fowler (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F), Stanley (12*), D Johnson (11)
-2: Fox (F), Horschel (F), Matsuyama (F), Ikeda (F), Simpson (F), Grace (F), Fisher (F), Korhonen (F), Kisner (9), Rose (8), Stroud (4)

Another birdie for Justin Rose, rolling one in from Sergio Country to the back of the par-five 8th. He’s -2 now, a magnificent response to that opening-hole bogey. And the resurrection of Jon Rahm continues apace, as he gets up and down from a deep greenside bunker. It’s a wonderful splash out, because he had very little green to play with. The birdie brings him to -1. Bouncing back from that early double bogey could really help Rahm this week: if he can learn to keep his head when things start going wrong, limiting the damage, as he signally didn’t do at Carnoustie, he’s in with a real shout.

Justin Rose plays a shot on the eighth. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
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Kyle Stanley is an inch away from making it four birdies in a row at 2. Sergio arrests his decline by raking in a birdie putt from the fringe at 8. He’s level par. And Patrick Reed, who had dropped a further shot at 7, grabs something back from the course at last on 9. He absolutely rattles a 15-footer into the cup, an awful lot of frustration evident. Maybe that’ll help him regain his equilibrium.

Kyle Stanley is coming off the back of a decent top-40 finish at Carnoustie, nothing to be sniffed at for a player with a previously average record in the majors. That good showing at the Open seems to have instilled some confidence in the 30-year-old from Washington: it’s three birdies on the bounce now, the latest at 1, and at -3 he’s just two off Rickie Fowler’s lead.

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Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch! Everyone’s favourite non-stop smiling man, Matt Kuchar, drains back-to-back monsters for back-to-back birdies at 9 and 10. He’s -1. Meanwhile Jon Rahm has responded well to that double-bogey blow at 5. After aggressively going for the flag at the par-three 6th, totally unafraid of the water, he’s not far from birdie. He doesn’t make that one, but he’s only got to wait one more hole before picking up the shot that brings him back to level par. And a birdie at last for Jordan Spieth, who has been quiet since his disastrous start, but birdies 7 to return to +1.

The 1991 champion John Daly nearly drains a long putt across 18 for birdie. Not quite, but he’s turning on 36 strokes, at +1. Speaking of the great man, here’s a marvellous story courtesy of Hubert O’Hearn:

Seeing John Daly out there in his as ever colourful fashion reminds me of one golf story I’m pretty sure I never told you. It was at the 1991 PGA that Daly won as the last qualifier when Nick Price withdrew on Wednesday.
We come to the Sunday, Daly is leading on the front nine and both the galleries and TV ratings were massive. In those days I watched the tournaments through a C Band satellite receiver which gave me the raw feed - when the rest of the world was looking at a beer commercial, I was listening to the announcers making side bets and such.
Gary McCord, who was following the Daly group, called up to Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi. ‘Hey Kenny, they’re talking about disqualifying the kid.’ A viewer had called in and said that Daly had marked his ball a millimetre off the correct spot during the third round. Venturi - who lost the 1958 Masters because of a penalty that wasn’t called against Arnold Palmer - exploded. ‘No way. No f--king way. Where’s Slugger?’ he asked, meaning Slugger White the long-time head of the PGA Rules Committee. ‘He’s in the tent? You sure? Pat, cover for me, I’m going down there.’
Venturi explained when he came back 10 minutes later that he had a frank and open exchange of views with Slugger White, essentially telling him that there was no way that some low-life on his couch was going to ruin this tournament for the greatest breath of fresh air to hit the Tour in years.
Sometimes I wonder if even Daly knows what happened in a scoring tent that day.

Oh Sergio! The 2017 Masters champion is the latest to stumble at the treacherous par-three 6th, though unlike most who have come unstuck, he doesn’t get wet with his tee shot. Instead he gets into some bunker trouble. A double bogey, and he’s +1.

Sergio Garcia plays a shot from a bunker on the sixth. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
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The Somnambulist is sleepwalking backwards. Jason Dufner cards back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16; his demeanour is exactly the same as it was upon making back-to-back birdies at the start of his round. He’s level par. Meanwhile news of the much-fancied Tommy Fleetwood: he’s +1 through 8, having dropped a shot at 2. Perhaps the Southport superstar’s feeling a bit giddy after Everton’s successful transfer deadline day.

Three birdies in a row for DJ! His latest comes at 8, and the big man is on a roll. He’s -2. Kyle Stanley birdies 17 and 18 to reach the turn in 33. He’s also -2. But it’s a double for Jon Rahm at 5; he slips back to +1.

Marc Leishman has followed up his chip-in birdie at 5 with another birdie at 7. And it’s back-to-back birdies for Bubba, the latest at 8! They’re two of the small number of players out on the course this afternoon nibbling away at the top of the leader board. YE Yang has been another, though a dropped shot at 15 has put a slight stop to his gallop up the standings.

-5: Fowler (F)
-3: Cook (F), Poulter (F), Perez (F), Day (F), Gay (F), Cink (F), Schniederjans (F)
-2: Fox (F), Horschel (F), Matsuyama (F), Ikeda (F), Simpson (F), Grace (F), Fisher (F), Korhonen (F), Stone (9), Watson (8), Leishman (7), Yang (6*)

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