CNN
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Much of the anticipation around the opening day of this year’s PGA Championship was pegged around one star-studded group at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
The grouping of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and World No. 3 Xander Schauffele set tongues wagging upon the announcement they would be playing together.
It was far from a vintage outing, however, as each member of the group struggled to get anything going.
Newly crowned career grand slam champion McIlroy couldn’t carry over his form from the Masters and was uncharacteristically wayward from the tee – resulting in a disappointing round of 3-over par.
McIlroy, who has won at Quail Hollow four times in his career, shot his worst round at the course since 2011.
The 35-year-old did not speak to the media following the round.
Reigning champion Schauffele was also unusually out of sorts and finished his 18 holes 1-over par.
However, despite not having the best day, the 28-year-old Scheffler managed to grind out a 2-under par finish in typical fashion.
The group’s day could be summed up by the tricky 16th hole where all three golfers scored a double bogey.
Both Scheffler and Schauffele had found the middle of the fairway after near-perfect drives, only to both hit their second shots into the water next to the green – thwarting any momentum they had heading toward the clubhouse.
The duo voiced their displeasure at the amount of mudballs they hit during the round – a reason for their wayward approaches on the 16th hole.
“I wouldn’t want to go in the locker room because I’m sure a lot of guys aren’t super happy with sort of the conditions there,” Schauffele said.
“It sucks that you’re kind of 50/50 once you hit the fairway.”
Ahead of Thursday’s opening round, the PGA of America decided that it would not use preferred lies, which would allow players to lift, clean and place their ball on the fairways.
The tournament organizers defended the decison, calling the playing surfaces “outstanding and are drying by the hour.”
“We are mowing the fairways this evening. We are looking forward to an exciting opening round to the 107th PGA Championship,” the PGA of America added in a statement Wednesday.
Scheffler was also not happy with the uncertainty of finding the fairway.
“On 16, I hit in the middle of the fairway, you’ve got mud on your ball, and it’s tough to control where it goes after that,” he added.
“It’s one of those deals where it’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go. I understand it’s part of the game, but there’s nothing more frustrating for a player. You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes.”
But despite the topsy-turvy day, Scheffler spoke fondly of playing in a group of golfing stars.
“It’s always a ton of fun to get paired with those two guys. I think what excites us the most as players is getting to play against the best competition, and having the top three guys in the world all playing together is a tremendous amount of fun,” the two-time major winner said after his round.
“Hopefully tomorrow it will play a little bit better. This morning was a bit of a struggle.”
All three golfers will be hoping for a better second day as they look to hunt the leaders down as they tee off at 1:47 p.m ET.
A surprise sits on top
Viva Jhonattan Vegas!
The world No. 70 played all the right hands to shoot a scorching 7-under 64 to find himself atop the leaderboard, sitting two strokes ahead of the duo of Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis.
The 40-year-old shot nine birdies to become the first player representing Venezuela to lead/co-lead a round of a major tournament.
Vegas said sitting in the lead felt “amazing.”
“It’s kind of what we dreamed for,” Vegas told the ESPN broadcast. “What we dreamed of. What we train every day for. It’s good to get a tournament going this way.”
Vegas added he had been “prioritizing” playing well in majors when asked why he hasn’t broken through despite being a four-time winner on the PGA Tour.
“At the end of the day, we try so hard to play good at these events. … We getting older, getting wiser, maybe not putting so much pressure on yourself and letting the game happen. It’s kind of the approach I’ve been taking so obviously worked out today,” Vegas said.
Vegas has a quick turnaround as he tees off at 9:06 a.m. ET on Friday.
Five players are tied for fourth including European Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald and alternate Alex Smalley.
It was just over 24 hours before Thursday evening’s finish that the 28-year-old American found out he would be playing in the major after Sahith Theegala was forced to withdraw before Thursday’s opening round with a neck injury.
Smalley, who grew up close to Charlotte in Greensboro, North Carolina, said it was “awesome” to have a major in his home state.
“But it was nice to get an opportunity to play,” Smalley told reporters. “I played the Wells Fargo here two years ago. Didn’t really play here before that. So I really only have a few rounds under my belt. It’s not like I’ve got 30 or 40.”
One of the betting favorites, Bryson DeChambeau, joined the many big names to struggle, finishing at even-par through the first 18 holes.
It was an up-and-down kind of day for two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
Despite three consecutive birdies including an amazing chip on the 16th hole, the American finished at 2-over par and sits tied for 73rd.
But nothing came close to the final hole for the 32-year-old.
Thomas’ found his ball atop a rock right by the water and after taking off his socks and shoes, he escaped the potentially dangerous shot to put it 12-feet from the pin. He would not sink the par putt to finish with a bogey however.
A delay caused by … WHAT?
Golf is a humbling game and a hard for one that matter.
Sometimes those challenges come from the environment around the course and that is exactly what happened in the first round.
Turtles decided to come on out of the water that borders many holes at Quail Hollow and take up residency in a bunker.
It even affected one of the leaders Gerard on the 14th hole, after his chip shot skidded off the green into the rough – landing right by a very tranquil turtle.
Brad Gregory of the PGA of America rules committee confirmed to the ESPN broadcast that there was a delay on the 14th hole at one point throughout the day due to the turtle infestation.
American golfer Tyler Collet had a longer than usual wait as several groundskeepers worked on getting the bunker back in working order after turtles wreaked havoc in the sand.
The delay didn’t put off Collet however, who eventually made a birdie after the unusual stoppage.
Hopefully, Friday’s second round will feature a little less turtles as the grouping of Keith Mitchell, Bob Sowards, and Adam Hadwin get things started at 7 a.m. ET.