PGA Championship Round One RECAP: Vegas leads as McIlroy toils at Quail Hollow

Summary

Round one at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina
Leaders: -7 Vegas (64)
Selected: -5 Davis (66), Gerard (66); -4 Rai (67), Donald (67); -3 Bradley (68), Hatton (68), MacIntyre (68), Fitzpatrick (68)
-2 Scheffler (69); +3 McIlroy (74)
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Live Reporting

Paul Higham, Peter Scrivener, Steve Sutcliffe and Phil Cartwright

Xander picks up a birdiepublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +1, Scheffler -1 (17*)
Not to be for Rory McIlroy, with a pretty clumsy chip shot falling well short of the hole, leaving him 10 feet for the birde - and his effort is nowhere near really and he'll have to make do with a par.
That really wasn't great from McIlroy - it wasn't that tough a chip shot and it's just a loose effort from there.
Xander Schauffele does get his birdie though from a much worse position, as he found the bunker off the tee but escaped to 11 feet and rolled it in for a three.
Strong finishing Danepublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 15 May
R Hojgaard -4 (17*)
Rasmus Hojgaard is the latest Ryder Cup hopeful to threaten the top of the leaderboard.
The Dane almost drives the green on the 342-yard par-four eighth - his 17th - and that leaves a simple chip and putt for a birdie that moves him one off the lead.
Watch: Luke Donald post round one interviewpublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 15 May
Donald -4 (67)
Media caption,
Watch: Luke Donald post round one interview
Luke Donald has been among the top 10 on the leaderboard at the conclusion of a major championship round 24 times in his career.
However, the last time it happened was a decade ago at the Open at St Andrews when he was 10th after the second round and finished the championship in a share of 12th place.
On the tee from the USA...published at 18:19 British Summer Time 15 May
Thomas, Morikawa, D Johnson, (18:14 BST)
The marquee groups are heading out in the late wave and Justin Thomas rips his opening drive down the middle of the fairway. Thomas is a two-time winner of this championship, including right here at Quail Hollow in 2017.
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson finds the right side of the fairway, while 2020 US PGA champion Collin Morikawa follows him and finishes a couple of yards further down.
Thomas' putting problems a thing of the past?published at 18:17 British Summer Time 15 May
Johnson, Morikawa, Thomas (18:14 BST)
Image source, Getty Images
Now if you've been watching anything of Justin Thomas on the practice greens this week you'll have seen him with tees in the green at five, 10 and 15 feet and a stick just behind the hole.
The goal is to knock in the putts and if you miss go no further than the bit of wood just beyond the cup.
The two-time US PGA champion's putting has been an Achilles heel in recent times but this year he has turned back the clock.
He won five PGA Tour events plus the US PGA in 2017 and so far in 11 events on the main tour in North America in 2025 he has racked up six top-10 finishes, three second-place finishes and a victory at the RBC Heritage.
He’s also currently ranked 20th in strokes gained with the putter (on the PGA Tour) this year, his best performance in the category since the 2016-2017 season (43rd) and the 2017-2018 season (47th).
Last season Thomas had plummeted all the way down to 174th in strokes gained on the green.
Strong start for Fitzpatrickpublished at 18:14 British Summer Time 15 May
Cantlay +3 (74), Fitzpatrick -3 (68), Rahm -1 (70)
Jon Rahm plays a lovely approach into the ninth, with a high towering fade that gives him a look at birdie from 20 feet. The Spaniard's knees are going as his ball looks destined to drop before slipping left at the last moment.
Matt Fitzpatrick is on the putting surface in two but will also settle for a par after leaving his birdie putt a couple of feet short.
A good opening round that for the Englishman, who is chasing a second major title.
Grip it and rip itpublished at 18:11 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +2, Scheffler -1 (16*)
Rory McIlroy goes full power with his driver trying to whack it 342 yards up the hill to the eighth green. It's a tremendous effort that almost creeps up the big false front to the green, but he's in a nice spot to try and get a birdie from there.
Flat finish for Fleetwoodpublished at 18:05 British Summer Time 15 May
Fleetwood -1 (70)
A round that promised so much sort of fizzled out for Tommy Fleetwood but an under par start to a major is not to be sniffed at.
Three birdies in three holes, followed by three bogeys in five around the turn, left the Englishman back at level par.
But a birdie on the seventh got him back into the red and he finished par-par.
Just a parpublished at 18:05 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +2, Scheffler -1 (16*)
It's all gone downhill for Rory McIlroy after that superb drive, as he makes a bit of a hash of his chip out of the rough, so he then has to get up and down just for a par.
That's as good as a dropped shot for McIlroy who usually gobbles up the par fives at Quail Hollow - and especially after that drive he'll be bitterly disappointed not to pick up a shot.
Gerard sinks fourth successive birdiepublished at 18:04 British Summer Time 15 May
Gerard -5 (13)
Ryan Gerard is absolutely flying here.
The 25-year-old, who is making his debut at the US PGA, finished second at the Texas Open last month and is brimming with confidence as he taps in a fourth consecutive birdie after landing his iron into two feet on the 205-yard par-three 13th.
Rahm back in the redpublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 15 May
Cantlay +3, Fitzpatrick -3, Rahm -1 (17*)
Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick both make birdies on the eighth after zipping into 10 feet and five feet respectively.
And now Patrick Cantlay s them, with his first birdie for 12 holes. It's been one of those sort of days for this trio.
Postpublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 15 May
Scheffler -1 (16*)
Oliver Wilson
Former Ryder Cup player on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
The absolute measure of the best in the world is how good their bad is.
To turn this round into an under par round will be a fantastic feat and Scottie Scheffler would be delighted with it.
Birdie for Schefflerpublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +2, Scheffler -1 (16*)
Scottie Scheffler has a decent eagle chance on the seventh as he's just off the front of the green only 17 feet away, but he can't quite find his second eagle of the day and instead settles for a birdie.
Postpublished at 17:57 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +2, Scheffler E (15*)
From a brilliant drive it's a pretty awful second shot from Rory McIlroy who pulls a six iron badly to the left of the green and ends up in some lush rough on a big slope.
He needs to get up and down from there for a much-needed birdie.
Fox fishing for the leadpublished at 17:55 British Summer Time 15 May
Fox -4 (67)
Image source, Getty Images
"I guarantee I'd be going fishing at least once."
However, Ryan Fox's plans for this weekend changed dramatically last Sunday when he chipped in from 50 yards to win in a play-off at the Myrtle Beach Classic and clinch a place at this tournament.
The best rank he has had in a major is a tie for third after round one at the 2019 Open where he went on to finish 16th. He is currently in third again, after a four-under 67.
That is only one shot off his best ever major championship round, which was a five-under 66 in the 2017 US PGA Championship - also at Quail Hollow.
Smalley's impressive roundpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 15 May
Smalley -4 (67)
Alex Smalley signs for an opening-round 67 in just his fourth major championship start.
He started the week as an alternate and only started after Sahith Theegala withdrew on Wednesday.
The North Carolina resident also knocked in a 71-foot putt for eagle, earlier. It has been quite a day for the 28-year-old.
A fairway!published at 17:51 British Summer Time 15 May
McIlroy +2, Schauffele +2, Scheffler E (15*)
Rory McIlroy tees it down a bit on the par-five seventh to smack a low, almost stinger and it does the trick as he finds the fairway with a little ripper!
That's just his third fairway of the day....
Noren two off the leadpublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 15 May
Noren -3 (68)
Alex Noren is back in the hutch with a three-under 68 in the books. The Swede will rue successive bogeys on 16 and 17 and a poor birdie attempt on the last from eight feet, but given he's on the way back from injury, that's a solid start.
Later wave prepare to tee offpublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 15 May
Don't go anywhere as we've got plenty of quality on the way.
- 18:03 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Adam Scott (Aus), Will Zalatoris (US)
- 18:14 Dustin Johnson (US), Collin Morikawa (US), Justin Thomas (US)
- 18:25 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Patrick Reed (US), Jordan Spieth (US)
- 18:47 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Viktor Hovland (Nor), Gary Woodland (US)
- 18:58 Daniel Berger (US), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Russell Henley (US)
- 19:09 Brian Harman (US), Justin Rose (Eng), Cameron Smith (Aus)
Postpublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 15 May
Jaeger -5, MacIntyre -3 (16)
Our leader is following Bob MacIntyre on the par-four 16th, which is the hardest hole on the course so far today.
Bob's birdie putt, about 25 feet up the hill, is slow and he can't get his ball to the hole. Par.
What has Stephan Jaeger learned? Next to nothing. His ball also pulls up a couple of feet short. Par.

PGA Championship

Date:: 15 - 18 May 2025
Course:: Quail Hollow Club
Par:: 71
Yards:: 7,626
Prize Money:: $20,000,000

Rank	Player	Total	Total	Thru	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 4	Strokes
1	Scottie Scheffler	11 under par	11 under par	finished	69	68	65	71	71	273
2	Davis Riley	6 under par	6 under par	finished	71	68	67	72	72	278
2	Harris English	6 under par	6 under par	finished	72	70	71	65	65	278
2	Bryson DeChambeau	6 under par	6 under par	finished	71	68	69	70	70	278
5	Jhonattan Vegas	5 under par	5 under par	finished	64	70	73	72	72	279
5	J. T. Poston	5 under par	5 under par	finished	68	70	68	73	73	279
5	Taylor Pendrith	5 under par	5 under par	finished	69	70	72	68	68	279
8	Jon Rahm	4 under par	4 under par	finished	70	70	67	73	73	280
8	Joaquin Niemann	4 under par	4 under par	finished	74	67	71	68	68	280
8	Denny McCarthy	4 under par	4 under par	finished	70	68	72	70	70	280
8	Si-Woo Kim	4 under par	4 under par	finished	72	64	71	73	73	280
8	Joe Highsmith	4 under par	4 under par	finished	73	67	69	71	71	280
8	Ben Griffin	4 under par	4 under par	finished	70	69	72	69	69	280
8	Ryan Gerard	4 under par	4 under par	finished	66	72	72	70	70	280
8	Matthew Fitzpatrick	4 under par	4 under par	finished	68	68	72	72	72	280
8	Keegan Bradley	4 under par	4 under par	finished	68	72	68	72	72	280
17	Matt Wallace	3 under par	3 under par	finished	71	70	68	72	72	281
17	Alexander Noren	3 under par	3 under par	finished	68	71	66	76	76	281
19	Adam Scott	2 under par	2 under par	finished	69	71	69	73	73	282
19	Aaron Rai	2 under par	2 under par	finished	67	72	74	69	69	282
19	Taylor Moore	2 under par	2 under par	finished	73	69	70	70	70	282
19	Beau Hossler	2 under par	2 under par	finished	71	70	73	68	68	282
19	Harry Hall	2 under par	2 under par	finished	69	72	71	70	70	282
19	Tony Finau	2 under par	2 under par	finished	70	69	69	74	74	282
19	Cameron Davis	2 under par	2 under par	finished	66	74	70	72	72	282
19	Corey Conners	2 under par	2 under par	finished	73	68	74	67	67	282
19	Sam Burns	2 under par	2 under par	finished	73	70	72	67	67	282
28	Alex Smalley	1 under par	1 under par	finished	67	71	73	72	72	283
28	Xander Schauffele	1 under par	1 under par	finished	72	71	72	68	68	283
28	Marco Penge	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	71	74	69	69	283
28	Viktor Hovland	1 under par	1 under par	finished	69	71	72	71	71	283
28	Ryan Fox	1 under par	1 under par	finished	67	71	72	73	73	283
33	Thorbjoern Olesen	level par	level par	finished	71	71	72	70	70	284
33	Maverick McNealy	level par	level par	finished	70	72	69	73	73	284
33	Max Greyserman	level par	level par	finished	71	72	67	74	74	284
33	Daniel Berger	level par	level par	finished	71	71	74	68	68	284
37	J. J. Spaun	1 over par	1 over par	finished	71	68	72	74	74	285
37	Ryo Hisatsune	1 over par	1 over par	finished	68	71	72	74	74	285
37	Lucas Glover	1 over par	1 over par	finished	71	70	69	75	75	285
37	Richard Bland	1 over par	1 over par	finished	70	69	76	70	70	285
41	Michael Thorbjornsen	2 over par	2 over par	finished	68	70	74	74	74	286
41	Matthieu Pavon	2 over par	2 over par	finished	71	65	72	78	78	286
41	Nicolai Hoejgaard	2 over par	2 over par	finished	72	69	77	68	68	286
41	Tommy Fleetwood	2 over par	2 over par	finished	70	70	76	70	70	286
41	Nicolas Echavarria	2 over par	2 over par	finished	68	74	71	73	73	286
41	Eric Cole	2 over par	2 over par	finished	70	70	73	73	73	286
47	Cameron Young	3 over par	3 over par	finished	73	69	71	74	74	287
47	Rory McIlroy	3 over par	3 over par	finished	74	69	72	72	72	287
47	Robert MacIntyre	3 over par	3 over par	finished	68	70	73	76	76	287
50	Chun-An Yu	4 over par	4 over par	finished	73	70	74	71	71	288
50	Collin Morikawa	4 over par	4 over par	finished	70	72	74	72	72	288
50	Tom McKibbin	4 over par	4 over par	finished	70	71	74	73	73	288
50	Wyndham Clark	4 over par	4 over par	finished	72	69	73	74	74	288
50	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	4 over par	4 over par	finished	70	68	77	73	73	288
55	Chris Kirk	5 over par	5 over par	finished	73	70	78	68	68	289
55	Michael Kim	5 over par	5 over par	finished	71	72	75	71	71	289
55	Garrick Higgo	5 over par	5 over par	finished	69	69	71	80	80	289
55	Rafael Campos	5 over par	5 over par	finished	68	73	72	76	76	289
55	Brian Campbell	5 over par	5 over par	finished	73	69	78	69	69	289
60	Sam Stevens	6 over par	6 over par	finished	70	68	77	75	75	290
60	David Puig	6 over par	6 over par	finished	71	72	68	79	79	290
60	Justin Lower	6 over par	6 over par	finished	69	73	75	73	73	290
60	Max Homa	6 over par	6 over par	finished	73	64	76	77	77	290
60	Tyrrell Hatton	6 over par	6 over par	finished	68	73	72	77	77	290
60	Brian Harman	6 over par	6 over par	finished	71	72	76	71	71	290
60	Luke Donald	6 over par	6 over par	finished	67	74	73	76	76	290
67	Rasmus Hoejgaard	7 over par	7 over par	finished	68	74	75	74	74	291
67	Sergio Garcia	7 over par	7 over par	finished	75	68	79	69	69	291
67	Austin Eckroat	7 over par	7 over par	finished	72	70	77	72	72	291
70	Stephan Jaeger	8 over par	8 over par	finished	67	75	76	74	74	292
71	Joo-Hyung Kim	9 over par	9 over par	finished	71	72	75	75	75	293
72	Elvis Smylie	10 over par	10 over par	finished	70	73	77	74	74	294
72	Bud Cauley	10 over par	10 over par	finished	74	69	77	74	74	294
74	Byeong-Hun An	13 over par	13 over par	finished	69	73	79	76	76	297