Newtown Square (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy began with a bogey on the 10th hole in Thursday’s opening round of the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink, where Germany’s Stephan Jaeger seized the lead with four birdies in the first six holes. World number two McIlroy, a six-time major winner from Northern Ireland, showed no sign of trouble from a right pinky toe blister that nagged him earlier in the week. The 37-year-old is targeting a seventh major triumph after successfully defending his title at the Masters last month.
McIlroy cut short a practice round after only three holes on Tuesday due to the blister but said it was fine after playing the back nine on Wednesday with customised footwear. On the 10th, McIlroy found the right rough and missed a par putt from just inside 15 feet, but quickly bounced back with a birdie on the par-four 11th. Aronimink’s greens provided a stern test even after nearly a quarter-inch of overnight rain at the 7,394-yard, par-70 layout, but some found success quickly.
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Jaeger, whose lone PGA title came at the 2024 Houston Open, birdied the first hole, drained a long birdie putt from just inside 40 feet at the fourth, and grabbed the lead alone courtesy of another excellent putt at the fifth. He added to his margin with his third birdie in a row at the sixth. Two strokes off the early pace on two-under were England’s Harry Hall, Americans Xander Schauffele and Michael Brennan, and Australian Cameron Smith.
McIlroy’s playing partner Jordan Spieth opened with a par at 10 while Spain’s Jon Rahm began with a bogey. Spieth would complete a career Grand Slam with a victory this week, a feat McIlroy managed last year with his Masters victory. Rahm could become the first Spaniard to win the event, the only major no Spanish player has ever captured. Not since Spieth in 2015 has a player won back-to-back majors or the first two majors in a season. Not since Jack Nicklaus in 1975 has a player captured the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year.
Two-time major winner Schauffele began with a 14-foot birdie putt at the 10th, where five-time major winner Brooks Koepka made bogey. Bryson DeChambeau made bogey at 11. Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler starts in the late afternoon alongside England’s Justin Rose, who won the 2013 US Open at nearby Merion, and Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open winner who captured three PGA Tour titles in the past two months. Scheffler has been a runner-up in his past three starts, including the Masters. Fitzpatrick won the Valspar and Heritage crowns as well as sharing the US PGA Tour pairs title at New Orleans with his brother Alex. Another late-afternoon starter will be third-ranked American Cameron Young, who won The Players Championship in March and at Doral two weeks ago.
© 2024 AFP
