Golf-Donald shares early lead at Quail Hollow, McIlroy five back
US-GOLF-PGACHAMP:Golf-Donald shares early lead at Quail Hollow, McIlroy five back
By Frank Pingue
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -Masters champion Rory McIlroy, making his first major start since completing the career Grand Slam, reached the midway point of his opening round to the PGA Championship five shots back of early co-leader and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
Donald, through 14 holes, and Germany's Stephan Jaeger, who had eight holes to play, were both at four under and one shot clear of a pack of golfers that included U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
McIlroy, who started from the 10th tee alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in a group featuring the world's top three players, went out in one-over 37.
The high-profile group, featuring three of the tournament favourites, all ran into trouble at the par-three 16th, which marks the start of a challenging three-hole stretch known as the Green Mile, and carded matching double-bogeys.
Scheffler, who was fresh off an eagle, and Schauffele both sent their approach shots from the fairway into the water behind the green while McIlroy's shot from heavy rough barely advanced after his leg slipped during his swing.
At the par-three 17th McIlroy nearly chipped in for birdie from 20 feet, his ball stopped so close to the hole that he did not even bother to grab his putter and simply tapped in the par with his wedge.
World number one Scheffler reached the turn at even par while Schauffele, bidding to become the tournament's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2019, was two over.
Former world number one Donald, who had the honour of hitting the first shot of the tournament, and Jaeger had both managed to avoid dropping a shot.
The early starters were greeted with sunny skies and soggy fairways, a remnant of the rain that hammered the course earlier in the week and limited the amount of practice players were able to get in ahead of the year's second major.
Despite the wet conditions, the PGA of America announced late on Wednesday that there was no plan to play with preferred lies, which allows players to lift, clean, and replace their balls within designated areas.
Jordan Spieth, making his ninth attempt at securing a career Grand Slam, and Justin Thomas, who won the first of his two PGA Championship titles when it was last held at Quail Hollow in 2017, are among the late starters.
Among the other notable players with late tee times are U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose and world number four Collin Morikawa.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
