No.1 Scheffler grabs share of PGA lead as McIlroy endures misery
Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler was one stroke off the pace in the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink (DAVID CANNON) Top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler seized a share of the lead in Thursday's opening round of the PGA Championship while Rory McIlroy was frustrated after a miserable start. South African Aldrich Potgieter, Australian Min Woo Lee, Japan's Ryo Hisatsune and Germany's Stephan Jaeger each fired a three-under par 69 to share the early clubhouse lead on a wild day at Aronimink. On the course at three-under were two-time PGA winner Justin Thomas of the United States, Canada's Corey Conners and Scheffler, who made a 38-foot birdie putt at the seventh hole, a 28-foot birdie putt at the 10th and curled in another from just inside nine feet at 11 to share the lead.
Second-ranked Masters champion McIlroy had no problems with his blister-hit right foot but plenty with his golf swing. McIlroy, a back-nine starter, closed a round of 74 with four bogeys in a row and five in his last six holes. "I'm just not driving the ball well enough," McIlroy said.
"It has been a problem all year for the most part. "That's pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well. I just need to try to figure it out.
I honestly thought I had figured it out. " An unlikely quartet did solve Aronimink's trademark undulating greens, including 23-year-old Hisatsune, who made seven birdies, four of them after each bogey in his round in only his fifth major appearance. "I'm very lucky, especially with a lot of birdies and a lot of bounceback, so it's comfortable to play," Hisatsune said.
"I'm so happy. " Potgieter, a 21-year-old South African making his sixth major start, made six birdies, including a 43-foot putt at 11, in his PGA Championship debut. "I definitely left myself in really good positions on the green, made some long putts, so it was nice the putter was warm," Potgieter said.