Tom McKibbin put some shine on a disappointing day for the Irish at the PGA Championship with a one-under 70 at Quail Hollow.
McKibbin’s opening round was bookended by bogeys which will be a source of disappointment, but sandwiched between those dropped shots was some excellent golf in the trickier afternoon conditions.
Mudballs were the talk of the town on Thursday morning with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele venting their frustrations at the lack of preferred lies. The issue barely impacted on Rory McIlroy whose struggles were from the tee box as he hit just four of fourteen fairways in a three-over 74.
Seamus Power is next best of the Irish on one-over while Pádraig Harrington and Shane Lowry are battling to make the cut after rounds of 73.
McKibbin, one of the later starters, took to a firmer and windier golf course and made the turn in red figures after back to back birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.
The 22-year-old, making his third major championship appearance after receiving an invite via the LIV Golf Tour responded from a bogey on the par-5 10th with an up and down birdie on the short par-4 14th and another chip and putt birdie on the par-5 15th.
Finding fairways proved key over power hitting in what was seen as a throwback in round one and McKibbin hit ten fairways on his opening day but not on the 18th where he took a five after driving into the trees on the right and chipped back into play.
Only one player ended the opening day bogey-free and it was European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald whose four-under 67 has him in a s are of fourth place and three shots behind Vegas.
“Obviously very pleased with the score, bogey-free in a major,” Donald said after getting up and down from a bunker on the 18th to complete his superb 67.
“Someone just told me it was the lowest first round in a major I’ve had since 2004 or something. Obviously I’ve been trending with all the missed cuts coming into this week!
“But no, it was a pleasant surprise. I got off to a really nice, steady start. I hit a bunch of fairways on the front nine which always makes me feel good about my game.
“I didn’t hit a ton of greens today, but my putter was really good. Not surprisingly the greens were infinitely quicker this morning first group out than they were the last few days [after all the rain].
“But I adjusted very well to them and I made a lot of good, solid putts out there.”
Donald’s opposite number for Bethpage Black, Keegan Bradley is a shot further back after a 68.
Scoring HERE
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