CHARLOTTE — There were numerous compelling developments during the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday.
Then Jhonattan Vegas played his last six holes.
Vegas shot a 7-under-par 64 for a two-shot lead at Quail Hollow Club.
“Obviously with the conditions (Wednesday), I didn’t really see that score coming,” the native of Venezuela said. “But I think I got lucky that I was able to tee off very late and the course obviously is drying very quick.”
Cameron Davis of Australia and newcomer Ryan Gerard are two shots back.
Vegas, who started on No. 10, posted birdies on five of his final six holes. He capped it with a 27-foot putt.
“It was one of those rounds that kept building, and it came all together at the end,” he said.
No other golfer representing Venezuela has ever been among the top 10 on the leaderboard at the end of any round of a major.
The 40-year-old Vegas has won four times on the PGA Tour, including last July in the 3M Open. But he has missed cuts in nine of his last 13 majors.
Davis, who tied for fourth in the 2023 PGA Championship before missing the cut in last year’s tournament, racked up seven birdies. He held the lead until a bogey on his last hole.
“At this point in time, I’m just letting it all happen and seeing how it shakes up,” Davis said. “If you had told me I was leading the tournament after the first round (or) tied for the lead, I would never say anything but positive things about that.”
Gerard, a Raleigh native who played collegiately for North Carolina, is appearing in a PGA Championship for the first time. He led by three strokes after an eagle on No. 15 before making consecutive bogeys to end his round in the early afternoon.
“I feel very comfortable here,” Gerard said. “There’s a lot of people here that I know and I’ve been fortunate enough to play this golf course a few times. And all of that is fantastic, and it’s definitely helped in the preparation.”
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald of England shot 4-under 67 and was a co-leader in the clubhouse for a stretch during the afternoon. Donald completed his bogey-free round before Alex Smalley, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, Germany’s Stephan Jaeger and England’s Aaron Rai joined him with 67s.
Donald wasn’t expecting to have an impact on the leaderboard.
“I’m here only because I’m captain of the European Ryder Cup team,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this field otherwise. It’s a nice invitation and a perk that the Ryder Cup captain gets.”
Jaeger navigated the course with six birdies and two bogeys, including on the final hole that cost him the solo lead.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 2-under 69, while defending champion Xander Schauffele finished at 1-over 72 and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the recent Masters champion and four-time winner of the PGA Tour stop at Quail Hollow, recorded 3-over 74.
Scheffler started on the back nine and notched an eagle on No. 15. But on the next hole, the trio of Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy all took double-bogey 6s.
Scheffler finished with birdies on two of his last three holes.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Scheffler said. “I’m satisfied with my finish. It’s always nice coming off the course finishing with a birdie.”
Smalley, who lives about 90 minutes away in Greensboro and has additional in-state ties as a former Duke golfer, was added to the field Wednesday when Sahith Theegala withdrew because of a neck injury.
“To have a major championship in your home state is awesome,” Smalley said. “To be able to get in last minute is great.”
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is among a cluster of golfers at 3 under.
“I played as solid of a round of golf today as I’ve played all year,” Bradley said.
J.T. Poston, also North Carolinian, finished at 3 under after a bogey on the final hole. Michael Thorbjornsen, Englishmen Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, Colombia’s Nico Echavarria, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard, Sweden’s Alex Noren, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos also completed rounds at 3 under.
With Donald and Bradley holding top-10 positions, it’s just the second time that two current Ryder Cup captains have ended a round in a major within the top 10 during a Ryder Cup year. It also happened in 1937.
“I was pumped to see Luke up there,” Bradley said. “I know how hard he’s been working back home.”
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
