Scottie Scheffler shared the first-round lead at the US PGA Championship, one of seven players tied at three-under par after a day of stunning parity on the Aronimink course. The American world number one shot a 67 to claim a piece of the top spot, setting up a wide-open tournament where 42 players sat within three shots of the lead and a full third of the field remained in realistic contention.
The leaderboard congestion was historic. No major championship dating back to 1860 had seen such a bunched field after 18 holes. Among the seven leaders, 16 major championships were represented, but it was Scheffler's presence at the summit that carried the most weight for the field chasing him down the stretch.
Rory McIlroy, by contrast, cratered spectacularly. The Northern Irishman finished at four-over par after carding four consecutive bogeys on his final four holes, a first for him in major championship play. When asked to summarize his round immediately after, McIlroy offered a terse one-word assessment before elaborating on the course's devilish setup.
"I started missing fairways," McIlroy said. "From there, it's hard." His opening drive found deep rough so punishing that his next shot advanced only a hundred yards. The lies were among the worst he could remember.
McIlroy had arrived at Aronimink with a dismissive view of the strategic demands off the tee, insisting players could simply "bash the driver down there." He quickly learned otherwise. The course, which last hosted a major in 1962, sits in a natural basin with canted fairways and cambered greens that tilted players' perspectives and punished even minor misses.
Bryson DeChambeau also struggled mightily, finishing at six-over. His round included an iron shot that struck the grandstand at the 17th, another that landed on the bar's porch steps by the second hole, and a 30-footer that rolled 60 feet past the cup at the 11th.
The course conditions produced a steady stream of injury-related incidents. A divot from Jon Rahm struck a volunteer marshal in the shoulder when Rahm took a frustrated air-swing after a wayward shot on the seventh. McIlroy's pairing with Rahm and Jordan Spieth generated little in the way of scoring success, despite the three players' combined resume of major victories.
Both Rahm and Spieth managed to salvage rounds of one-under, joining a crowded group that included Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Cam Smith. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed sat one shot clear of that cluster at two-under.
Scheffler's seven co-leaders at three-under were Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Martin Kaymer, and Alex Smalley. The pace of play crawled throughout the day, with players finishing in five-and-a-half hours as the congestion created delays. The gridlock and difficult course conditions made for a grueling day that left even the field's biggest names scrambling.
A South African golfer, Garrick Higgo, received a two-shot penalty for arriving 30 seconds late to the first tee after leaving the practice green. Despite the setback, he still managed a 69 to remain competitive.
Author James Rodriguez: "Aronimink turned the field upside down, but Scheffler's presence in a seven-way tie signals he'll be the player everyone has to chase."
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