If you checked in on the PGA Championship leaderboard for the first time this afternoon, you may have wondered if this was the Houston Open instead of a major.
Before the premiere players came out in the last wave, co-leads included Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee and Ryo Hisatsune. Most of the top players from the early wave struggled, including a 76 from Bryson DeChambeau, a 74 from Rory McIlroy and a 72 from Ludvig Aberg. Xander Schauffele got off to a fast start and looked like he might be the favorite to take the lead in the first round as he seeks a second PGA title, but he settled down to post a 68. Jon Rahm, on the other hand, looked to be on his way to more championship battles before going for eagle on the 11th.th hole of the day you have to get back to before you even post a 69.
But the story of the day was Scottie Scheffler shooting a solid 3-under 67 that tied him for the lead, putting him in the lead heading into the second round.
Scheffler finally overcomes his slow starts
The only thing that has held Scottie Scheffler back this year has been poor early rounds. For most of the year, the world No. 1 has started slowly and has had to fight his way back into contention. This could be attributed to why he hasn’t won since the American Express, despite many finishes near the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week. He is coming into the PGA Championship with three straight second-place finishes.
You may recall that Scheffler was 12 shots behind McIlroy at the halfway point of the Masters. He eventually lost by just one shot. It is highly unlikely that he will be 12 shots back after Friday’s round.
Of the other six players tied for the lead, only Lee (No. 31) is ranked in the top 50 in the world. That must be a scary sight for the rest of the field.
He can take over the tournament
Scheffler played in the toughest conditions on Thursday and still managed to grab a share of the lead. The wind forecast looks to be fairly steady on Friday, meaning scoring should be a little easier in the morning with milder conditions, especially as gusts could be stronger in the afternoon.
If Scheffler can continue his consistent play that we’ve become accustomed to, it could have a strong effect on the court. Aronimink has shown its teeth so far and doesn’t seem to be a course you can push too hard. It tempts you with shorter clubs on many greens, but missing the fairway or short can be very costly. Those who head out this afternoon and see Scheffler at 6 or 7 below will face a tough mental test not to put pressure on the world’s best player while also knowing he’s unlikely to return shots.
Aronimink prepares well for Scheffler
While Scheffler looks like he could be tough to beat this week, he didn’t even have his best stuff. He played very conservatively with his irons and only gained 0.62 strokes on approach. As we’ve seen him do quite often in the majors, Scheffler aimed for the center of most greens and really only seemed to attack the flags when he had a wedge in his hands. He only hit 13 greens despite hitting 13 of 14 fairways. The footballer looked dangerous. Scheffler earned 3.36 strokes on the green, which was 6th the best in the field.
If he continues to hit the fairways like he did today, you have to imagine that Scheffler can get a little more aggressive with his irons and start to separate from the field like he did last year when he won the PGA Championship.
Currently at +175 odds, Scheffler appears to have a good shot at capturing his fifth major championship at the age of 29.
