2025 PGA Championship leaderboard: Jhonattan Vegas goes low amid chaos, Scottie Scheffler firmly the favorite

A wild first round has Vegas on top by two, 10 strokes ahead of Masters champion Rory McIlroy at Quail Hollow

The story entering the 2025 PGA Championship was hype surrounding the top three stars in the world -- Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau -- all arriving at the year's second major both in great form and coming off of recent wins. 

Coming out of Thursday's first round, none of those names occupy a spot on the first page of the leaderboard, though Scheffler posted a score in red figures with his 2-under 69. That is good for a T20 finish through 18 holes with Scheffler becoming a distinctive +330 favorite, according to DraftKings, well clear of DeChambeau at +1100

Given the lack of established players above both men, they figures to have a great chance to move up the leaderboard on Friday as long as they can find more consistency with their ball striking.

Scheffler had an adventurous day and had to scramble for a lot of his scoring, including a birdie chip-in and eagle putt from off the green.

McIlroy was playing in the marquee group with Scheffler and Xander Schauffele (who shot 72). Rory had a disastrous first round with a 3-over 74 that will have him fighting just to make the weekend. The most shocking hole result of the day took place on the long par-4 16th where the world's three top-ranked players all walked off the green with double bogeys -- sparking a "mud ball" discourse after the round. 

DeChambeau didn't tee off until the afternoon, but he also never got out of first gear with a solid but mostly unspectacular 71. He did author one of the shots of the day on the 17th, hitting it to three inches for a near-ace on the 227-yard par 3 (before giving that back with a bogey on the 18th). 

DeChambeau's even-par round has him seven off the pace set by none other than Jhonattan Vegas, whose 7-under 64 was a shocking finish to the day's play. Vegas, who was 300-1 to win coming into the tournament, has never finished a major championship round better than 9th. Now, he will sleep on a two-shot lead after closing his round with a wild run of five birdies across his final six holes, culminating with a long birdie putt on the 9th (the third-hardest hole of the day) careening into the cup. 

It's fitting for a player named Vegas to go on an incredible heater as he got hot rolling it on his second nine and rode that to a career-day at the PGA Championship, besting his previous low score by three strokes (67 at the 2016 tournament). 

Behind Vegas are Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis at 5 under, culminating in what has to be one of the most surprising first-day leaderboards at a major in recent history. 

Across the 19 players tied for a spot in the top 10, only two are past major champions: Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship) and Matt Fitzpatrick (2022 U.S. Open). The rest of the leaderboard is made up of largely unproven players or older golfers who haven't contended in some time (hello, Luke Donald?!).

That could set up a wild second round and weekend, as we'll find out which pre-tournament long shots can hang on at the top and which of the favorites that dragged their feet in Round 1 can get into the mix going to the weekend. 

The leader

1. Jhonattan Vegas (-7): His run to the clubhouse from No. 4 to No. 9 was, truly, an all-timer. Vegas talked after his round about "letting the round come to me" and trying to be more patient. He certainly took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves and led the field with nine birdies in his round, making just two bogeys -- including one on No. 10 to open his day. Now we'll see how Vegas holds up playing with the lead in a major for the first time, but for a player who has just six made cuts in his 16 career starts in major championships (best finish T22 in the 2016 PGA Championship), he's put himself in line for his best major performance ever. 

The contenders

T2. Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis (-5)
T4. Luke Donald, Ryan Fox, Alex Smalley, Stephan Jaegar, Aaron Rai (-4)
T9. Alex Noren, JT Poston, Ryo Hisatsune, Nico Echavarria, Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Keegan Bradley, Tyrrell Hatton, Michael Thorbjornsen, Rafael Campos (-3)
T20. Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and seven others (-2)
T29. Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg and 13 others (-1)
T46. Bryson DeChambeau and 13 others (E)

Anyone within seven shots of the lead has to feel decent about their chances. Heck, if you're one or two over par, you're still not out of it. (Again, McIlroy is three back of even and 10 off Vegas' pace.)

This leaderboard is absolute chaos. Just look at the list of names in T2, T4 and T9. Tyrrell Hatton is probably the guy most would trust the most (perhaps MacIntyre?), yet he's never won a major! The two captains of this year's Ryder Cup teams are higher on the leaderboard than anyone that is projected to make their team rosters! 

It is wide open, and for Scheffler, Hovland, Rahm, Morikawa, Åberg, Fleetwood and DeChambeau, they all have to be thinking the same thing: Despite not having our best stuff Thursday, we just need to find a little something to make a move. While all showed reasons for concern that they'll actually be the ones to put it all together, it's hard to find anyone at the top of the leaderboard that feels like a sure thing to still be in that position by Saturday, much less Sunday. 

2025 PGA Championship updated odds, picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler (33/10)
  
• Bryson DeChambeau (14-1)
• Tyrrell Hatton (16-1)
• Jon Rahm (18-1)
• Jhonattan Vegas (18-1)
• Ludvig Åberg (22-1)
• Collin Morikawa (22-1)
• Aaron Rai (22-1)
• Viktor Hovland (25-1)
• Rory McIlroy (30-1)
• Robert MacIntyre (30-1)
• Cam Davis (30-1)
• Ryan Gerard (30-1)
• Ryan Fox (35-1)
• Keegan Bradley (35-1)
• Alex Smalley (35-1)
• Tommy Fleetwood (35-1)
• Stephan Jaeger (35-1)

The odds sheet is hysterical right now, reflective of the chaos on the leaderboard. Scottie's odds have somehow gotten shorter despite him being T20 (which, honestly, that understandable), so there's no value to grab there. Hovland (25-1) and Fleetwood (35-1) are the most intriguing options here, and then it's really take your pick of the guy at the top you think is going to be able to hang in for four days. I'll roll with a little Ryan Fox (35-1) sprinkle as a guy with the distance to potentially keep it up and hang for four days, even if unlikely. 

Check out CBS Sports' complete PGA Championship TV schedule and coverage guide. Watch the PGA Championship entirely Friday on fubo (Try for free) and Saturday-Sunday on CBS, Paramount+, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App.

[May 15, 2025 at 7:21 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Bryson DeChambeau posts an up-and-down 71 (E), Viktor Hovland shoots 69 (-2)

As has been the story of the day with top stars at Quail Hollow, it was a bit of a struggle for Bryson DeChambeau on Thursday in his first round of the PGA Championship. Despite the expectations of Quail playing as a bomber's paradise, he failed to put a birdie on his card on the front nine, making the turn at 1 over. 

On the back nine, he took advantage of the two par 5s with birdies on Nos. 10 and 15, and arrived at the Green Mile at even for his round. On the 16th, he did what no one else was able to all day, and drove one over the bunker down the right that is a 342 yard carry -- the final tally on the tee shot was 362 yards. He'd play smartly well right of the pin and two-putt for par, and then authored one of the shots of the day with a near-ace on the 227-yard par-3 17th. 

That gave him a three-inch birdie putt to get to red figures for the first time all day, but his stay in the red didn't last long. DeChambeau sent a tee shot into the trees right on the 18th and couldn't scramble his way to a par, dropping back to even with a bogey. 

While it wasn't the start he hoped for, he's still in the mix at six back of extremely unproven leaders in Cam Davis and Ryan Gerard. The expectation is that much of the top of this leaderboard will have trouble sticking there through the weekend, and we could see an opportunity for DeChambeau and others to rise. That said, he is going to need to play much better if he's going to get in the mix. The driver had some big misses and while he dialed it in perfectly on No. 17, his iron distance control was once again an issue after costing him dearly at the Masters. 

Playing alongside DeChambeau was Viktor Hovland, who posted a 2-under 69 as one of the few top names to get into red figures on Thursday. Hovland had it to -3 early in his round, making the turn at that number, but stumbled some on the back with three bogeys and just two birdies, including a closing bogey to match DeChambeau. His ball-striking continues to improve as this season wears on, and the confidence seems to be growing internally for Hovland that he is getting closer to the level we saw him at a couple years ago. 

[May 15, 2025 at 7:03 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Justin Thomas closes his round with an incredible bogey to shoot 73 (+2)

A popular pre-tournament pick and one of the favorites coming into Quail Hollow, Justin Thomas had a disastrous start to his day. Thomas made double bogey on the 2nd, bogey on the 3rd and another bogey on the 6th to move to +4 on his round quickly. He would remain there as he made the turn, and needed to grind down the back nine to get into contention for the weekend, much less the tournament.

He did a pretty incredible job of that, most notably making three straight birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 16, culminating in an incredible chip-in from long on the extremely difficult 16th. 

A par on the 17th took him to the 18th at 1 over, and he looked primed to salvage a solid round. After finding the fairway -- usually the most difficult part -- he yanked his approach left into the creek, but got a bit of a break when it bounced off a rock and nestled into the rough below a huge boulder. It was debatable if he'd be able to even get a club on it and avoid the disaster of leaving it in the creek, but he did more than just get out of a tough predicament, he hit an incredible shot to give himself a chance at par and all but guarantee a bogey. 

He couldn't pay it off with a par, but he did get in the house with a 2-over 73. While that wouldn't have been what he wanted before the day started, with the way his front nine started, it was a pretty solid score to post. He will need a big move on Friday morning to have a chance at being a threat to win, but he won't have quite as much work to do to make the cut as some (like Rory McIlroy) further down the leaderboard. 

[May 15, 2025 at 6:06 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Cam Davis ties Ryan Gerard for the clubhouse lead with a 66 (-5)

There are now two names at the top of the 2025 PGA Championship leaderboard, as Cam Davis matched Ryan Gerard with a 5-under 66 of his own on Thursday afternoon at Quail Hollow. 

Davis' round was incredibly steady, as he put just two bogeys on his card all day. One of those was unfortunately on his final hole, the difficult 9th. Davis was unable to get up-and-down for par and dropped out of the solo lead after getting to 6 under -- much like Gerard who bogeyed his final two holes of the day. 

Aside from that rare blemish, Davis was fantastic on Thursday, doing much of his damage on the greens where he gained an incredible 6.299 strokes on the field with his putting. He showed off incredible touch on the green all day, making seven birdies including a beauty on the extremely long par-3 6th that yielded very few birdies all day. 

The challenge for Davis will be finding a bit more tee-to-green, where he was 54th in strokes gained in the field for the first round. Red-hot putting tends to be difficult to sustain for four days, so if he's going to contend on the weekend the ball-striking will need to be able to make up for what figures to be at least a slight dip in effectiveness on the greens. 

[May 15, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Justin Thomas holes out an incredible flop shot for birdie on No. 16

A brutal front nine set Justin Thomas back in his quest to win a third PGA Championship (and second at Quail Hollow) after he went out with a 4-over 39. Thomas tried to battle back on the back nine, with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to get back to +2 before he arrived at the Green Mile. 

After his approach on the 16th bounced long over the green and into the rough on the bank above the water, Thomas figured to be grinding for a par, but hit a perfect flop shot that went a mile into the air, bounced softly and rolled straight into the cup for his third consecutive birdie to get to +1. 

That is found money on the 16th, which has only yielded a handful of birdies all day, but perhaps a bit of earned luck from Thomas who stayed in it and kept grinding despite a dreadful start.  

[May 15, 2025 at 4:57 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Cam Davis takes the lead at -6 thru 15*

Ryan Gerard's clubhouse lead has held up for four hours, but he has finally been passed by Cam Davis, who is putting together an incredible round on Thursday afternoon. 

Davis has just one bogey on his round so far in 15 holes (the par-3 13th) and has seven birdies, including a rare one on the 18th. His latest, on the extremely long and difficult par-4 6th, moved him to 6 under and into the lead alone, one ahead of Gerard and two ahead of the large group at 4 under. 

Davis should have two more solid chances for birdies on the par-5 7th and the short par-4 8th before having to navigate the difficult 9th to close out his round. 

[May 15, 2025 at 4:26 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Eric Cole makes the first hole-in-one of the week on the 4th

The first hole-in-one of the week belongs to Eric Cole, as he drew a perfect 7 iron into the par-3 4th hole (his 13th), taking a skip forward and rolling into the dead center of the cup. 

That was a big deal for Cole, who was looking like the wheels were coming off as he made the turn with a bogey-double stretch on Nos. 1 and 2 before getting two shots back (and returning to even par for the championship) with his ace. Cole will be buying a round later in the clubhouse, and will forever be a legend to the folks who didn't even have to wait til the weekend to cash "yes" bets on whether there would be a hole-in-one this week. 

[May 15, 2025 at 3:59 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Justin Thomas stumbles to front nine 39 (+4)

Justin Thomas came into the 2025 PGA Championship in incredible form, having won the RBC Heritage and finished second at the Truist Championship in his last two starts, both in signature events. On top of that, he was the winner at Quail Hollow the last time it hosted a PGA Championship back in 2017, which put him fourth or fifth on the odds sheet coming into the week anywhere from 18-1 to 22-1 depending on the sports book. 

However, his chances of going back-to-back at Quail Hollow PGA's look to be almost gone after just nine holes of the first round, as Thomas has struggled mightily, shooting a 4-over 39 on the front nine. Thomas has hit just 25% of the fairways in his round and is not scrambling or putting well to make up for a wayward driver. While the driver accuracy issues aren't new, he seemed to have it straightened out last week, and his putting improvement has been one of the stories of the year in golf. 

With none of that working for him early, he now goes to the back nine desperately needing some birdies to have any hopes of contending. If he's going to do so, he will have to turn it around quickly, because the first six holes on the back are fairly gettable before you have to hold on for dear life on the Green Mile to close out your round. 

[May 15, 2025 at 2:40 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

UNC alum Ryan Gerard posts new clubhouse lead with 66 (-5)

For hours, the clubhouse lead has held firm at 4 under, with Ryan Fox, Luke Donald, Stephan Jaeger and Alex Smalley all posting 67s on Thursday morning. However, a heater from Ryan Gerard to start his back nine got him to 7 under going into the Green Mile, and while he'd drop shots on No. 17 and No. 18, he posted a new clubhouse lead with a 5-under 66. 

After making the turn at 1 under, Gerard birdied the first four holes on the back nine to charge up the leaderboard, and then added an eagle with a tremendous chip-in on the par-5 15th to become the first player to reach 7 under for the day. 

After a very solid par on the difficult 16th, it looked like Gerard might be able to land the plane without any bumps, but the Green Mile seemingly always takes its toll. Gerard couldn't get up-and-down from short right of the 17th and then had to lay up on the par-4 18th after hitting his tee shot into the trees right (which is better than the creek left) and couldn't salvage a par from there. 

Even with the late-round stumble, it was an incredible round from the UNC alum, who seems to feel very comfortable back in North Carolina. Gerard isn't a household name, but he's been hanging around the top of leaderboards this year, with a pair of top 10s, including a runner-up at the Texas Open back in April. 

Now he will sit back and watch the rest of the field battle a tough golf course and see if his 5 under number will hold up at the top of the leaderboard. If it does, it will be uncharted territory for a player making just his third major start (2022, 2023 U.S. Open), and his Friday afternoon round will carry a different pressure than he's ever felt. 

[May 15, 2025 at 1:53 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler rallies to shoot 69 (-2), Xander Schauffele posts 72 (+1), Rory McIlroy stumbles to 74 (+3)

The featured group on Thursday morning was a mixed bag, as the top 3 players in the world did not have their best and only one of them, Scottie Scheffler, could get into red figures. 

Scheffler, somewhat ironically, was the one in the group who looked the worst early in the round (with the group starting off of No. 10), but as he does so often, he scrambled his way to some scores; chipping in for birdie on No. 12 and making an eagle putt from off the green on No. 15, to keep himself in the mix. 

He would give that eagle back on No. 16 when he made a double bogey, but wasn't alone as all three players walked off the long par 4 with a 6 on the card. After a par-birdie-bogey start to his second nine, Scheffler found a late kick to get it into red figures with birdies on the 7th and 9th holes, including his best iron shot of the day on No. 9 to post 69. 

Schauffele had the least eventful day of the marquee group, but his issue was an inability to put birdies on the card. Schauffele opened his round with a birdie on the 10th, but didn't put another circle on the card until No. 8 (his 17th). In between, he had a bogey on No. 14 and the double on No. 16 and a whole lot of pars to post a 1-over 72 that isn't great, but also isn't a total disaster. 

And then there was McIlroy who came into the week as the betting co-favorite with Scheffler after winning the Masters and having an incredible history at Quail Hollow, and promptly sprayed the ball all over the yard, hitting just four fairways and struggling to a 3-over 74. Like Schauffele, Rory could only manage two birdies (both on his front nine) but he put far more squares on the card with three bogeys and a double. 

On Friday, McIlroy will have work to do to make the cut, Schauffele will need a great round to get in the mix and Scheffler will be looking to play a little better but keep up his opportunistic scoring. 

[May 15, 2025 at 1:25 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Brooks Koepka ties his worst career round in the PGA Championship with a first round 75 (+4) 

Brooks Koepka was once the most feared man entering every PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Koepka dominated those two majors at his peak, winning two U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships from 2017 to 2019, and added another PGA to his collection in 2023. 

However, over the last two years Koepka has struggled in major championships, not finishing better than T17 since that PGA win in 2023. On Thursday, Koepka continued on that path with a first round 75 (+4) that has him T84 currently and matches his worst score to par in a PGA (the first round of the 2022 PGA when he finished T55). 

Koepka was wild off of the tee on Thursday, hitting just five fairways and a lot of his misses were way off line. He couldn't make that up with any of the other parts of his game either, as he is currently 76th in strokes gained tee-to-green and 71st putting after his first round. 

The most excitement in Koepka's first round was the drama on the third hole, when he sprayed a drive way right towards the driving range and hit a provisional. On the ESPN+ broadcast, the on-course reporter was adamant his first ball was out of bounds and that he had made a triple with his second ball. However, the scorecard never changed from a bogey and is still listed as such, as Koepka apparently got a reprieve from a complete disaster and is just 4 over instead of two shots worse. 

In any case, it's still jarring seeing Koepka just not seeming to have the gear needed to compete in a major. His game just is not where it needs to be at these events and he'll have work to do on Friday afternoon just to make the weekend. 

[May 15, 2025 at 12:30 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald joins the clubhouse lead with a stunning 67 (-4)

Luke Donald has played in three events this season on the PGA Tour and missed the cut in all of them. He hasn't had a top 10 on the PGA Tour in seven years. Naturally, he's tied for the clubhouse lead at the PGA Championship after an incredible (and shocking) first round 67 to join Ryan Fox as the two players done for the day at 4 under. 

Donald was unbelievably steady all day and seemingly couldn't miss when he got on the greens. He leads the field in strokes gained putting (4.959), making up for his deficiencies off of the tee -- 65th in strokes gained off the tee and 61st in driving distance in the morning wave. While few will anticipate Donald being a factor come Sunday, it's very cool to see him find this kind of form, even if just for one day. 

Donald has largely focused on his duties as the European Ryder Cup captain, where he'll look to go 2-for-2 in leading his team to a win at Bethpage Black this September. This week, he's dialing it in himself and showing his guys the way around Quail Hollow, a course that has never set up well for him in the past (one career finish inside the top 70). 

His Ryder Cup counterpart, Keegan Bradley, is also off to a great start at -3 thru 12 in his first round, and there's a non-zero chance we could see a weekend pairing of the Ryder Cup captains this week. 

[May 15, 2025 at 12:13 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Ryan Fox posts 67 (-4) for the early clubhouse lead

A bogey on his last hole (No. 9) left a bit of a sour finish for the New Zealander, but Ryan Fox still holds a share of the early lead at the 2025 PGA Championship after a terrific opening round 67 to post -4 in the clubhouse. 

In what has proved to be a difficult day with the top stars struggling to climb the leaderboard, Fox started on the back nine and jumped out to the early lead with birdies on three of his first five holes (Nos. 10, 13 and 14) and was able to keep his card clean through the Green Mile to make the turn at -3. His front was far more of an eventful ride, as he started with four straight pars but needed some chip-in heroics on the third to keep that streak going. 

He then closed his round with three birdies and two bogeys in his final five holes to get into the clubhouse with a 67. 

The long-hitter out of New Zealand got it done in all facets of the game, leading the field in strokes gained so far on Thursday. He is 12th in driving distance (309 yards) and 12th in strokes gained putting so far, which is a very good combination to have. He's coming off a win in Myrtle Beach last week and has carried that form north to Charlotte where he's tied for the lead as the morning wave nears the end of its day. 

[May 15, 2025 at 11:10 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Stephan Jaeger, Luke Donald and Nico Echavarria move into the lead at -4

For a long time, there was a log jam at -3 with as many as 11 tied at the top of the leaderboard on Thursday morning, but we've seen three break out of that pack and get to 4 under. 

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has gotten off to a stunning start with his own bogey-free round so far with four holes left to play -- but three of those being the incredibly difficult closing stretch of the Green Mile. Jaeger, meanwhile, is just through 10 holes (starting on No. 1) and Echavarria joined that group with an impressive birdie from right off the tee on No. 12. 

Both of them have much of the back nine left to play, and that could provide an opportunity to push further ahead or could bring him back to the field given the difficult close. 

Ryan Fox was part of that group at -4 (and was the first to get there this morning), but a bogey on the extremely long par-3 No. 6 dropped him back into the group at 3 under -- he has, at least, already gotten through the Green Mile.  

Even with ideal weather conditions right now, the course is playing extremely difficult. The rough is thick, the fairways are soft but the greens are exceptionally firm, as they've had the sub-air system humming the last few days to get them dried out and the bounces off the green have been massive in the early going and they should only get firmer as the day wears on. 

[May 15, 2025 at 10:36 am ET · Robby Kalland]

The featured group has a family style ejection on No. 16

The 16th hole at Quail Hollow is the start of their difficult closing stretch known as the Green Mile and it has staked a claim as the hardest hole on the golf course early on Thursday. No one has made birdie there yet and the featured group with Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele all made a mess of the 535-yard par 4 and walked off the green with three double bogeys. 

McIlroy hooked his tee shot left into some very long grass in the penalty area and could barely get it out of that after slipping on his backswing, leaving 200+ yards from a hanging lie above his feet in the rough for his third. He left that high and right of the green in the rough and could not get up and down for bogey. 

Scheffler and Schauffele hit great tee shots in the center of the fairway but both of them hooked long irons left and bounded into the water. After dropping in the long rough, neither could get within 40 feet of the cup with their third shots and both had to make 5+ footers just to salvage a 6. The doubles dropped Scheffler back to even par, giving back his eagle on the 15th, while McIlroy fell to +1 and Schauffele is now +2 for the tournament with two more very difficult holes coming right up. 

They are going to be far from the only players to make a double (or worse) on No. 16 this week, but for three hopeful contenders, they've now dug themselves a bit of a hole with a bunch of players currently sitting at -3 in the lead. 

[May 15, 2025 at 10:13 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler eagles the par-5 15th 

Scheffler has not had his A-game to start the PGA Championship, but after getting a break off the tee on the 15th, he paid it off with an eagle putt from off the green to move to 2 under, just one back of the group tied for the lead. 

Scheffler started slowly, failing to make birdie on the par-5 10th and then bogeyed the 11th after a bad tee shot, but a chip in for birdie on the 12th got him back to even. 

From there he still didn't look quite right, as he missed the green but saved par on the 13th, did the same on the drivable par-4 14th and then yanked his tee shot left again on 15 before managing to make his eagle. If he is going to be able to score and hang around the top of the leaderboard when he's off his tee-to-green game, that's a pretty terrifying proposition for the rest of the field because you expect, eventually, the world's best ball-striker will remember how to do that. 

[May 15, 2025 at 9:39 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Ryder Cup captains off to a strong start

Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald might be splitting their focus this season on their own play and the choices they have to make for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, but early Thursday morning the captains are showing they've still got plenty of game themselves. Luke Donald made the turn at Quail Hollow at -2 after a bogey-free front nine, while Keegan Bradley just got his day started but has matched his Ryder Cup counterpart on the leaderboard going -2 thru 3 (starting on the back). We've got a long way to go to get there, but if they remain tied on the leaderboard it would be a very fun weekend pairing to see the Ryder Cup captains going toe-to-toe. 

[May 15, 2025 at 9:00 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy bogey the 11th

The first two holes of the day have been a bit of an adventure for the featured group. After McIlroy and Xander Schauffele birdied the par-5 10th, with Scheffler managing just a par, the 11th posed some problems for Scheffler and McIlroy as both missed the fairway. Scheffler yanked his tee shot left into the trees, but had a gap to run a ball to the front of the green, while McIlroy tried for the 325-yard carry of the bunkers down the left but ended up in the sand. 

The real problems arrived on the green, where Scheffler left his chip woefully short and McIlroy rammed his birdie putt well past the hole. Schauffele, the only one to find the fairway, managed a simple two-putt par to stay 1 under while the other two dealt with stressful par attempts. Both Scheffler and McIlroy would slide their par efforts by on the right side of the cup from opposite directions to drop a shot -- McIlroy back to E and Scheffler going to +1 early. 

[May 15, 2025 at 8:35 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Ryan Fox off to a hot start as the Scheffler/McIlroy/Schauffele group tees off

The early leader of the PGA Championship is Ryan Fox, who has it to -3 thru 5 early on Thursday morning. The early morning wave has been treated to ideal conditions, but Fox and Alex Noren (-2 thru 4) are the only ones to get multiple shots under par in the first 90 minutes of play. The early shot of the day belongs to Noren with this beautiful iron into the 4th -- which also shows how receptive the course is right now after all the rain early in the week.

Now the featured groups are starting to get into their first round action, with the world's top three players now on the course as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele have begun their day at the par-5 10th. Jon Rahm is in the group in front of them and is -1 thru 2.