The GOAT sported a new goatee, which – along with his new range of Sun Day Red line of clothing – enabled Tiger Woods to look quite the part for the first round of the US PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, the 15-time Major champion’s golf didn’t match the fashionable look with his golf game as a bogey-bogey finish saw Woods – who hasn’t played since the Masters last month – open up with a one-over-par 72, all of 10 shots behind first round clubhouse leader Xander Schauffele.
For Schauffele, there was an immediate bounce back from last week’s disappointment in Quail Hollow where he held the 54-holes lead only to be left trailing in Rory McIlroy’s wake when it mattered come trophy time.
Schauffele, the Olympic gold medallist from Tokyo, has yet to win a Major but his magnificently crafted bogey-free nine-under-par 62 got him off to a flying start and also gave the 30-year-old Californian the distinction yet again of equalling the low round in any of the four Majors.
Branden Grace (The Open in 2017), Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open) and Schauffele (also in the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club) all shared the record low, with Schauffele’s second 62 – a birdie putt on the last for a 61 drifted away from the hole – enabling him to have the rare distinction of doing so twice.
Record low scores are all well and good, however, and Schauffele – who took the clubhouse lead, three clear of Sahith Theegala and Tony Finau from the early wave of players – would rather finally claim that Major title which so far has eluded him in his career.
“I feel there’s spurts, moments in time, where you feel like you can control the ball really well; you’re seeing the greens really well; you’re chipping really well. But over a prolonged period, it’s tough to upkeep high performance. I’d say it’s very close to it if not it,” said Schauffele of the vein of form he has hit in the past two weeks.
Schauffele is without a win on tour since the Genesis Scottish Open in 2022, almost two years, and that has played on his mind: “I think not winning makes you want to win more, as weird as that is. For me, at least, I react to it, and I want it more and more and more, and it makes me want to work harder and harder and harder,” he said.
A bogey-free opening round of 62 gave him the perfect start, but with it an awareness that the hard road has yet to be travelled. “It’s only Thursday,” he said.
For Woods, it was a case of working his way into the round due to his lack of sharpness with scorecard in hand.
“I am getting stronger for sure. It’s just that I just don’t play a whole lot of competitive rounds. I haven’t played since the Masters. So it’s a little bit different than being at home and playing a flat Florida course ... each day is a little bit different. Some days, it’s better than others. It’s just the way it is. My body is just that way. Some days, it feels great, and other days, a bit of a struggle,” said Woods, who can only play a restricted schedule following surgery.
