Frosty start for players at Oak Hill CC
Surprise, surprise! A frosty morning delayed the start of play by nearly two hours in the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in New York, USA. And that is pretty unusual for a Major Championship held in the month of May. Yet it was good news for American Bryson DeChambeau who is the overnight leader in the clubhouse with a superb round of 4-under par 66. Today may shape-up differently though as there are a number of players at the club in Rochester, New York who could surpass DeChambeau. Fellow-American Eric Cole, for example. He stands at 5-under par with still four holes to play. Lack of light stopped play on Thursday. So there is a chance that Cole could top the leaderboard at the end of the first round.
The frosty morning turned into a super sunny day for golf with greens that were silky smooth and fast. The par of 70 at Oak Hill CC was to be a good test of the patience of the world’s best golfers.
Canada’s Corey Conners was an early leader scoring 4-under par after 15 holes. The 31-year old finished his opening round with a 3-under par 67. Meanwhile the pride and joy of Norway, Viktor Hovland, was in second place on 3-under par after 14 holes but ended with a 2-under par 68. As I write, Connors has a share of third place and Hovland lies in a tie for 6th place. It is, of course, due to the frost, still early days in the golf tournament.
World Number One golfer
There were high hopes for the World’s Number One Golfer, Jon Rahm from Spain. Alas, however, the beautiful swing of the Masters Champion just didn’t live up to expectations at Oak Hill. The 28-year old star opened with a birdie (at the 10th) but then had six bogeys, a double-bogey and one more birdie at the 10th. He shot a 6-over par 76 leaving himself with an awful lot of great golf to produce today in order to make the halfway cut.
Number two player in the world is American Scottie Scheffler. The 26-year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey shot a bogey-free round at Oak Hill to seize a potential share of third place on 3-under par with Corey Conners and fellow-American Dustin Johnson.
DeChambeau is flying high
Bryson DeChambeau was really on a roll with his golf yesterday. Even the super slick greens he read to perfection. The 27-year old from Dallas, Texas is renowned for his rather unconventional style of golf swing whereby he plays with all of his clubs measuring the same length. In 2020, he became the longest-hitting professional on the Tour. His best performance in the US PGA Championship is a share of 4th place in that same year. Indeed, it was also in 2020 that he won his first Major, the US Open.
DeChambeau played a solid round of golf starting at the 10th hole with six birdies and two bogeys for a round of 66. A victory at Oak Hill will see the Texan clinch his second Major.
Alas, there are no Dutch players in the field this year, but it is heartening to see two Belgian players, Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry playing well.
Shortly we’ll know the final ranking of the players on day one. Is Bryson DeChambeau still leading the tournament or has fellow-American Eric Cole finished in splendid style?
Wendy Hoad
Editor
INTERESTING TO KNOW: Oak Hill CC is hosting its fourth US PGA Championship this year. Earlier events took place in 1980, 2003 and 2013. The country club also proudly hosted the 1995 Ryder Cup.
MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: American Bryon DeChambeau was leader in the clubhouse towards the end of play on day one in the US PGA Championship.