2023 PGA Championship: Jon Rahm knocked out as Scottie Scheffler flies high with different co-favourites in Round 1

Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler separate themselves from the golf world for the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. On Thursday, the world’s two top golfers separated as co-favorites went in opposite directions for the first 18 holes.

Rahm signed for a terrible 6 of 76, while Scheffler finished his round with a clubhouse lead thanks to a 3 under 67. By the time the afternoon groups began, Scheffler had sat behind the leader 4 below.

After starting his 2023 Masters with a double four-shot, Rahm got off to a better start to his PGA Championship with an opening birdie. It was as good as possible for the Spaniard as he kept a point under until his 16th tee – his sixth hole of the day. Only then did the driver begin to misbehave in a similar fashion to earlier spring when he had poor performances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Match Play.

A stubborn pair of steering in games 16 and 18 thwarted an unwise approach in a difficult game 17 when Rahm hit three bogeys in a row to close his first nine goals. His hitting trouble continued into his second half as he got close to the second green resulting in another dropped shot and a missing ball on the par-3 third box giving way to another fruit. His sixth Bogey in a nine-hole span came shortly after in 6th place.

A sloppy double bogey, birdie and an equal save on his last three holes saw the reigning Masters champions finish 6 out 76. In their first game since the Mexican Open. , Rahm has clearly shown rust; it placed him completely behind the eight-ball when he found himself 10 strokes behind the club’s leader on Thursday afternoon.

While Rahm is erratic, the number 2 in the world plays cards. Competing alongside two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka and US Open 2019 winner Gary Woodland, Scheffler taught his fellow major champions a master class on how to attack Donald Ross’s design. .

The four-stroke extensions clamping a birdie on the 14th par-4 are drivable as Scheffler turns ho-hum 1 under 34. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but Scheffler’s initial nine holes helped him gain almost three strokes on the court.

He continued to play in this style on a more difficult ninth front at Oak Hill. Hitting a rough patch in the fourth par-4, Scheffler converted a crucial save into one of those rare scoring opportunities and turned this momentum into a powerful finish.

“I had some good momentum after 4th place,” said Scheffler. “I dragged my shot there a little bit, it was a miss. If you hit it right in the bunker, you’ll hit it. hit the ball out I leaned against a tree and actually somehow got the ball back in the game, it was a great shot Hit a pretty good iron on it. Blocks the wind and has a very good up and down shot to keep the round going. You’d hate getting a par-5 bogey, especially when there’s only two of them around. That’s good motivation. used it to finish the round pretty strong.”

It was immediately put to use when Scheffler connected from 15 feet on the 5th par-3 for his second birdie of the day. The 26-year-old added another par breaker in game 8 to score 3 points below.

Having nearly missed a final birdie on his finishing hole, Scheffler decided to take a bogey-free 67, his first such round in a major championship, to claim the title. early lead with Corey Conners. Scheffler was the only player in the morning wave to go on without making a mistake.

What worked Thursday is exactly the same formula that has worked for Scheffler for the past 15 months. He leads the course in terms of strokes from tee to green, ranks in the top 15 in both tee and approach hits, and has a beautiful performance around the green. He wasn’t very good at putting the ball, but more importantly, he didn’t put himself out there. If he continues to play like this, he will likely raise the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.

“I hit a lot of good putts today,” says Scheffler. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of things very well. I think there were a couple of putts that could have been successful, and my score could have been even lower. I’m glad I got through it. no bogey mistakes and good momentum tomorrow.”