NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Jordan Spieth's bid to complete the career Grand Slam with a victory at the PGA Championship got off to a mixed start Thursday.
After making the turn at 1 under, Spieth birdied three of the first six holes on the front nine, his back, and was tied with the early leaders at 3 under before consecutive bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8 slowed his charge. He settled for a 1-under 69 and was still in contention with three rounds left.
“I
struck the ball well," said Spieth, who is making his 10th try at completing the Slam. ”I was in a good position on a lot of holes. If I drive it like that, I’d expect to shoot what I did or better. Just didn’t quite finish the way I wanted to the last three holes, but under-par was a good score."
Spieth said the morning chill and wind had Aronimink Golf Club playing difficult. As the day warmed up, so did the three-time major winner.
He rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th, made the turn and drained a 10 footer at the first, and then made putts of just over 3 feet and a touch under 7 feet at Nos. 4-5, respectively.
“It’s one of those rounds where I feel like I played better than I scored, which is frustrating because you want to get the most out of your round,” said Spieth, who has 16 career wins. “It’s also a good thing, which means things are in a good spot.”
Spieth's last major victory came in the 2017 British Open. His only top-10 finish in a PGA was in 2019 at Bethpage Black.
Justin Thomas kept his hopes for a third PGA title alive with a round-saving 53-foot bogey putt at the 14th hole.
He stumbled a bit down the stretch, but was still in the hunt with plenty of golf remaining.
Tied for the lead at 3 under, the 2017 and 2022 PGA winner gave two strokes back over the final holes.
At the 14th, he pulled his approach shot left, near the grandstands, and then left his chip short of the green in heavy rough. Then, his fourth shot drifted more than 50 feet on the undulating green. He salvaged a bogey with the long-distance putt.
Thomas dropped another shot at the par-5 16th when he drove into the left rough, advanced the ball less than 100 yards with his second and hit his third shot into a greenside bunker. Two shots later he was at 1 under.
“I played, I felt like, flawless in there for probably 13 holes,” the 33-year-old said. "Honestly, I just had a very hard time staying focused. It’s a long, long day out there. It’s so, so tough, very, very windy, some tough pins.
“Really proud of the way I played and the way I hung in there. Solid first round.”
Jon Rahm and Daniel Brown added a bit of Philly flare to the PGA Championship by posting E-A-G-L-E-S in the opening round.
While some spectators at the opening round broke out in Eagles chants, Rahm heard a different kind of roar from across Aronimink. It was the kind of outburst that is prompted by a special shot, and he immediately considered the rarity of a televised eagle at a major championship.
A short time late, he made some magic of his own.
Rahm didn’t know who was responsible for the shot that prompted the loud reaction, but the possibility of an eagle got him thinking.
“I kind of thought, man, how often you see hole-outs in majors on TV and how rarely I’ve ever seen one in person,” he said. “Then about an hour later I get to do it myself, right? So that’s just one of the funny moments in golf.”
Brown's hole-out from 106 yards at the uphill, 421-yard par-4 11th prompted the cheer that grabbed Rahm's attention. His shot landed short of the pin on the green that slopes steeply from back to front, spun right and rolled into the hole for a dramatic 2.
“You try to hit it a little left of the flag because you know it kind of feeds in, and you’re just hoping it goes close,” said Brown, who is playing in his third major. “Obviously a big bonus, the crowd going wild at the back, and you kind of know it’s gone in.”
Rahm eagled the second hole — ironically, his 11th of the round — and the shot came after he wasn't satisfied with his 105-yard, downwind approach on the previous hole that he left short of the green. This time it all came together.
He said he was more committed at the same distance into the wind and felt lucky to see the ball fall into the hole.
“It was a phenomenal shot, really good wedge shot,” the two-time major champion said.
Rahm posted a 1-under 69, while Brown closed out a 2-under 68.
The two eagles were well off the pace of last year's championship at Quail Hollow, where there were there were six eagles on par-4 holes in the first round.
Rahm was unhappy with his second shot at the seventh hole and swung through the rough in frustration, sending a divot that hit an event volunteer on the shoulder and face.
Rahm was quick to apologize. He said he felt horrible about the incident and planned to track down the volunteer to make amends.
“I got a flier on my second shot that went long” he said. "It’s not a good spot. Just out of frustration, I tried to make an air swing, just over the grass, and I wasn’t looking, took a divot, and unfortunately, I hit a volunteer.
"I couldn’t feel any worse. I need to somehow track him down to give him a present because that’s inexcusable and for something that could be completely avoidable.
“Whether it was my intention or not, it was just not good.”
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