The Latest: Rory, Jordan, Phil On Course At PGA
EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — The Latest from the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits (all times local):
1:47 p.m.
Phil Mickelson has opened with a birdie.
Rory McIlroy has opened with a bogey.
Jordan Spieth has opened with a par. And Adam Scott has opened with two straight birdies.
They're all trying to catch Dustin Johnson, who shot 6-under 66. They're part of the afternoon group teeing off at the PGA Championship.
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1:24 p.m.
You could say that both Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods are picking up where they left off.
Johnson knows his way around Whistling Straits. He shot a 6-under 66 at the PGA Championship today, writing a new chapter at the Wisconsin course that's the sight of one of his worst moments. He was leading going into the 72nd hole here in 2010, but grounded his club in a trash-strewn bunker and was penalized two shots. That kept him out of a playoff.
His 6 under in the first round Thursday included five birdies, an eagle, one bogey and no drama.
It gave him the clubhouse lead with the morning rounds wrapping up. It also put him nine shots ahead of Woods, who had a 75 and is in danger of missing three straight cuts in the majors for the first time in his career.
The world's top two players, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, just teed off.
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1:02 p.m.
Rickie Fowler is wrapping up one wild round.
Fowler was in a bunker far below the third green and took four shots to escape, leading to triple bogey. He followed with a chip-in for birdie on No. 4, only to find a bunker off the fifth tee and then lay up — wait for it — into the water. He scrambled for par, bounced back with a birdie, followed by two more bogeys. He's 1 over with one hole to play.
Fowler brings an "X Games" personality to the PGA Tour.
He brought it to the golf course at the PGA Championship.
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12:32 p.m.
John Daly update: 1-over-par 73. Still looking dapper. And, for the record, those are L.A. Dodgers pants with blue diamonds that he's wearing.
And this from Brian Gaffney, a club pro at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York: "I hope that this reaches a lot of people and elevates why club professionals bring a lot of attention to this event. Not just for how I played today, but just that there's so many people that will be following that would not necessarily be following. And that's exciting."
Gaffney had a wild round. Seven birdies, four bogeys and one double en route to a 1-under 71.
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12:20 p.m.
Matt Kuchar and Russell Henley have wrapped up rounds of 4-under 68 and are the early clubhouse leaders at the PGA Championship.
Thomas Bjorn and Brendan Steele both shot 3-under 69.
There are two players still on the course who currently have better scores.
Dustin Johnson is 6 under and J.B. Holmes is at 5 under, both with five holes left.
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11:45 a.m.
That's not good.
Keegan Bradley rimmed out a 3-foot par putt to fall to 4 over par for the day. The 2011 PGA champ, playing in the same group with Tiger Woods, has made five bogeys and a double since opening the day with a pair of birdies.
Dustin Johnson is in the lead at 6 under par through 13 holes.
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11:07 a.m.
Tiger Woods just missed a birdie try and remains at 1 over par through 10 holes in the opening round of the PGA Championship.
That's six behind leaders Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn and, yes, Dustin Johnson.
It was Johnson who infamously grounded his club in a trampled bunker on the 18th hole the last time the PGA was at Whistling Straits.
That cost him a spot in the playoff.
This time on 18, he missed a 6-foot birdie putt, but opened his second nine on the first hole with a birdie to take a share of the lead.
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10:45 a.m.
This time, Dustin Johnson avoided anything even resembling a bunker on No. 18 at Whistling Straits.
After finding the middle of the fairway from the tee box, Johnson hit his approach to 6 feet but missed the putt and settled for a par.
Disappointing, though hardly like the last time he played No. 18 on this course.
That was in 2010, when he grounded his club in a trash-strewn bunker and was penalized two shots, which kept him out of a playoff for the PGA Championship.
On Thursday, he opened the PGA on the back nine and played No. 18 competitively for the first time since that bunker debacle.
He made the turn at 4-under par, one shot behind leader Thomas Bjorn.
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9:55 a.m.
Diamonds are forever. Or, in this case, at least through Friday.
Surprise, surprise — John Daly was sporting pants with a garish blue-diamond pattern on them in the first round of the PGA Championship.
Might have gone well with that awesome blue and yellow sports coat he wore to the champion's dinner earlier this week.
Daly's fiancee, Anna Cladakis, is also serving as his caddie for the week. She's rocking American flag socks that were pulled up to the knees.
A fine looking couple.
Oh, about the golf: Daly was 2 over par through his first 10 holes at Whistling Straits.
Daly, whose fame began when he won the PGA as the ninth alternate in 1991, opened the day on No. 10 with a bogey, got to even par with a birdie on the par-16th, but made double on No. 18.
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Check out Daly's look here: http://bit.ly/1hzEKhR
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9:15 a.m.
Tiger Woods is out on the course at the PGA Championship. Nothing spectacular so far.
Woods is even par through three holes. He had a birdie chance on the par-5 11th. He putted from the fringe, about 100 feet from the hole, and left the next one 7 feet away. That one lipped out. He ended up with par on a hole where many players are making birdie.
Hideki Matsuyama is the early leader, at 4 under through his first nine holes.
Thomas Bjorn, Ryan Moore, Paul Casey and Harris English are all at 3 under.
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7:52 a.m.
Rory Sabbatini is off to a quick start at the PGA Championship. He made three birdies over the first four holes to start the day at 3 under. Sabbatini hasn't made a cut in a major since the 2011 PGA.
Matt Kuchar birdied his first two holes and is at 2 under.
Among those warming up on the driving range are Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer, who won the PGA in 2010 — the last time it was played at Whistling Straits.
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7 a.m.
Carl Pettersson was bracing for a long day at the PGA Championship. When he arrived at Whistling Straits, he had a short turnaround.
The first news of the final major of the year came early Thursday: Gary Woodland had withdrawn because of a neck injury, and he was replaced by Pettersson. The Swede has been at the course since Tuesday and played 27 holes of practice. He teed off later Thursday morning.
Ryan Helminen got the final major of the year underway. Helminen is a club pro in Wisconsin. He qualified by finishing 10th in the Professional National Championship, and he had the honors of hitting first tee shot. It went left.
Tiger Woods, coming off missed cuts at the U.S. and British Open, was among the early starters.
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