PGA Championship Round 1 Winners and Losers as Xander Schauffele dominates

Xander Schauffele set multiple records in the first round of the PGA Championship, holding a commanding three-stroke lead over Tony Finau and Saheeth Segala through 18 holes.

A group of six players, including Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tom Kim and Robert McIntyre, lurk four shots behind Schauffele.

But there were many other important storylines that unfolded in Valhalla on opening day, so let’s explore the winners and losers in Thursday’s Bluegrass State.

winner:

Xander Schauffele

Not only did Schauffele set a new course record at Valhalla, he shot a 9-under 62, the lowest score in PGA Championship history. He had 9 birdies and 9 pars, a clean scorecard that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.

However, he has been in this position many times before. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Schauffele holds the all-time record for players who have played in 25 major tournaments with an average score of 69.81 points in the first round of a major tournament. Brooks Koepka was second with a score of 70.74.

Now, the issue revolves around Schauffele signing a contract. He has 12 top-10 finishes in the majors, but no notable titles. A win this week would change his career, give him more confidence, and remove him from the top of the list of “best active players without a major win.”

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is currently dealing with a lot of drama in his personal life, including a pending divorce and controversy over the PGA Tour Policy Committee.

Either way, you have to feel for the Northern Irishman who is going through a whirlwind off the ropes.

But inside the ropes, McIlroy looks as good as ever. He had a good run at Valhalla on Thursday, posting a 5-under 66 that included six birdies and one bogey.

Photo credit: Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour (Getty Images)

McIlroy, known for his driving skills, wasn’t at his best off the tee on Thursday, unable to even find the water with his driver on the 18th. There, he managed to save par and gain some much-needed momentum heading into his second shot.

He took advantage of that and had a solid chance to win his first major championship in a decade.

ESPN coverage

ESPN began broadcasting the PGA Championship live Thursday morning at 7 a.m. ET on its streaming platform ESPN Plus. The telecast began at noon ET and ended at 8 p.m., ending his day at the marathon to the delight of golf fans around the world.

The “World Leader in Sports” did an incredible job covering the second major of the year, showcasing plenty of golf shots across multiple feeds. Commercials did not interfere with the broadcast. The staff at No Laying Up also had a blast airing his two-hour show on ESPN2 from 1pm ET to 3pm ET.

Scottie Scheffler as the father

Many golfers on site this week joked that Scheffler, who welcomed a son to his wife last week, needed more sleep.

Needless to say, Scheffler didn’t get off to a sleepy start.

he I one-hopped his approach shot. He made an eagle-two on the first hole, making his first major championship start as a father.

My 8-day-old son, Bennett, must have been impressed.

Scheffler finished the day with a 4-under 67, aiming for his second consecutive major victory.

Brooks Koepka’s Perseverance

“Big Bad Brooks” shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday and had to be patient to inch his way up the leaderboard at the end of the round.

He only had three birdies and one bogey, but he improved his standings significantly with an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole, the 16th hole of the day. Then, on the next hole, the par-3 eighth, he made one of those three birdies.

Interestingly, Koepka, the defending champion, opened with a 2-over 72 a year ago at Oak Hill. Could this first round improvement of five strokes be a harbinger of things to come?

loser:

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson, a two-time winner of the tournament, started his first day with a bogey on the first par-4 hole and a double bogey on the second par-4 hole. He hit a drive into the water to the right of the 18th fairway and ended the day with a double.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Mickelson shot a 3-over 74, not a bad score considering it included two double bogeys, but Mickelson has a lot of work to do if he wants to qualify.

It will probably come full circle in the mid-60s.

michael block

The block party ended early Thursday morning on Valhalla’s second green.

Brock, who played in the first group that day, crossed the second green many times and hit more than a few chips on the putting surface. He ended up hitting a quadruple-bogey 8, falling off the leaderboard and into the abyss.

Brock likely missed the cut with a 5-over 76, but he played the final 16 holes at even par.

Valhalla Golf Club

This layout, designed by Jack Nicklaus, produced many birdies, thanks in large part to the soft conditions.

But that doesn’t ignore the fact that Valhalla is too easy for the world’s best players. The winning score is likely to stay around 20 under, proving just how gentle this course is. This layout, with three par 5s and many exploitable par 4s, pales in comparison to what the players saw when he took on Oak Hill a year earlier.

Expect a flurry of birdies over the next few days, which in my opinion will diminish the mystique of the major. 65 players finished under par in the first round, the most in PGA Championship history.

This is not a new development either. Rory McIlroy won the 2014 tournament with 16 under par, and Tiger Woods and Bob May won the 2000 tournament with 18 under par.

Certainly, this tournament will end the three-time PGA Championship champion’s streak of finishing in single digits under par.

Additionally, the limestone falls are for resort use, not for major tournaments.

Brian Harman’s Pace of Play

Brian Herman’s slow pace of play has been well documented. His tendency to wiggle the clubface endlessly before hitting a shot has angered golf fans around the world.

But ESPN I decided to have a little fun Thursday at Herman’s expense.

Herman worked on his putt and then stepped away from it to take another look. But instead of staying on set, the ESPN producer decided to pan to the turtle sitting next to him in one of Valhalla’s many water hazards.

Perhaps this move should fall into the “winner” category above, where ESPN’s coverage earned a spot. But no one likes slow play. Everyone hates it. So, Herman and all golfers around the world, speed up. Because no one wants to play behind the turtles.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Please take a look. @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.