Xander Schauffele equalled the lowest score in a men’s major with a stunning first-round 62 at the US PGA Championship at Valhalla today.
Having started on the 10th, the American enjoyed birdies at 11, 13, 15, 16 and 18 to turn in 31 before picking up shots at two, four, five and seven to end the first day on nine-under par.
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Having succumbed to Rory McIlroy’s brilliance to finish second at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, it was a remarkable round from Schauffele, who took full advantage of benign early morning conditions in Kentucky.
His 62 equalled the lowest major score set by Branden Grace at the 2017 US Open and matched by Rickie Fowler and Schauffele himself at last year’s US Open.
6️⃣2️⃣
A round for the record books.
Xander Schauffele just matched the Men’s Major Championship record.#PGACHAMP PIC.TWITTER.COM/QLVCTMBSDC
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) MAY 16, 2024
He said: “It feels great. It’s just day one but if someone had said I was going to shoot nine under I would certainly have taken it.
“I’ve been playing some really good golf, having a lot of close calls, so me and my team say why not keep chugging along?
“I’m very happy with the way I played but I can’t really think much more about it, just got to go and tee it up again tomorrow.”
Schauffele holds the early lead from fellow Americans Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala, who shot 65s to sit at six under.
McIlroy started well with a 66 and shares fourth place with Scot Robert MacIntyre.
Tiger Woods opened with a one-over par 72.
