ROCHESTER, NY — Scottie Scheffler plays his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. | Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
Scheffler’s historic season continued at Oak Hill Country Club during his opening round of the 105th PGA Championship.
Scottie Scheffler has been one of the best players on the planet in 2023.
He has the most top-10 finishes of anyone on tour this season with nine. He also won two times, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Players Championship.
His hot play continued during Thursday’s first round of the 105TH PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
Scheffler fired a bogey-free round in a major for the first time in his career. That’s saying something considering how much the field has struggled at Oak Hill thus far.
The former Texas Longhorn birdied holes 14, 5, and 8 en route to a 3-under par 67.
He began this championship on the back nine. On 14, his fifth hole of the day, Scheffler decided to take on the drivable par-14 14th with the big stick. He tugged his drive left but got up and down, draining a 15-footer to make his first birdie of the day.
After making the turn, Scheffler remained steady.
Then, on the par-3 5th, he put his tee shot to about 15 feet right of the back left pin position. He then rolled it in for a birdie-two.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
ROCHESTER, NY — Scottie Scheffler putts on the ninth green during the first round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
Three holes later, on the 439-yard par-4 8th, Scheffler knocked a wedge in tight and had a tap-in for his third birdie of the day.
He entered the second round just one stroke behind Bryson DeCheambau, who sits at 4-under par. The leader had a masterful opening round of his PGA Championship that even Dechambeau didn’t see coming.
Scheffler, who has played incredibly tee-to-green this season, ranked tied for second in total strokes gained after Round 1.
He safely managed to find 8-of-14 fairways while hitting 11-of-18 greens.
Scheffler’s 67 on Thursday also lowers his career major scoring average to 70.41, now the lowest player of all-time, per ESPN Stats & Info.
