TULSA, Okla. – Round 1 of the 2022 PGA Championship delivered fabulous golf, blistering heat and an incredibly star-studded leaderboard at Southern Hills Country Club. At the head of the 18 holes is two-time PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy, who stands as the solo leader amid a packed roster of competitors after posting a pace-setting 5-under-65.
Still, as good as McIlroy played – and he played really well! — This is far from a conclusion after 18 holes as he has a host of big names hot on his heels for Round 2 on Friday. Will Zalatoris and Tom Hoge are the most immediate threats to oust McIlroy from the top of the leaderboard after ending McIlroy’s lead with matching 4-under 66 players. But with 54 holes remaining, the field remains wide open. Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar and Abraham Ancer are each two off the pace, while more than half a dozen golfers — including Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith — are behind the lead at 2-in-threes.
While stars were gathering near the top, not every big name had a successful opening round. Tiger Woods struggled and finished his quest to win his second PGA at Southern Hills, 15 years after his classic 2007 win, with a 4th place finish. Jordan Spieth also stuttered earlier in the week, with his tough performance ending in 2 overs. And both Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay also had memorable rounds, finishing 75 and 76 respectively. Even the ever-consistent Jon Rahm had some ups and downs before finishing with 3 overs.
There’s a lot of action from the day that was so let’s do just that. Below is an overview of the leaderboard as it stands after Round 1.
1. Rory McIlroy (-5): McIlroy’s 5-under 65 was his lowest opening-round finish at a Major since the 2011 US Open at the Congressional, an event he went on to win. Loud, it’s only the fourth time he’s opened a major at 66 or better JustinRay. And if history is any lesson, that makes McIlroy a clear favorite to win, as he did just that, scoring the first 18 holes three times as low. That was eight years ago, of course, but that was also his last major title (a PGA Championship win in Valhalla). He showed the classic Rory swagger all afternoon, and that was in no small part because his short game was among the best in the field to open the tournament.
T2. Will Zalatoris and Tom Hoge (-4): Zalatoris is a notoriously underperformer putter so of course he was fabulous to open his round, with the flat stick making several long strokes to keep him afloat and he led the field in strokes that made putting were won. Probably not sustainable, but he said after the round that Wednesday, the week before his PGA prep, something seemed to click for him, particularly with the putter. If he can combine putting with the distance he already possesses, suddenly 66 seems like something he can achieve by the weekend. Meanwhile, Hoge had an up and down start but really turned it up on his final 10 holes, going 33-33. This course requires precise iron play into the greens and it delivered that brilliantly. A career-best major finish at the Masters, his approach game is crisp and fresh enough to at least have him in the mix heading into the weekend.
T4. Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar and Abraham Ancer (-3): Thomas is the headliner of this group as this is his best opening-round finish at the PGA Championship in his seven starts. Kuchar had a bogey-free front nine to spur him to an opening round 67 in which he nearly won two shots on the approach, which is the name of the game this week. (Carving out of the bunker at nine helped.) Ancer, whose round ended with the sustained yell of “Boomer!” of OU fans, played the par 4s with 3 under on the round and had a really nice day of putting, even converting several from long range.
T7. Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith and nine others (-2): Schauffele quietly had a strong 68 in the first round with only two bogeys (14, 18) in between. He was great from tee to green and his approach play was good enough to keep him on the hunt. Speaking of which, Smith was even better in this area, leading the field in strokes won. If not for a double at 12, Smith easily sits with the day’s stuff in his back pocket.
T66. Jordan Spieth and 22 others (+2): Spieth lost more than one shot to the field in round 1. He hit more greens than he missed, but even when he did hit the greens he left himself behind in some terrible spots. This course is punishment if you do that. It’s both a miracle that he’s over on 2 and annoying at the same time as he could easily have been in the red if he was seated elsewhere in Round 2.
T102. Tiger Woods and 14 others (+4): Thursday started well for Tiger at least – he shagged on the 10th, his first, just like he did when he won in 2007 – but it certainly didn’t end well. He had five bogeys in his last nine holes and also seemed to be tiring physically throughout the day, with a notable gimp becoming more pronounced after his round ended. How he would fare this week was always a question after struggling to finish at the Masters last month and it seems a relevant concern again as he faces real danger of missing the cut , looks to Friday.
CBS Sports updated this story with PGA Championship results and highlights below. Check out a more detailed leaderboard and our full PGA Championship TV schedule / coverage guide.