Scheffler, McIlroy, Schauffele double-bogey No. 16 at PGA Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The top three golfers in the world combined to make a triple-double Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, and it wasn’t the good kind.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy and defending PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, who were playing together, each made a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 16th hole, their seventh hole of the day after they started on the back nine.
“I kept the honor after making a double,” Scheffler said. “Probably the first and last time that’ll happen in my career, unless we get some crazy weather conditions.”
Scheffler recovered to post a 2-under 33 on the front nine and was tied for 14th at 2 under when he walked off the course. Schauffele picked up a birdie on No. 8 and was tied for 60th at 1 over. McIlroy carded two more bogeys and was tied for 85th at 3 over.
Ryan Gerard was the overall leader midway through Thursday afternoon at 5-under. European Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald, 47, was among four players tied for second at 4-under.
The 535-yard 16th hole is the longest par-4 on the course, and it proved to be a challenge for each of the world’s best three golfers.
McIlroy, who became the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters last month, had the biggest adventure on the 16th. He wildly hooked his 331-yard drive into trees on the left. His ball probably would have ended up in water if the rough wasn’t extra long and thick because of this week’s rain.
McIlroy was left with an awkward second shot from a sidehill. His back foot slipped as he swung his club, and his ball went only 65 feet onto another hill. McIlroy’s third shot from 206 yards was short and right of the green, and he had to hit his fourth over a greenside bunker. He two-putted from 12 feet for a double-bogey 6.
McIlroy, a four-time winner of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, hit only four of 14 fairways and lost 2.34 strokes to the field in putting.
Scheffler was coming off an eagle on the par-5 15th after he made a 35½-foot putt from off the green to get to 2 under. But he gave those two strokes back when he hooked his second shot into the pond behind the 16th green.
Scheffer said his ball was covered in mud, after about four inches of rain fell on the course this week.
The PGA of America elected not to play with preferred lies, which would allow players to lift, clean, and place their balls within a designated area.
“I understand it’s part of the game, but there’s nothing more frustrating for a player,” Scheffler said. “You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes.”
In a statement Wednesday, the PGA of America said: “The playing surfaces are outstanding and are drying by the hour. We are mowing the fairways this evening.”
“I don’t make the rules,” Scheffler said. “I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules. I did a good job of battling back today and not letting a bad break like that, which cost me a couple shots, get to me. Did a good job battling after that and posting a decent score.”
Left on the short side after a drop, Scheffler had to chip 52 feet past the hole. He had to make a 7-footer for double-bogey 6.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Scheffler had never made a double bogey (or worse) in the first round of a major championship until Thursday.
Schauffele hit a 323-yard drive into the fairway, but then nearly hit an identical shot as Scheffler on his approach. He chipped 39 feet past the hole after a drop and two-putted for 6.
“We were in the middle of the fairway, and I don’t know, we had to aim right of the grandstands probably,” Schauffele said. “I’m not sure. I aimed right of the bunker, and it whipped in the water, and Scottie whipped it in the water, as well. It is what it is, and a lot of guys are dealing with it, but it’s just unfortunate to be hitting good shots and to pay them off that way. It’s kind of stupid.”
Schauffele worried the conditions were only going to get worse as temperatures heat up this weekend.
“The mud balls are going to get worse,” Schauffele said. “They’re going to get worse as the plays dries up. They’re going to get in that perfect cake zone to where it’s kind of muddy underneath and then picking up mud on the way through.”
Source: espn.com