Going into this week’s US PGA Championship, there was a fascination with how Aronimink would play and what problem it might current.
There was a powerful feeling the Pennsylvania course may be ripe for being tamed.
As an alternative of getting its stomach tickled and rolling over, Aronimink bit again on day one of many season’s second main. It bit again arduous.
On the completion of Thursday’s first spherical, solely 32 gamers – barely a fifth of the 156-man subject – had completed underneath par.
The world’s greatest struggled to become familiar with the duty introduced by an undulating course with thick tough and sloping greens.
Fittingly, it was the world’s very greatest – Scottie Scheffler – who coped in addition to anybody.
The defending champion is a part of a seven-way tie for the first-round lead after plotting a three-under spherical of 67 which encapsulated his capability to play with relentless diligence and barely a flicker of fluster.
The world primary has typically struggled to make quick begins – a trait which has proved significantly expensive this season – however is now main a significant after 18 holes for the primary time in his profession.
However the 29-year-old American is just not surrounded by the standard suspects.
Scheffler finds himself alongside German pair Martin Kaymer and Stephan Jaeger, South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter, Australia’s Min-Woo Lee, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Alex Smalley of the US – none of whom many would have anticipated to see on the prime of the leaderboard.
England’s Dan Brown is one shot behind the leaders on his abroad main debut.
“Earlier within the week there was some chatter the place folks thought 15 to twenty underneath par was going to win. And I believe that acquired to anyone within the PGA [of America], and so they did one thing about it,” mentioned Spain’s Jon Rahm, who completed one underneath par.
