There were no big surprises in Day 1 of the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Rory McIlroy played well, Tiger Woods didn’t, and the rains held off _ something that may not happen on any of the remaining three days of the tournament.
One small surprise was that McIlroy, who has been playing remarkable golf in recent weeks, was at even par after posting double bogey/bogey on the first two holes of the back nine. His response? He birdied five of the remaining seven holes to finish at 5-under, one shot off the lead and exactly where he wanted to be.
McIlroy, whose length and accuracy make him the man to beat this week, is trying to become the first player to win three straight tournaments since Woods won five straight in 2006-07 and first to win back-to-back majors since Woods did it in 2006.
Woods, meanwhile, looked as rusty as many expected him to be, failing to make a birdie putt all day in struggling to a 3-over 74 that puts him in danger of missing the cut. While several of his drives were accurate, a few notably weren’t, such as his 11th hole (No. 2), where he pulled driver, changed to 3-wood, then pulled his tee shot into the water and had to scramble for bogey.
Five holes later, Woods hit an amazingly bad drive on No. 7. Choosing to aim for the right side of a split fairway, he push-sliced his shot so far right it almost left the property. Awarded a drop, he blasted his next shot on the par-5 to 30 yards short of the green, chipped up to 8 feet and then lipped out the birdie putt. By day’s end, his only birdie came on a chip-in at No. 16.
Lee Westwood, Ryan Palmer and Kevin Chappell shared the lead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them challenging come Sunday. Westwood has played 66 majors, the most of any active player, without winning, while Palmer and Chappell have both had an unremarkable year.
One disconcerting note for the U.S. Ryder Cup team is that both Matt Kuchar (back) and defending champion Jason Dufner (neck) withdrew due to injuries. Both are among the nine players currently on track to nail down berths Sunday night for next month’s Ryder Cup in Scotland.
One of the big stories to watch for Friday is the weather. There was a 40 percent chance of showers overnight, but that increases to 50 percent during the day as a storm system working its way through the Midwest is scheduled to pass through the state. And the unsettled weather is forecast to continue through the weekend, with a 40 percent chance of more rain both Saturday and Sunday.
