PGA has strong field and big surprise: Jhonattan Vegas leads at 64 as stars fail to shine

Doug Ferguson · The Associated Press

· Posted: May 16, 2025 7:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Jhonattan Vegas played the champion play hardly anyone saw Thursday successful the PGA Championship.

Brilliant sunshine aft 3 days of rainfall brought retired a afloat location of spectators expecting a large amusement successful Charlotte, N.C. They conscionable didn't get it from who they came to spot — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele — and astir of them were agelong gone erstwhile Vegas worked his magic successful the precocious afternoon.

Two bully par saves. Two abbreviated birdies. Another par save. And past 3 birdies astatine the extremity for a 7-under 64, giving the 40-year-old Venezuela his champion people successful 45 rounds astatine the majors and a two-shot pb connected an opening time of surprises.

"Incredible," Vegas said erstwhile asked to summarize his round. "Any accidental you get to sprout 64 astatine a large title is ever great."

Equally unthinkable is that for the archetypal clip successful astatine slightest 30 years, nary of the apical 10 players successful the satellite ranking could beryllium recovered successful the apical 10 of the leaderboard aft 18 holes astatine a major.

The biggest crowds belonged to the apical 3 successful the world, and it wasn't astir arsenic inspiring arsenic 4 of the past 5 majors they person combined to win.

At his archetypal large since winning the Masters to implicit the vocation Grand Slam, McIlroy didn't marque birdie implicit his past 12 holes and had thing to accidental astir that aft a 3-over 74 sent him consecutive to the range.

Scheffler, the satellite No. 1, and defending PGA champion Schauffele had plentifulness to accidental astir mud balls connected tee shots, peculiarly connected the 16th spread that sent some to treble bogey. Scheffler astatine slightest holed 2 shots from disconnected the greenish — 1 for birdie, 1 for eagle — and helium finished with a 6-iron from 215 yards to 3 feet connected No. 9 that sent him to a 69.

"I did a bully occupation battling and keeping a level caput retired determination during a time which determination was decidedly immoderate challenging aspects to the course," Scheffler said. "Did a bully occupation posting a fig connected a time wherever I didn't person my champion stuff."

Vegas tied for the pb by getting up-and-down from down the greenish connected the par-5 seventh. He holed an 18-foot birdie putt connected the abbreviated par-4 eighth. And connected the rugged ninth hole, his tee changeable held up successful the writer conscionable abbreviated of the bunker. He deed that to 25 feet and ended his astonishing time with a 3rd consecutive birdie.

He has ne'er finished successful the apical 20 successful a large and hadn't qualified for this 1 successful 3 years.

Vegas had a two-shot pb implicit Ryan Gerard, the PGA Tour rookie who grew up successful North Carolina and was the lone different subordinate to scope 7 nether until bogeys connected his past 2 holes. He was joined astatine 66 by Cam Davis of Australia.

They weren't the lone players who mightiness an instauration to casual play fans.

Alex Smalley, the archetypal alternate who recovered retired astir 15 hours earlier helium teed disconnected that helium had a spot successful the field, rolled successful a 70-foot eagle putt connected his mode to a 67. Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who qualified by winning the Myrtle Beach Classic, besides was astatine 67.

They were joined by a ample radical that included Luke Donald, the 47-year-old Ryder Cup skipper for Europe who was the lone subordinate without a bogey connected his card. The U.S. captain, Keegan Bradley, was different changeable behind.

"It's ever fun, bogey-free successful a large title connected a people that you wouldn't person thought would beryllium perfect for me," said Donald, who is lone successful the tract due to the fact that of a PGA of America contented to invitation progressive Ryder Cup captains.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., was the debased Canadian aft a coagulated opening circular of 69 to beryllium tied for 20th.

Pendrith, who started connected the backmost nine, enactment himself successful contention with an eagle connected the par-4 3rd hole.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., some changeable 2-over 73. Nick Taylor, besides of Abbotsford, opened with a 76 portion Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., deed 78.

Considering the champions the majors person produced successful caller years, this leaderboard much intimately resembled the Myrtle Beach Classic. None of the apical 8 players person won a major, nor person they ever earnestly contended.

Gerard looked comfy playing earlier a location crowd. He made a pugnacious par connected the rugged ninth hole, past ran disconnected 4 consecutive birdies connected the backmost nine, and was 7 nether for the circular aft holing a 60-footer for eagle connected the par-5 15th.

Davis had 7 birdies and narrowly missed a 10-foot par putt connected his past spread for the lead. Not atrocious for idiosyncratic who precocious ended a agelong of 5 consecutive missed cuts and hasn't had a apical 10 since aboriginal February.

"It's conscionable perpetually trying to spell backmost to things that person worked, trying to support the caput successful a spot wherever you're not feeling similar you're banging your caput against the partition each the time," Davis said. "It's letting it organically travel — bully processes, bully routines, each those small 1 percenters adhd up to bully play eventually."

The others astatine 67 were Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai, who some became first-time PGA Tour winners past year.

Scheffler astatine 69 had the champion people of anyone from the apical 10 successful the world.

McIlroy, a four-time victor astatine Quail Hollow, came into this PGA Championship believing that thrill-a-hole Masters rubric past period that gave him the vocation Grand Slam would beryllium the item of his vocation nary substance what helium does from here.

A sloppy round, peculiarly disconnected the tee, wasn't going to alteration that. It was nary little astonishing to spot him conflict astatine Quail Hollow, posting his highest circular since a 76 successful the 2nd circular of the Wells Fargo Championship successful 2018.

Schauffele coiled up with a 72 successful his bid to spell back-to-back successful the PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth apt volition person to hold until adjacent twelvemonth astatine Aronimink to effort for the vocation Grand Slam. The three-time large champion, lacking lone the Wanamaker Trophy for his large collection, ran disconnected 3 consecutive bogeys aboriginal connected the backmost 9 and changeable 76.