Koepka grabs early lead at PGA Championship; Woods 9 back after Round 1
Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods found themselves side by side for Round 1 of the PGA Championship due to their recent major wins. After Thursday's round, however, they're already separated by nine shots.
The defending champion Koepka carded a bogey-free 7-under 63, good for the course record at Bethpage Black. His day was sparked by draining a 40-footer for birdie on his first hole and he barely broke a sweat from there on, as his longest par save was from 10 feet. The 29-year-old poured in another bomb for birdie to end the day in style.
After witnessing the performance firsthand, Woods said Koepka's record-setting 63 was "probably the highest score (he) could have shot," according to Golf Channel's Will Gray.
Koepka joins Greg Norman and Vijay Singh as the only players to record multiple 63s in majors, according to the 15th Club's Justin Ray. He also shot 63 en route to winning the PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club last year.
The three-time major champion is looking to add a fourth to his resume. If Koepka pulls off the feat, he will have won four of the last eight major championships he played in.
Woods, on the other hand, put together a roller-coaster 2-over 72 performance. He made the turn at 3-over largely due to an opening double-bogey.
Tiger birdied his first two holes on the second nine and eagled No. 4 to get to 1-under for the tournament. His time in red numbers didn't last long after bogeying three of his final five holes to drop back to 2-over.
Francesco Molinari was the third member of the major-winner group and also shot a 2-over 72.