4 takeaways from Round 1 of the PGA Championship
With Thursday's opening round from Bethpage Black in the books and Brooks Koepka roaring out of the gates with his record-setting day, let's take some time to digest what unfolded in Round 1 and what's still to come.
Koepka's back ... again
Different major, same old story.
Once again, Koepka makes an appearance at the top of the leaderboard at a major championship. He carded a course-record 7-under 63 at Bethpage Black to take his usual spot on top.
Here are some stats from his sensational day:
If he goes on to defend his PGA Championship title, he'll have won half of the last eight majors he's played in. Koepka is clearly done with being left out of the best-player-in-the-world conversations.
Tiger shows up rusty
Tiger Woods taking his well-deserved time off after winning the Masters in April could be part of the reason why he was a little rusty Thursday, but being forced to skip Wednesday's practice round due to illness certainly didn't help his preparation.
He had to lay up out of the rough on his first hole, then launched an 85-yard wedge over the green, leading to a double-bogey. He played the remaining 17 holes at even par despite carding three birdies and an eagle, which are both signs of rust and that his game is close. He's nine shots back of Koepka, but for now, his focus should only be on making the cut.
Bethpage Black is hard
The giant venue in Farmingdale, N.Y., showed its teeth Thursday. The field posted a scoring average of 3.01 strokes over par with only three holes at Bethpage Black playing under, according to Data Golf. Only 16 players are in red numbers after Round 1, which is the fewest at the PGA Championship since 2008. These jarring stats make Koepka's and Danny Lee's performances that much more impressive.
And it's only going to get tougher from here. With no rain in the forecast, the course is going to get a lot firmer, especially with 20-plus mph winds expected to arrive for Friday's second round, which will wreak havoc on players who were already struggling to hit the narrow fairways.
It's far from over
Despite Kopeka getting out of the gates hot and his remarkable track record at major championships, there's still plenty of golf left to be played. History also suggests Koepka doesn't have this tournament locked up.
There are a ton of studs who sit within striking distance of the pacesetters. Tommy Fleetwood has shown his ability to go low in majors and is only three shots back. Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Phil Mickelson are only six shots behind, and it's likely a couple of these elite players can make a run.
Koepka has a 31.1 percent chance to win, according to Data Golf, with Johnson next in line.
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