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May 16, 2019; Bethpage, NY, USA; Tiger Woods plays his tenth tee kick in the first round of the PGA Championship Golf Tournament at Bethpage State Park – Black Course. Compulsory credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2019
By Andrew Both
FARMINGDALE, NY (Reuters) – Reigning champion Brooks Koepka has taken a brisk start to the PGA Championship with a dominant poster that should give him a big lead until New Zealand-inspired Danny Lee , late in the first round on Thursday.
Koepka has simplified Blackpage's gargantuan, softened and softened course with a score of less than 63 out of seven, which was the second lowest round of any major league.
Lee almost caught up with Koepka in the afternoon, the American kiwi of South Korean descent, finishing in style with a birdie at the last two holes for a 64.
The two pioneers had a practical cushion against their pursuer, Tommy Fleetwood, third, four strokes from Koepka in his attempt to become the first English winner in a century.
Tiger Woods, in his first round of competition since winning the Masters a month ago, had a hard time for a 72 in the company of Koepka, while Rory McIlroy pulled the same score, finally making his first birdie at the last hole.
Other big names were at a striking distance.
Americans Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, and Australian Jason Day, shot 69 times in the afternoon, while top Europeans Justin Rose and Jon Rahm scored 70.
The Bethpage fairways are lined with lush, rain-fed rough, and Koepka said it was essential to keep his ball upright.
"If you hit the fairways, you can hit the greens and bring the ball near the hole," he said.
"So you can definitely draw a number. I would not be surprised if we saw another good score in the afternoon. "
Prophetic words, as Lee has shown.
"Every time I was successful on the fairway, I took a good look at my bird and realized these putts today," said the world number 119, who plays with a newfound confidence after working on his driving distance.
"I'm really interested in what I can do this week," said Lee, 28, who has recently become a father.
If Lee took advantage of the last minute of his tour, Koepka left some money on the table.
"I traded two par-five and missed half an inch on number 11, which could have been a hell of a set," he said.
"Do not get me wrong, I'll take it every day but I just have to clean up a few things."
The triple major champion, starting at the 10th hole, organized his round with monster birdies, a 40-foot right foot and a last 33-foot scorer.
Woods was impressed.
"I think it was probably the highest score he could have reached today," Woods said. "He left some."
LATE BOGEYS
Woods did well to take a disappointing start, but was defeated by a trio of late bogeys.
The four-time champion also had a trio of three putts and his 72 had two double-bogeys, the first coming straight to his opening hole on a crisp morning in Long Island.
"It was not as clean as I would like to have it. We did not get off to a great start, "said the 15-time major champion.
"Then I found my way. He was back for the day and let a couple run away with two bad putts and a few mistakes in the end. "
Koepka, who managed a shot behind Woods at the Masters, is not in the mood to let that happen again, and he described his round as one of the best of his career.
"It's great that Tiger won Augusta, but we're at a new week now," he said.
"Obviously, everyone in New York encourages it. You just have to keep fighting and find a way to overcome it. "
(Additional report by Frank Pingue in Toronto, edited by Toby Davis, Ed Osmond and Ian Ransom)
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