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FARMINGDALE, NY – Brooks Koepka was one of the first groups on the Bethpage Black course at the 101st PGA Championship. His track record, 63, was maintained on the rest of the group while everyone was trying to pursue the defending champion and club early advantage of the leader to 7 cents. At the end of the afternoon, only one player, Danny Lee, was within three kicks of Koepka.
It's hard to know where you pull the line of opponents after just 18 action holes, especially on a course where bogeys and double bogeys seem to be waiting at every turn. Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson are technically in the top 10, but this top 10 does not feel as close to the top when the leader is six strokes away on Friday 's approach.
The biggest return we had in the PGA Championship after 18 holes was eight shots. So, in theory, there are still 52 golfers in this previous precedent. Tiger Woods, at 2, is not included in this group. Woods started his day with a double bogey and spent a good part of the round early in the round, with little birdie opportunities. When he had a beautiful appearance, he was able to enjoy it and found himself moving with some momentum after birdies back to back.
Woods had some mistakes in the back and a few missed putts that went away from what had been solid on the greens until now. To overcome a nine-shot deficit, Koepka, Lee and others have to back a few strokes, but Woods must play much better than Thursday.
Bethpage Black was a big winner on Thursday with only 17 players less. Koepka and Lee may be unharmed, but it is untenable to expect these same results the rest of the week. When the setbacks occur, the leaders will need a champion caliber response to keep the cushion on the rest of the field.
Here's how the top of the leaderboard comes after the first round:
1. Brooks Koepka (-7): The idea that Koepka ends the PGA Championship barely five hours after the start of the procedure is a little scary. Koepka is not only the best competitor in the world, but perhaps the best player in the world. And now, he has a hot putter and a comfortable lead on most of his usual rivals in these competitions. The only uncertainty I can take into account for Koepka is the long layoff on Thursday morning and the possibility of more difficult conditions tomorrow afternoon.
2. Danny Lee (-6): It was a tough race for Lee with eight birdies and two bogeys while missing nearly half of his greens in regulation. Lee is a wrestler, so this kind of play on the big stage is so encouraging for the PGA Tour winner.
3. Tommy Fleetwood (-3)Fleetwood made two huge equal stops during a day during which he was able to take advantage of scoring opportunities. He started his day at the 10th difficult hole with a bogey, then held things together for a few holes before back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th did not roll him. His second nine – the top nine at Bethpage – was a little more erratic with four birdies and two bogeys, but in general, Fleetwood must feel good with his round and rank in the standings.
T4. Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Luke List, Sung Kang, Chez Reavie, Pat Perez (-2): Lorenzo-Vera started the tournament for the second time only with the PGA Championship title, with elite games on and around the greens. He ranks in the top 10 of the pack in winning strokes in the putting, did well in the sand and left without a bogue in the second row with two birdies on 16 and 18 to finish his 68 on a high score. Reavie successfully played the manual at Bethpage with a driving accuracy of 85.7%. Perez did exactly the opposite with an accuracy of 42.8%. Both are in T5 rankings after shooting a 68 in the first round. Golf!
T9. Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Si Woo Kimm, Matt Wallace, Patrick Cantlay (-1): All 69 are not alike, especially with this group. For some, like Spieth, filming a 69 feels good. He worked hard to find his game and be able to compete in major championships. He had to throw four birdies on the map to make up for the three shots he left between the 10th and 12th holes. Johnson, on the other hand, sees all the missed throws and thinks about how far down that should have been after driving the pack behind the wheel and almost all the greens. If you consider the quality of golfers here in this group less than 1, it is safe to say that it is probably the limit where we could find our champion.
T52. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, 20 more (+2): For The Woods, the disappointment can be limited to a few missed putts, bad shots and errors. But after touching almost every greens of regulation, McIlroy's frustrations are more consistent throughout the round and focus on his putter. McIlroy ranked the T-115th for accuracy and 114th for the winning strokes, which negated his performance of the t-shirt that ranked second in the pack.
On Sunday, CBS Sports was with you to update this story with the latest scores, scans and highlights from the first round of the 101st PGA Championship. If you can not see the updates below, please click here.
Thank you for being past.
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