One of the favorites heading into the PGA Championship at Valhalla this year was Xander Schauffele. Along with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, Schauffele was one of the most popular picks to win the tournament.
He has certainly put himself in the driver’s seat, as Xander Schaffele fired off a historic first round on Thursday morning. Taking advantage of the soft conditions from rain, he had one of the best rounds in PGA major history.
Schauffele shot a 9-under 62 and is currently atop the leaderboard alone. The 9-under is a PGA Championship record score and ties the lowest round mark for any major. The previous low score for a PGA Championship was set 10 years ago. Jose Maria Olazabal fired a 63 while also playing at Valhalla.
Coincidentally, it is a mark that he tied at last year’s U.S. Open. He and Rickie Fowler both shot 9-under last year at Los Angeles Country Club, which tied the record set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.
Xander Schauffele was coming into the PGA Championship in good form. He finished second last week to McIlroy, who put together a torrid final round on Sunday afternoon to win the Wells Fargo Championship.
To get the record this morning, Schauffele fired off an impressive 31 on his first nine holes, as he started on Hole 10. While playing the front nine, he got hot, recording a birdie on three out of four holes, knocking in putts that were all within 10 feet pin.
Overall, he finished the round with nine birdies. The final one came on the par-5 seventh hole. After reaching the green in two shots, he was able to two-putt and put himself on track for the historic finish.
Currently in second place, at the time of writing, is Tony Finau. He is 6-under through 16, while McIlroy and Robert MacIntryre are tied for third at 5-under. 48 golfers are yet to tee off, including Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
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