Of all the highlights from round one of the 2021 US PGA Championship, this was rubbish.
Colombian Sebastian Muñoz was the subject of punny trash-talk on social media when his tee shot on the 18th hole ended up in a garbage bin beside the marquee tent.
Near the grandstand on the left of the fairway, his wayward drive unbelievably dropped right into a bin. Curious and amused fans rushed to the area to confirm the ball had indeed made it to the bottom of the green garbage bag liner.
"Do I have to get it?" Muñoz was heard asking a tournament official.
The world No.71 retrieved the ball then gave it to one lucky – and very ecstatic – fan in the gallery.
After the chuckles subsided Muñoz got the last laugh as he was able to take a new ball, get a free drop and save par on the hole.
However he finished his round 5-over par, tied for 110th.
Muñoz wasn't the only one to take advantage of the free drop area by the grandstand though, with Brooks Koepka and Keegan Bradley also making the most of the safety net after missing the fairway too far left.
"It's definitely comforting that it's there. It's the right side of the hole, the bunkers are so dead over there," Bradley said after his opening round.
"I wasn't trying to hit it in there by any means, but definitely from that up tee, it's in play. I feel bad for all those people up there. They'd better have their hard hats on today. They're going to be firing them in there all day."
In windy conditions at Kiawah Island, Corey Conners navigated his way around the Ocean Course for a 5-under 67 and a two-shot, first-round lead in the US PGA Championship.
He birdied all the par fives. He made a couple of long putts for birdie. He dropped only one shot. The scorecard alone made it look like a walk on the beach.
"I'd say it's impossible to be stress-free around this golf course," Conners said. "You can't fall asleep out there on any holes. It's very challenging. I was fortunate to have a good day. Made it as least stressful as possible on myself."
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1395511047654625280
With a stiff wind into his face for his last five holes, the 29-year-old Canadian played the tough closing stretch in 2-under, one of those birdies a 55-foot putt from just short of the green.
He led by two shots over half-a-dozen players. That group included Koepka, who started his day with a double bogey and stayed largely out of trouble the rest of the way; and Cameron Davis, who overcame a triple bogey on the sixth hole.
Bradley, Viktor Hovland, Aaron Wise and Sam Horsfield also were at 69. The seven players to break 70 were the fewest for the opening round of the PGA Championship since there were five at Hazeltine in 2002.
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1395445163720327175
"I definitely knew in my preparation that it was possible to have a decent round out here and shoot a 5-, 6-under par round," Conners said. "So kind of started the day thinking, 'Why not me?' There's birdies to be had."
No one needed them like Koepka, a major presence when conditions are severe. One hole into this major, he had reason to be more worried about his brain than his ailing right knee.
His opening tee shot on the 10th hole at Kiawah Island was struck poorly and didn't quite clear a waste area. Koepka tried to do too much from a soft lie in the sand and barely got it out. It led to a double bogey, and the toughest part of the Ocean Course was still to come.
But this is a major, and this is Koepka, and that's when he's at his best. He knuckled down from that mess by running off six birdies the rest of the way.
"You can't do that stuff if you want to win. You've just got to be more focused," said Koepka, who has played only twice in the last three months because of surgery to repair ligaments in his knee. "I don't know if that's a lack of not playing or what. It was just stupid. I was able to recover, I guess."
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1395465492610101256
So did 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, who had four bogeys through six holes and nothing but birdies and pars the rest of the way to join the large group at 70 that included defending champion Collin Morikawa and former US Open champion Gary Woodland.
More telling were those on the other side of par, some of whom will be scrambling to make it to the weekend.
Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world in the midst of his worst stretch in nearly two years, took a double bogey from a wild tee shot on the front nine and a double bogey on the 18th for a 76. He's in jeopardy of missing the cut in consecutive majors in the same year for the first time in his career.
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1395466822363852803
Justin Thomas took double bogey on the 18th hole in the morning and two holes later sent a sand shot over the green and just into a hazard for another six on the par-5 second. He had a 75.
Rory McIlroy, coming off a victory at Quail Hollow two weeks ago, sent his opening tee shot into a water hazard. He salvaged a bogey, but certainly not his round. McIlroy made bogey on three of the par 5s for a 75, his worst start ever in a PGA Championship.
Jordan Spieth, who needs a victory to complete the career Grand Slam, shot 73.
The PGA of America moved up tee boxes, as expected, to account for the wind. The course played to 7,660 yards — 178 yards shorter than the scorecard — though that didn't make it easy. Thomas, for one, still hit 7-wood into the 214-yard 17th.
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1395353013536034821
John Daly was among 12 players who shot in the 80s. On the 30-year anniversary of his PGA Championship victory at Crooked Stick, he shot 85.
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau may never have been prouder of an even-par round.
DeChambeau overcame four straight bogeys on his opening nine to finish at 72, five shots off the lead after the opening round.
"For the most part, I stuck my head up high and kept it high and was able to finish strong," he said.
DeChambeau started strong, too, with a pair of birdies on his first three holes, then got sideways in the middle of the Ocean Course's treacherous back nine.
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/1395395327419691009
He three-putted for bogey on the 13th and found waste bunkers on the 14th and 16th holes during his troubling stretch. But like any diligent experimenter, DeChambeau worked the problem and found success.
He made three birdies coming in, including on the seventh and eighth holes, to regain his footing.
"You have to be able to step up and say, 'You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm just going to execute the best shot I could right here,'" he said. "That's what I was able to do on the back nine."
– Additional reporting by AP
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.