Collin Morikawa Sizzles at Valhalla, Tied for Fifth After First Round of the PGA

The Cal grad shot 7 under over the final 14 holes; Max Homa also in the hunt after a 68.

Collin Morikawa / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Collin Morikawa played 7 under par over the final 14 holes to finish the opening round of the PGA Championship with a 5-under 66 and tied for fifh place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday.

The two-time major winner finished with his lowest score and best place in the opening round of a major.

Fellow Cal graduate Max Homa shot a 3-under 68 and is part of a 14-way logjam tied for 18th place, and another one-time Golden Bear, Byeong Hun An, birdied the 18th hole to close an even-par round of 71, leaving him in a tie for 65th place with 18 others.

World No. 3 Xander Schauffele, coming off a runner-up performance last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, continued his excellent play and leads the field by three strokes after a 9-under 62.

That matched his own year-old record from the 2023 U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club for the lowest opening round at a golf major. He carded nine birdies and no bogeys to break the Valhalla course record of 63, set by Jose’ Maria Olazabal in 2000. 

"I can't nitpick," Schauffele said. "I'll take a 62 in any major any day."

Schauffele is three strokes clear of Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Mark Hubbard, each of whom shot 6-under 65s. Hubbard wedged his way into the tie for second place by making three birdies over his final four holes.

World No. 2 Rory McIroy, who won the Wells Fargo last week, is tied with Morikawa and four others after a 5-under 66. It was McIlroy’s ninth opening round in a major of 66 or better, most by any player.

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top ranked player who is back in action for the first time since his wife gave birth to their first child, made an eagle-2 with a 167-yard nine iron shot on his first hole. He wound up shooting 4-under 67 for a share of 12th place.

Defending PGA champion Brooks Koepka is is also tied for 12th after a 67 that included an eagle.

Morikawa, who tied for third place with Homa at last month’s Masters, won the 2020 PGA title at Harding Park in San Francisco, barely a year after turning pro.

He knew before taking the course he’d have to play well to stay in the hunt.

“Obviously, waking up and watching Xander taking it really low, you knew there were a lot of birdies out there,” said Morikawa, who teed off hours after Schauffele got started. “I didn’t hit it fantastic but made some great putts.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a new day. If I tighten things up, the putter’s going to feel great. It’s all about building momentum throughout the round and being able to sustain it.”

The 27-year-old, ranked No. 13 in the world, had bogeys on Nos. 2 and 5 then played virtually flawless golf the rest of the afternoon. Morikawa strung together birdies on Nos. 6, 7 and 8, then again on 12, 13 and 14 before just missing an eagle putt on No. 18. He converted a short putt for his seventh birdie of the day,

Homa, ranked No. 9, made four birdies on his back nine, including three in a row on Nos. 3, 4 and 5 to close out a solid round. All told, the 33-year-old had seven birdies and four bogeys to wind up in a tie for 17th with 12 others, including Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau.

An who has climbed to No. 23 in the world rankings, birdied the 18th to finish an even par. He had early bogeys on Nos. 2 and 6, then a birdie on the seventh and is part of a large group that will try to move up in Friday’s second round.

Tiger Woods is one stroke back of An after a 1-over 72 in which he had third bogeys in a span of foul holes at one point. He is tied for 84th place.

Woods, playing in a tournament for the first time since the Masters a month ago, was not thrilled with how he finished his round. “Bad speed on eight; whipped it past the hole. And nine, hit it short. Hit it off the heel of the putt and blocked the second one,” he said. “So (it) wasn't very good on the last two holes."

The PGA invites an assortment of PGA America club pros to play in its event and one of those was greeted by a harsh reality. Jeff Kellen, a 35-year-old native of Rockford, Illinois, played at Illinois State and once made nine straight birdies on a nine-hole mini-tour event for a 27.

But he shot a 16-over par 87 that included 11 bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey.