KIAWAH ISLAND, South Carolina: Rory McIlroy began the PGA Championship in impressive fashion, taking advantage of a calm morning at Kiawah Island.
He wasn’t the only one.
On a course softened by rain earlier in the week, McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 but was still three strokes behind leader Joost Luiten, who was threatening the tournament’s 18-hole scoring record at 8 under through 14 holes. Tiger Woods looked sharp while making three straight birdies but had to settle for a 69 after an uneven round.
Carl Pettersson was at 6 under, a stroke ahead of McIlroy and Gary Woodland (67). John Daly and defending champion Keegan Bradley both shot 68.
“I really felt like we had to take advantage of the conditions,” McIlroy said. “I’m expecting this to be the best day of the week.”
Thunderstorms were possible later Thursday and throughout the tournament, but skies were mostly clear when the first groups teed off. McIlroy is trying to break an unusual pattern in which the last 16 majors have been won by 16 different players. He tied for 40th at this year’s Masters, missed the cut at the US Open and tied for 60th at the British Open.
McIlroy will be a contender on Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course if he can build on the steady, bogey-free first round. McIlroy looked like golf’s next big star after his US Open win at Congressional last year, but expectations were tamer when he arrived at the PGA Championship for this year’s final major. He finished tied for fifth last weekend at Firestone, perhaps a sign his game was coming around.
Bradley, playing in a group with Woods, began in impressive fashion with a birdie and an eagle on his first two holes. After starting the round on No. 10, Bradley made a 25-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 11th, while Woods had to scramble for par after a wayward drive.
Woods bounced back with a birdie on No. 12, bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14 and made a birdie at No. 15.
Woods, trying for his 15th major championship and first since 2008, looked frustrated when his tee shot missed the green to the left on the par-3 17th, but he saved par and then birdied Nos. 18, 1 and 2 to move back in the right direction. He ended up with six birdies and three bogeys on the day.
Bradley rallied to beat Jason Dufner in a playoff at this tournament last year, and he’s coming off a victory at Firestone.
The 26-year-old Luiten, of the Netherlands, has one career win on the European Tour. A solid start Thursday became a great one when he eagled the par-5 16th. With four holes remaining, he had a chance to make a run at the tournament’s 18-hole record of 63.
Kim, Yoshida strike early at Thailand Open
In Bangkok, unheralded Korean Kim Hyung-Tae and Japan’s Yasunori Yoshida shot eight-under 64s to share a one-stroke lead ahead of 2010 champion Liang Wenchong in the opening round Thursday of the $1 million Thailand Open.
Early-starter Kim laid down a marker with nine birdies and a bogey to hold the clubhouse lead at the Suwan Golf and Country Club until late in the afternoon when Yoshida closed with two birdies to match his score.
A shot further back were China’s Liang, Australians Nick Cullen and David McKenzie, Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang and Thai amateur Natipong Srithong.
Defending champion Andre Stolz remains in the hunt after firing a two-under 70 around the immaculate 7,077 yard (6,471 meter) course, on the western outskirts of Bangkok.
Joint-leader Kim, 35, credited a small swing change two weeks ago for a big improvement in his performance.
“I wasn’t happy with my swing, so I decided to make a few changes,” Kim said. “It was just a slight change to the plane, so now I am getting more of a draw which gives me more distance.”
Yoshida, 30, still searching for his first professional win and struggling for regular starts on the Japan Tour, missed only one green in regulation all day — and chipped in for birdie on that hole anyway.
“My driving was very good and my approach play perfect,” he said. “This is only the second time I have been in Thailand, but I like it.”
The Thailand Open, the fifth stop on the OneAsia schedule, has seen only two Thai winners in its history despite the Kingdom producing some of the region’s best golfers, and it was left to 18-year-old amateur Natipong to fly the flag with a brilliant 65.
“It’s my home course but I’m still surprised I played so well,” said Natipong, who won a team gold and individual silver medal at the Southeast Asian Games last year. “My best round here before today was a 67.”
Prom Meesawat, whose father Suthep was in 1991 the first Thai to lift the title, remains well in the hunt after closing with a 66, the same as big-hitting countryman Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
“I am happy with the way I played,” said the man known as the “Big Dolphin” because of his size. “I had one bad shot when I hit in the water, but the wind took it a bit, so I am not too upset.”
