Source : ABC NEWS
Cam Davis is the best-placed Australian after the first round of the US PGA Championship, sitting in a tie for second following a five-under 66.
Davis and American Ryan Gerard held a share of the clubhouse lead until Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas made an evening surge, achieving five birdies from his final six holes to card a seven-under 64.
Davis, 30, shot seven birdies and two bogeys at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Entering his final hole of the day, Davis was six-under and needed par to claim the outright clubhouse lead.
Davis’s second shot went into thick rough and the Australian was unable to complete the up-and-down from there, missing his par putt to end a very good round.
Davis started his round from the 10th hole and began his tournament with a birdie, before dropping back to even par with a bogey three holes later.
But the Sydneysider went on to birdie six of the next 11 holes to take the lead of the tournament.
Davis had trouble on the par-5 seventh hole, his 16th hole for the day, when his second shot found deep rough by the green.
A chip onto the green rolled back down a slope, leaving the Australian with a long two-putt to save par.
Veteran Adam Scott also enjoyed a good round at Quail Hollow, ending the first round at two-under.
Scott began his round with five pars, but then kick-started his round with consecutive birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes.
Adam Scott enjoyed a promising start at the US PGA Championship. (Getty Images: Andrew Redington)
Scott was poised for a bogey-free round, but came unstuck at the tricky 16th par-4.
His second shot sailed over the green into the rough, with Scott’s follow-up chip rolling well past the hole on the quick green.
Scott missed his par putt narrowly to the right, leading to the first blemish on his scorecard.
Scott then three-putted from 70 feet at the par-3 17th, as Quail Hollow’s final three holes, nicknamed the “Green Mile”, caught out the 2013 US Masters champion.
The “Green Mile” hurt many scorecards on Thursday, with more than 20 balls finding water.
Elvis Smylie was the only other Australian under par, with a one-under 70 in the first round.
As Davis and Scott featured at the top of the leaderboard, other Aussies who teed off earlier in the day did not fare as well.
Former US PGA Champions Jason Day shot a two-over 73, while Min Woo Lee finished with a 74.
2022 Open champion Cam Smith and Karl Vilips suffered shocking rounds at Quail Hollow, both shooting 78.
Meanwhile, US Masters champion Rory McIlroy will need to fight back if he wants to contend this week following a three-over 74.
McIlroy, who has won at Quail Hollow four times, including the US PGA Championship in 2010, shot two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in his opening round.
