Rahm and Sergio García, eight shots off the lead after the first day
Tiger Woods suffers from leg pain
MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The PGA Championship, second ‘major’ of the season, started this Thursday with bad news for Spanish golf, with a difficult first day for the four representatives, Jon Rahm, Sergio García, Pablo Larrazábal and Adri Arnaus, away from – 5 left by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy as the first leader in the Southern Hills.
The tour of Tulsa, Oklahoma punished Rahm, number two in the world, for forgiving flag shots. Despite not having his best day, the Basque’s return could have been correct if it weren’t for a double-bogey on the 8th hole, to finish with two more bogeys. The US Open champion closed at +3 on Thursday, forced to come back.
Sergio García also missed the round, in this case due to a bad start, a double-bogey on the second hole, and a bad finish, three bogeys in the last three. The one from Borriol also finished at +3, while Arnaus, with +2, left a remarkable debut without a prize in his first PGA. Much further was Larrazábal with +7.
The opening day was signed by a McIlroy who signed a high bet to cut his eight-year drought since his last ‘Grand Slam’. The two-time PGA Championship champion leads the tournament with a card of 65 shots, his first nine holes great, showing the good form in which he arrived.
One blow from the Northern Irishman, the biggest pursuit is from the Americans Tom Hoge and Will Zalatoris. McIlroy also shared the stellar match, with Tiger Woods. The 15 ‘majors’ champion, in his second tournament after reappearing in Augusta, started well but physically his day was cut short until he delivered a +4.
The ‘Tiger’ finished in pain, still recovering from serious injuries from his car accident in February last year, and it looks like he will struggle to make the cut as he did at the Masters. Rounding out his match was Jordan Spieth, who went +2, and another favorite as world number one, Scottie Scheffler, finished one over par.