Jason Day has enjoyed a solid start to the 100th PGA Championship, opening with a round of 3-under 67 to sit three shots behind leader Gary Woodland.
Beginning on the 10th tee in the morning at Bellerive Country Club, Day recorded four birdies and the lone bogey as he attempts to win the Major for a second time, he said the solid start is crucial for a good week.
“It’s important, especially starting on 10. That’s an eye-opener starting on 10 in the early morning. It’s a big, strong hole to start on,” said Day.
“I hit a nice drive down there and ended up hitting a good 6-iron in the end, just left my putt short.
“The wind is starting to pick up, which would make it a little tougher in the afternoon. I don’t know if there’s a (storm) cell coming in. It started looking a little dark out there with the clouds. It’s always nice to be able to get a round in like this, start your week knowing that you’re in the right direction.”
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox got the tournament underway in the first group this morning and finished his round at 2-under the card, alongside Victorian Marc Leishman.
Adam Scott endured an up-and-down round to finish at even-par following his first 18 holes.
American-based PGA of Australia teaching pro Craig Hocknull will be pleased with his first round in a Major, finishing 2-over, while Cameron Smith has his work cut out for him at 4-over the card.
With the devastating news of Jarrod Lyle’s passing earlier this week, the field at Bellerive kept the popular Aussie at the forefront of their minds as play got underway.
Queenslander Day shared his thoughts on the news following his opening round.
“He battled half his life. And the crazy thing is he was always upbeat and positive. No matter what you did, you could be playing terrible, and if you’re playing golf with him, you always walked off the golf course happy,” said Day.
“He impacted a lot of people just because of it. I mean, there’s a lot of people out there that are sick and have probably the same thing going on. So for people to hear his story and know that he fought on for a long time and lived a good life and had two kids and had a good loving wife, that’s a lot of positive to come out of a story like that.”
Round two of the PGA Championship begins at 9:50pm AEST. Jason Day will tee off at 4:26am AEST.
Live coverage begins on FOX SPORTS Australia at 4:00am AEST.
