Steve Stricker steals the show in the first round of PGA Championship in Atlanta
Steve Stricker shot a brilliant seven-under, 63 on the first day of the PGA Championship, to stay ahead of the rest of the field by two shots. Managing to pull in seven birdies, Stricker remained bogey-free for the whole day to post a record-leveling round
of 63.
Starting off from the back nine he made the turn with a solid 30 and carded two more birdies to finish off on top of the leaderboard. He is now ahead of the fast approaching Jerry Kelly who settled for an outright second with five-under, 65.
Stricker missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole which could have landed him as the only player to shoot a round of 62 in any major event. For the moment, the 44-year-old American is only the 11th player to shoot a 63 in a major.
“It never really registered,” Stricker said referring to the final hole attempt. “I was just trying to make a birdie and finish 8 under, and I really was concentrating on the putt, but never thought about the history part of it.”
Stricker had been practicing for three consecutive days at the 7,467-yard course –the longest par 70 ever at a major– and was still not sure whether he would manage to summit the leaderboard so early in the event.
“I really had no expectations coming into today's round,” Stricker said. “I didn't make too many birdies the first three days during the practice rounds. I got off to a good start, and it kind of got me going.”
Many of the less notable players were able to move into contention on the first day as the blazing guns on the field chose to keep a low profile for the moment. Shaun Micheel shot a four-under, 66 to settle for an outright third followed by another American
Scott Verplank, who managed to post three-under, 67 to settle for an outright fourth.
Some 22 players were able to break par on the opening day amidst soaring temperatures and suffocating Georgia summer. Tiger Woods, the ultimate crowd puller, crashed for a seven-over, 77, his worst opening round score in any major of his career. He will
need some exceptional scoring on the second day to survive the halfway cut.
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