US PGA Championship 2023: DeChambeau leads Scheffler, McIlroy battles, Rahm struggles at Oak Hill

Jon Rahm won the Masters but struggled astatine the commencement of the US PGA Championship

Bryson DeChambeau acceptable the aboriginal gait astatine the US PGA Championship arsenic a investigating Oak Hill successful New York authorities proved excessively overmuch for satellite fig 1 Jon Rahm.

But Masters champion Rahm and England's US Open victor Matt Fitzpatrick some struggled and signed for six-over 76s.

Rory McIlroy, who has won this rubric twice, battled unwellness to sprout 71, 1 amended than 2022 victor Justin Thomas.

DeChambeau, who famously bulked up earlier outmuscling Winged Foot - a people likened to Oak Hill - to triumph the 2020 US Open, surely seemed comfy with six birdies and conscionable 2 bogeys successful his opening round.

Fellow LIV golfers Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson - the astonishment 2021 victor of this title - are among the aboriginal starters successful circular one.

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The commencement of the 105th US PGA Championship was delayed for 1 hr and 50 minutes due to the fact that overnight frost covered the people successful Rochester, which is adjacent to the Canada border. But erstwhile play started, this iconic and hard way soon turned up the heat.

Patience and positioning is cardinal astatine Oak Hill, with heavy unsmooth gobbling up immoderate shots that stray disconnected line, making it astir intolerable to find and clasp greens erstwhile digging the shot out.

Scottie Scheffler enjoyed a coagulated archetypal circular astatine the US PGA Championship

While galore players had a frustrating day, Scheffler was the epitome of calm, arsenic is his accustomed demeanour, and helium managed to navigate the menacing par-70 layout without dropping a changeable successful his circular of 67.

It was a archetypal bogey-free circular successful a major, successful his 15th start, and coming astatine specified a notoriously hard people gave the 2022 Masters champion adjacent much delight successful his efforts.

"This is 1 of those places wherever you conscionable effort and enactment successful position, marque the important par putts and conscionable support the momentum going. I did a bully occupation of that," helium said.

"I consciousness similar my crippled is amended suited for this benignant of test. I get much excited for a tourney similar this versus a birdie-fest similar past week. With that being said, I don't deliberation mentally I would beryllium capable to grip playing a tourney similar this each azygous week connected Tour."

McIlroy battled portion Rahm was rattled

McIlroy was a subdued fig successful the build-up, with the Northern Irishman inactive hurting from his stinging missed chopped astatine the Masters, and that continued onto the people with 3 bogeys successful a scratchy beforehand nine.

A two-time US PGA winner, the four-time large victor showed creditable combat connected his backmost 9 though with 3 birdies against 1 bogey to decorativeness with a 71 to support himself successful the contention - each the portion being somewhat nether the upwind himself.

"I'm warring something," McIlroy said. "But I really consciousness amended contiguous than I felt yesterday, truthful plentifulness of h2o and a spot of rest, I'll beryllium fine."

Rory McIlroy (L) and Justin Thomas some recovered it hard enactment astatine Oak Hill

It was a disappointing commencement for Rahm though, with the Spaniard looking strangely out-of-sorts arsenic helium laboured to a 76 to permission him reasoning much astir making the chopped than winning the title.

England's Fitzpatrick, who was successful the last pairing astatine past year's US PGA, besides struggled to a 76 arsenic helium failed to find a azygous birdie.

American Thomas lone truly made a mates of mistakes, but they outgo him 3 shots arsenic helium finished connected 2 implicit par, portion his bully person Jordan Spieth was different who fto his somesthesia boil implicit astatine times during his circular of 73.

Spieth was a uncertainty for the tourney with a wrist injury, but showed nary existent signs of that troubling him arsenic helium made a wobbly commencement to his latest bid to assertion the lone large to person truthful acold eluded him and with it implicit the vocation Grand Slam.

A warfare of attrition successful Rochester

Canadian Conners and 2011 US PGA champion Keegan Bradley are some tremendous robust players truthful it was nary immense astonishment to spot them some challenging connected a people wherever positioning is everything.

Norwegian prima Viktor Hovland has gone adjacent successful the past 2 majors and joined Bradley connected 2 under.

New Zealander Ryan Fox - the lad of All Blacks rugby national fable Grant - has battled pneumonia and suffered sleepless nights pursuing the commencement of his 2nd kid successful caller weeks but helium excessively posted a 68.