Here’s what some of the contenders are saying after the first round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, including leader Xander Schauffele, who fired a 9-under 62 on Thursday:
Xander Schauffele
Position: 1st
Score: 9-under 62
Quotable: “I feel there’s spurts, moments in time where you feel like you can control the ball really well; you’re seeing the greens really well; you’re chipping really well. But over a prolonged period, it’s tough to upkeep high performance. Yeah, I’d say it’s very close to it (the best golf of my career) if not it.”
Tony Finau
Position: T-2
Score: 6-under 65
Quotable: “Results-wise, I haven’t played the golf that I know I’m capable of, and sometimes it can get frustrating, leaving tournaments a little disappointed and kind of searching. I’ve always been very hopeful. I never feel like I’m far off. I never believe I’m that far off. I think today was just one of those days that I’m just able to show some resilience. Coming into this week, probably not in my greatest form going into a major championship, but that resilient attitude I think is huge when you’re playing big tournaments. You’ve got to believe that you can play well. The golf course is a good golf course for me. It’s a big golf course. I can swing the driver. I can go ahead and let it rip on a handful of holes. I think the golf course has a lot to do with it, as well. But no question, you need a resilient attitude to just persevere through major championship days and to put yourself in contention.”
Sahith Theegala
Position: T-2
Score: 6-under 65
Quotable: “I really felt like I was the best player in college that year (2020). … I don’t know if I’m ever going to feel that way again. We all strive to get to that point. But yeah, sometimes you look at the guys on the top of the world, and you’re like, Am I ever going to be like Rory or Xander? And the answer is no. Or even Brooks; the answer is no. I’m just hoping I can find my own path again because that’s what led to my success my senior year of college.”
Rory McIlroy
Position: T-4
Score: 5-under 66
Quotable: “I don’t know about that (leaving shots out there). I sort of felt like it was pretty scrappy for the most part. I don’t really feel like I left many out there. I thought I got a lot out of my game today. Some good up-and-downs, the chip-in on 6. I had a little bit of a scrappy part around the turn there, but overall, not really happy with how I played but at least happy with the score.”
Bob MacIntyre
Position: T-4
Score: 5-under 66
Quotable: “I’m trying to keep my PGA Tour card. I’m trying to win golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. I’m more than happy playing the PGA Tour. For me, I’m just trying to work out life, to be honest. That’s been more the problem; or not the problem, more the difficult side of being in America. It’s more where I want to live, and whether that’s in Scotland, in America, we’re still trying to work that out. That’s what this year was for. This year was for working that out. I mean, who knows if I’d come in and played great at the start of the year, then you know what? Probably living in Orlando is going to be great. But I didn’t. I come in; I didn’t play great. But in golf, a season can change in a heartbeat, and I don’t really worry about the past. I try and look forward and try and improve what I’m doing. I think the last little while, I’ve improved almost my process prior to playing any sort of golf. I’m in a good mind frame after getting home to Scotland.”
Brooks Koepka
Position: T-7
Score: 4-under 67
Quotable: “I was very impatient. I couldn’t understand, I’m trying to hit a 7-iron to 15 feet. It would drive me nuts. I just was striving for perfection. I said it earlier this year. I watched DJ, it was at the WGC down at Doral, Trump’s place. He hit it right into the trees, and I’ll never forget it. He kind of punched it out and it hit the curve of the cart path, and it came back to where I was, and he just laughed at it. And I couldn’t understand that. I was talking to my agent about it. And then getting to know DJ over the years, just kind of how he thinks and how he approaches things, I think that’s his biggest attribute is kind being able to just kind of, something bad happens, just kind of let it go; and if something good happens, you don’t want to get too high, too low, just kind of stay and ride the wave a little bit.”