3 Pga Tour Stars Implode On Pga Championship's Disastrous 16th Hole

The leaderboard astatine nan 2025 PGA Championship is simply a head-scratcher for some, but Quail Hollow Club’s situation could beryllium summed up perfectly by 1 spread nan apical 3 golfers successful nan world each struggled pinch during Thursday’s opening round. 

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlory and Xander Schauffele are classed 1 done 3 successful nan Official World Golf Ranking, respectively, and they each vanished pinch a double bogey connected nan par-4, 535-yard 16th spread successful their opening rounds. 

Their problem pinch nan spread was connected afloat show arsenic a featured group for nan commencement of nan tournament, and McIlroy fired his tee changeable to nan left, which is an area to debar owed to water. The unsmooth caught his ball, but an awkward dishonesty didn’t let him to get nan shot much than 20 yards into nan fairway. 

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Scottie Scheffler tees disconnected connected nan 3rd spread during nan first information of nan PGA Championship play tourney astatine Quail Hollow. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)

From there, McIlroy’s approach missed nan greenish to nan right, and nan backmost near pin didn’t make it easy to instrumentality it adjacent to locomotion distant pinch a bogey. He had a 12-foot putt to locomotion distant pinch a five, but he missed and made double instead. 

Scheffler and Schauffele had amended luck disconnected nan tee, but they some struggled to find nan greenish successful regulation. With h2o astir it, they some recovered nan bottommost pinch their attack shots that went excessively far. 

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Both players dropped successful nan punishment area to proceed nan hole, and, again, nan location was treacherous for each golfers and made it difficult to get it close. Scheffler had 52 feet to paper a bogey, but he deed successful a seven-footer to make a double. Then, Schauffele two-putted from astir 34 feet. 

Scheffler fared amended than McIlroy and Schauffele, finishing his opening information tied for 19th astatine 2-under. Schauffele walked into nan clubhouse astatine 1-over aft 18 holes, while McIlroy, victor of nan Masters successful April, was 3-over aft shooting a 74. 

Rory McIlroy reacts to his putt connected nan 4th spread during nan first information of nan PGA Championship play tourney astatine Quail Hollow. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)

After his round, Scheffler told reporters nan dreaded "mud ball" was nan origin of his 16th spread mishap. 

"It’s 1 of those deals wherever it’s frustrating to deed nan shot successful nan mediate of nan fairway and get mud connected it and person nary thought wherever it’s going to go," he told reporters. "I understand it’s portion of nan game, but there’s thing much frustrating for a player. 

"You walk your full life trying to study really to power a play ball, and owed to a rules decision, each of a abrupt you person perfectly nary power complete wherever that play shot goes. But I don’t make nan rules. I conscionable person to woody pinch nan consequences of those rules."

The 3 weren’t nan only apical golfers struggling to fig retired Quail Hollow Thursday. Bryson DeChambeau (1-over), Max Homa (2-over), Jordan Spieth (3-over) and Brooks Koepka (4-over) were each struggling to find a groove. Phil Mickelson moreover carded an 8-over 79, which will beryllium virtually intolerable to get down earlier nan trim Friday. 

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. (Imagn)

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Not everyone had nan aforesaid experience. American Ryan Gerard was starring for astir of nan time aft shooting a 5-under 66. Australian Cam Davis matched him, stepping into nan clubhouse pinch nan aforesaid score, though he could've led astatine 6-under if not for a bogey connected nan last hole. 

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