Scottie Scheffler had a positive day one at the PGA Championship.
The world number one has been plagued by slow starts all season long which has left him behind the eight-ball for the rest of the tournament, but that wasn’t the case at Aronimink.
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Scheffler shot an opening round 67 to take a seven-way tie for the lead at three-under par. He took advantage of the slightly easier front nine to get into rhythm early, and looked comfortable in the tricky conditions.
His driving accuracy has been a problem all year, but Scheffler was hitting fairways all day long, which proved to be the key to success on this setup which featured thick rough.
And shockingly, Scheffler achieved something he’s never done before at a major championship after 18 holes.
Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Scottie Scheffler is the 18-hole leader for the first time at a major
It seems unfathomable, but this is the first time in Scheffler’s career that he’s led a major championship after 18 holes. He’s won four majors, but never has he been in a better position going into Friday than this.
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This is about as congested as a scoreboard can be. Seven players are tied for the lead, and T34 is just three shots back of the lead. But Scheffler is among the seven leaders, and that’s a daunting sign for the rest of golf.
Despite his slow starts, Scheffler has finished runner-up in his last three events. He mounted a weekend charge on Rory McIlroy at The Masters which fell just short, then did the same to Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage and lost in a playoff.
So now that Scheffler isn’t giving the field a head start, his recent form would dictate that he runs away with this tournament on the weekend.
2026 PGA Championship leaderboard is a major championship first
This is the single-most bunched leaderboard in modern major championship history. That’s no exaggeration.
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There are 48 players within three shots of the leading Scheffler through 18-holes, which is the most players within three shots after any major round in golf’s modern era.
That means even those outside of the cutline, like McIlroy who shot four over, is still within touching distance of the lead after day one. The leaderboard makes the scoring look far worse than it actually was for the Northern Irishman.
If Scheffler continues to play this way then some separation may begin to build, but everything still hangs in the balance after Thursday.
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