Shock, shock. Xander Schauffele is on the entrance web page of a serious championship leaderboard.
The 2024 PGA Championship winner carded a 2-under 69 on Thursday, a spherical that featured three birdies and just one bogey. That blemish got here on the par-3 14th after briefly holding a share of the lead with Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry. Although bogies are greatest averted, loads of others like Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, and Tiger Woods made many extra. Royal Troon confirmed its enamel on Thursday as a southerly wind created havoc for the sphere.
But, Schauffele charted his means across the Ayrshire course masterfully.
“You begin off with 5 – 6 holes into the wind. I used to be fortunate to be underneath par there,” Schauffele mentioned.
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“Should you’re over-par early, it’s simply being affected person and feeling the necessity to chase, particularly on a Thursday, is a tough factor. [My caddie] Austin [Kaiser] and I got here up with a great plan. It’s cliche, however we actually simply sort of plotted across the property.”
With a blistering cross-wind, Schauffele hit a stunning method on the par-3 fifth, as his tee shot landed eight ft away. He transformed that for his first birdie of the day after which made one other par-breaker on the quick par-3 eighth, probably the most well-known gap on the course generally known as ‘The Postage Stamp.’
An excellent birdie adopted at ‘The Railway,’ the par-4 eleventh that was probably the most difficult gap on the PGA Tour in the course of the 2015-16 season—the final time Royal Troon hosted The Open. Schauffele rolled in a 36-footer from the precise facet of the inexperienced to get to 3-under on the day.
He now sits 4 again of Englishman Daniel Brown, who shot a 6-under 65 to soar to the highest of the leaderboard on day one.
However Schauffele wouldn’t be contending if not for his observations on the driving vary forward of his spherical.
“Fortunately, the vary was much like the first tee, so attempt to visualize some pictures on the vary. You place your machine down, and also you see, okay, that is hurting, a excessive ball 40 yards, and you then transfer by the bag, and also you attempt to discover the middle of the face and see how a lot the ball is shifting. You attempt to hit it straight, draw it, lower it, all these issues,” Schauffele defined about taking part in within the wind that gamers had by no means confronted earlier than.
“If the [wind on the range] blew left to proper for some motive, it could have been actually laborious for me to get to that 1st tee feeling tremendous snug. Thankfully, I used to be capable of get snug early on.”
When is Schauffele not snug?
He has seemed so relaxed in every main this yr, evidenced by his breakthrough at Valhalla in Could. The identical could possibly be mentioned for his first spherical Thursday, as he watched Woods, his taking part in accomplice, hit it in every single place in brutal situations.
Schauffele will little doubt stay stoic because the week wears on. He all the time does. But when he can keep away from the massive errors, hit it in the precise locations, and plot his means round Troon as he did on Thursday, he’ll vie for one more main championship come Sunday. He’s too good of a participant to not.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Remember to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
