2025 PGA Championship Round 1 leaderboard, live updates: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy not lighting it up

Yahoo

15-05-2025

The second major championship of the season is off and running.
The golf world has descended on Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, where the iconic Wanamaker Trophy is up for grabs this week.
Scottie Scheffler, per usual, is the favorite this week. The top-ranked golfer in the world is coming off of a dominant win at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson two weeks ago, which marked his first win of the PGA Tour season. Scheffler showed up to the course wearing orange on Wednesday for a practice round, too, an apparent shout to his infamous arrest during last year's tournament.
Rory McIlroy is right up there with Scheffler. McIlroy won the Masters in a playoff last month to finally complete the career grand slam and end his 11-year major championship drought. He's shined at Quail Hollow Club throughout his career, too. He's won the Wells Fargo Championship there four times in his career.
Stick with Yahoo Sports this week for all of the latest news from on the ground in North Carolina, and check out the leaderboard here.
First Round
When: Thursday, May 15Where: Quail Hollow Club | Charlotte, North CarolinaTV: ESPN
TV Schedule7 a.m. — 12 p.m. ET | ESPN+12 p.m. — 7 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN+
*Denotes No. 10 tee start
7:38 a.m.* ET — Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry8:22 a.m.* ET — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele 1:14 p.m. ET — Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa1:25 p.m. ET — Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Åberg1:47 p.m. ET— Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland
It's been anything but routine for Scottie Scheffler, who carded an eagle, a birdie, a bogey and a double bogey on his front nine. But after a birdie at No. 2 — he started on the back nine — he's got it to 1-under, with some of the easier holes on the course ahead of him.
Meanwhile, playing partners Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are just hanging on at +2.
That would be Alex Noren of Sweden. Four birdies in six holes on the back nine have Noren at 5-under. But here comes the Green Mile.
Okay, here you go:
Next hole? Lowry drops a 68-footer for back-to-back birdies. 💥 #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/e7lrLzj3zn
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
It's been rough early for Lowry, but back-to-back birdies — including this one at No. 4 (after starting on the back) — has him at 1-over
Luke Donald is a long way from being the No. 1 player in the world, which he was in 2012, but right now he's leading the field — along with Nico Echavarria and Stephan Jaeger — at the PGA Championship.
Donald, currently ranked 871 in the world, is now more known for his prowess as the European captain of the Ryder Cup than he is his actual golf game. But he's in the hunt early this week.
Nowhere near the top of the leaderboard, that's where.
The five-time major winner is 4-over through 11 holes after a double at No. 1 and a bogey at No. 2 — he started on the back nine. And he's likely to drop at least another shot after putting his tee shot at No. 3 is in trouble.
Since winning the PGA Championship in 2023, Koepka hasn't finished better than T17 at any major and is coming off a missed cut at the Masters last month.
They call it the Green Mile because, well, it's a difficult — diabolical? — three-hole stretch at Quail Hollow. It spans from 16-18, and it bit the three best players in the world right from the start.
Rory McIlroy put his drive into some trees, had his foot slip on his second shot resulting in an everyday player's duff and wound up with a double bogey.
Then, both Scheffler and Schauffele, who were in perfect position off the tee, hooked their approaches into the water to the left of the green. They were left with treacherous chips that ran out to well over 30 feet. Two putts later, Scheffler and Schauffele also carded doubles.
Ouch.
The world Nos. 1, 2 and 3 - Scottie, Rory and Xander, respectively - played the par-4 16th hole @PGAChampionship in a combined 6 over par. pic.twitter.com/Bk9W5mFRZ4
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) May 15, 2025
Make it two chip-ins for Scottie Scheffler. Using a putter from off the green at the par-5 15, drained it from about 35 feet for eagle. That gets the world No. 1 to 2-under.
Off the green, on the money. Birdie for Scottie 🐦#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/Uaf7qziXU7
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
There are eight players at 3-under, including both Ryder Cup captains — Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley. The others at 3-under include: Ryan Fox, Nico Echavarria, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fiztpatrick, Stephan Jaeger and Rasmus Hojgaard.
We're going to hear a lot about No. 14 at Quail Hollow this week, a driveable par 4 at 311 yards. This sequence sums it up:
Xander Schauffele yanked his tee shot into the water to the left of the green, took his penalty shot, chipped up to 15 feet and had a shot at par — that he left just short.
Scottie Scheffler put his drive just to the right of the green, putted up a hill from there, left the putt 9 feet short, missed the birdie and had to settle for par.
Rory McIlroy put his tee shot well to the right, chipped up with a beauty to 4 feet for birdie ... and missed it.
Quietly, Tommy Fleetwood may be the best player right now not to have won a major. Ranked 13th in the world, Fleetwood has seven top-five finishes at majors, including a pair of runner-ups. But he's never won.
He's off to a solid start at Quail Hollow, with three straight birdies at 13, 14 and 15 to get to 3-under and a share of the lead.
After missing out on a birdie at the par-5 10th, Sheffler stole on at No. 12, chipping in from just off the green to get to 1-under:
No putter needed for Scottie Scheffler 😎#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/Ks2CCKQX4b
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
Not for nothing, but Scottie Scheffler is wearing orange again today — this time the Texas burnt orange kind:
After missing a lengthy birdie on his first hole — the 10th — Jon Rahm didn't miss at 11, with this 33-foot beauty:
Rahm from downtown 💥#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/T9z6jAqwKa
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
New Zealand's Ryan Fox is taken it to Quail Hollow so far. He's carded three birdies in his first five holes to get it to 3-under, two shots better than the early wave.
The marquee group of the tournament — No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Xander Schauffele — are on the course.
All three scrambled on their opening hole — the par 5 10th — with awkward short pitches to the green on their thirds. Didn't matter, for some. McIlroy rolled in his 10-footer for birdie, Scheffler missed his 9-footer, and Schauffele made his 6-footer.
There's a not-so-secret, not-so-unspoken conventional wisdom that among the four majors, some are more major than others. The Open Championship has seniority and majesty, the U.S. Open has brawn and muscle, the Masters has tradition and elegance, and the PGA Championship has … a big ol' trophy and a whole lot of one-time major winners.
But conventional wisdom isn't true wisdom, and the truth is that the PGA Championship, in the decade of the 2020s, has given golf banger after banger tournaments, delivering a reliable mix of storylines, drama and highlights, year after year.
Through all of golf's tumultuous last few years, the PGA Championship has delivered. We'll see very soon if the tournament can keep that streak going this week.
For more on the PGA Championship's latest streak of greatness, click here.
The carping — reinforced by the echo chamber that is Golf Twitter — has hit a new high this week at Quail Hollow, site of this week's PGA Championship, and since this is a major, the cuts slice a little deeper.
'I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian,' Hunter Mahan told The Athletic. 'It's very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character.'
Ouch. That's going to leave a mark.
For more on how golfers view Quail Hollow, click here.
If Scottie Scheffler isn't having some fun as we approach the anniversary of his infamous PGA Championship arrest, this is one incredible coincidence.
Scheffler showed up to Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina on Wednesday wearing a plain orange Nike polo for his practice round. That isn't news on it's own, but his choice of clothing came almost exactly a year after he was arrested at last year's PGA Championship, which led him to having his mug shot taken in an orange jail jumpsuit.
While there are any number of reasons that Scheffler could be wearing an orange polo — he went to Texas, for example — this is apparently the first time that Scheffler has worn orange at a tournament since his arrest.
Yes I DID scroll through a year of Getty images to confirm this
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) May 14, 2025
For more on Scottie Scheffler's wardrobe choices, click here.
Rory McIlroy broke his silence on the "beef" between him and Bryson DeChambeau at the Masters last month.
'I don't know what he was expecting,' McIlroy said on Wednesday. 'We're trying to win the Masters. I'm not going to try to be his best mate out there.'
Honestly, that checks out.
For more on their "feud," click here.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first groups are away at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship, and your early leader: Ryan Fox at -1 after one hole. That's likely to change.
The weather looks spectacular and warm, a pleasant change from the rain that has absolutely drenched this course over the past three days. Course crews have worked to dry out the greens, but the rest of the course is likely to be playing soft, at least for the first couple days. We're in for a fine major this week, let's have a good one.
It's been anything but routine for Scottie Scheffler, who carded an eagle, a birdie, a bogey and a double bogey on his front nine. But after a birdie at No. 2 — he started on the back nine — he's got it to 1-under, with some of the easier holes on the course ahead of him.
Meanwhile, playing partners Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are just hanging on at +2.
That would be Alex Noren of Sweden. Four birdies in six holes on the back nine have Noren at 5-under. But here comes the Green Mile.
Okay, here you go:
Next hole? Lowry drops a 68-footer for back-to-back birdies. 💥 #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/e7lrLzj3zn
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
It's been rough early for Lowry, but back-to-back birdies — including this one at No. 4 (after starting on the back) — has him at 1-over
Luke Donald is a long way from being the No. 1 player in the world, which he was in 2012, but right now he's leading the field — along with Nico Echavarria and Stephan Jaeger — at the PGA Championship.
Donald, currently ranked 871 in the world, is now more known for his prowess as the European captain of the Ryder Cup than he is his actual golf game. But he's in the hunt early this week.
Nowhere near the top of the leaderboard, that's where.
The five-time major winner is 4-over through 11 holes after a double at No. 1 and a bogey at No. 2 — he started on the back nine. And he's likely to drop at least another shot after putting his tee shot at No. 3 is in trouble.
Since winning the PGA Championship in 2023, Koepka hasn't finished better than T17 at any major and is coming off a missed cut at the Masters last month.
They call it the Green Mile because, well, it's a difficult — diabolical? — three-hole stretch at Quail Hollow. It spans from 16-18, and it bit the three best players in the world right from the start.
Rory McIlroy put his drive into some trees, had his foot slip on his second shot resulting in an everyday player's duff and wound up with a double bogey.
Then, both Scheffler and Schauffele, who were in perfect position off the tee, hooked their approaches into the water to the left of the green. They were left with treacherous chips that ran out to well over 30 feet. Two putts later, Scheffler and Schauffele also carded doubles.
Ouch.
The world Nos. 1, 2 and 3 - Scottie, Rory and Xander, respectively - played the par-4 16th hole @PGAChampionship in a combined 6 over par. pic.twitter.com/Bk9W5mFRZ4
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) May 15, 2025
Make it two chip-ins for Scottie Scheffler. Using a putter from off the green at the par-5 15, drained it from about 35 feet for eagle. That gets the world No. 1 to 2-under.
Off the green, on the money. Birdie for Scottie 🐦#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/Uaf7qziXU7
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
There are eight players at 3-under, including both Ryder Cup captains — Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley. The others at 3-under include: Ryan Fox, Nico Echavarria, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fiztpatrick, Stephan Jaeger and Rasmus Hojgaard.
We're going to hear a lot about No. 14 at Quail Hollow this week, a driveable par 4 at 311 yards. This sequence sums it up:
Xander Schauffele yanked his tee shot into the water to the left of the green, took his penalty shot, chipped up to 15 feet and had a shot at par — that he left just short.
Scottie Scheffler put his drive just to the right of the green, putted up a hill from there, left the putt 9 feet short, missed the birdie and had to settle for par.
Rory McIlroy put his tee shot well to the right, chipped up with a beauty to 4 feet for birdie ... and missed it.
Quietly, Tommy Fleetwood may be the best player right now not to have won a major. Ranked 13th in the world, Fleetwood has seven top-five finishes at majors, including a pair of runner-ups. But he's never won.
He's off to a solid start at Quail Hollow, with three straight birdies at 13, 14 and 15 to get to 3-under and a share of the lead.
After missing out on a birdie at the par-5 10th, Sheffler stole on at No. 12, chipping in from just off the green to get to 1-under:
No putter needed for Scottie Scheffler 😎#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/Ks2CCKQX4b
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
Not for nothing, but Scottie Scheffler is wearing orange again today — this time the Texas burnt orange kind:
After missing a lengthy birdie on his first hole — the 10th — Jon Rahm didn't miss at 11, with this 33-foot beauty:
Rahm from downtown 💥#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/T9z6jAqwKa
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
New Zealand's Ryan Fox is taken it to Quail Hollow so far. He's carded three birdies in his first five holes to get it to 3-under, two shots better than the early wave.
The marquee group of the tournament — No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Xander Schauffele — are on the course.
All three scrambled on their opening hole — the par 5 10th — with awkward short pitches to the green on their thirds. Didn't matter, for some. McIlroy rolled in his 10-footer for birdie, Scheffler missed his 9-footer, and Schauffele made his 6-footer.
There's a not-so-secret, not-so-unspoken conventional wisdom that among the four majors, some are more major than others. The Open Championship has seniority and majesty, the U.S. Open has brawn and muscle, the Masters has tradition and elegance, and the PGA Championship has … a big ol' trophy and a whole lot of one-time major winners.
But conventional wisdom isn't true wisdom, and the truth is that the PGA Championship, in the decade of the 2020s, has given golf banger after banger tournaments, delivering a reliable mix of storylines, drama and highlights, year after year.
Through all of golf's tumultuous last few years, the PGA Championship has delivered. We'll see very soon if the tournament can keep that streak going this week.
For more on the PGA Championship's latest streak of greatness, click here.
The carping — reinforced by the echo chamber that is Golf Twitter — has hit a new high this week at Quail Hollow, site of this week's PGA Championship, and since this is a major, the cuts slice a little deeper.
'I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian,' Hunter Mahan told The Athletic. 'It's very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character.'
Ouch. That's going to leave a mark.
For more on how golfers view Quail Hollow, click here.
If Scottie Scheffler isn't having some fun as we approach the anniversary of his infamous PGA Championship arrest, this is one incredible coincidence.
Scheffler showed up to Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina on Wednesday wearing a plain orange Nike polo for his practice round. That isn't news on it's own, but his choice of clothing came almost exactly a year after he was arrested at last year's PGA Championship, which led him to having his mug shot taken in an orange jail jumpsuit.
While there are any number of reasons that Scheffler could be wearing an orange polo — he went to Texas, for example — this is apparently the first time that Scheffler has worn orange at a tournament since his arrest.
Yes I DID scroll through a year of Getty images to confirm this
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) May 14, 2025
For more on Scottie Scheffler's wardrobe choices, click here.
Rory McIlroy broke his silence on the "beef" between him and Bryson DeChambeau at the Masters last month.
'I don't know what he was expecting,' McIlroy said on Wednesday. 'We're trying to win the Masters. I'm not going to try to be his best mate out there.'
Honestly, that checks out.
For more on their "feud," click here.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first groups are away at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship, and your early leader: Ryan Fox at -1 after one hole. That's likely to change.
The weather looks spectacular and warm, a pleasant change from the rain that has absolutely drenched this course over the past three days. Course crews have worked to dry out the greens, but the rest of the course is likely to be playing soft, at least for the first couple days. We're in for a fine major this week, let's have a good one.