Opening Round 2021 PGA Championship – All The Facts & Figures

4 years ago by Comments Off on Opening Round 2021 PGA Championship – All The Facts & Figures

Weather: Mostly sunny. High of 77. Wind E 14-17 mph, with gusts to 20 mph.

First-Round Leaderboard

Corey Conners                         67 (-5)

Keegan Bradley                        69 (-3)

Viktor Hovland                          69 (-3)

Brooks Koepka                         69 (-3)

Aaron Wise                               69 (-3)

Sam Horsfield                           69 (-3)

Cam Davis                                69 (-3)

Things to Know

  • Corey Conners holds the third 18-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career and second of the season (0-for-2 to date converting to victory)
  • Conners’ best position after any round in a major championship entering the week: solo-sixth after the third round of the 2021 Masters Tournament
  • Brooks Koepka opens the PGA Championship with a score in the 60s for the sixth consecutive year, the longest such streak at any major championship in the modern era (since 1934)
  • Defending champion Collin Morikawa stands T8; seven different players have won back-to-back at the PGA Championship
  • World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson opens with a 4-over 76, snapping the longest active streak of rounds in the 60s at the PGA Championship (9)
  • Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah, cards a 3-over 75

First-Round Lead Notes

4            First-round leaders/co-leaders to win the PGA Championship since 2000

(Tiger Woods/2000, Phil Mickelson/2005, Jimmy Walker/2016, Brooks Koepka/2019)
5            First-round leaders/co-leaders to win during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season

(most recent: Matt Jones/The Honda Classic)

Corey Conners (1st/-5)

Canadian Corey Conners leads the way at the 103rd PGA Championship

Category Entering the week
Age 29 (January 6, 1992)
FedExCup 22
OWGR 39
PGA Championship starts 2
PGA Championship wins 0
PGA Championship top-10s 0
Career PGA TOUR starts 108
Career PGA TOUR wins 1
Career PGA TOUR top-10s 13
PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21 20
PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21 0
PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21 7
  • Third career 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR and second of the season; 0-for-2 to date converting to victory (2018 Valspar Championship/T16, 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard/3rd)
  • Led outright after the second round in each of the previous two events at which he held 18-hole lead/co-lead
  • Best position after any round in a major championship entering the week: solo-sixth after the third round of the 2021 Masters Tournament (finished T8)
  • Last Canadian to lead/co-lead after any round in a men’s major championship: Mike Weir (R1/2009 U.S. Open)
  • 20-under in his last eight rounds in major championships; 44-over in the previous 19
  • One PGA TOUR victory: 2019 Valero Texas Open (Monday qualifier)
  • Seven top-10s in 20 starts on the PGA TOUR this season (best result: 3rd/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)

Brooks Koepka (T2/-3)

  • Opens the PGA Championship with a score in the 60s for the sixth consecutive year, the longest such streak at any major championship in the modern era (since 1934); previous record of five was held by Jack Nicklaus, who recorded five consecutive first-round scores in the 60s at the Masters Tournament from 1972-1976
  • Last six first-round scores at the PGA Championship:

2021: 69 (currently T2)

2020: 66 (finished T29)

2019: 63 (Won)

2018: 69 (Won)

2017: 68 (T13)

2016: 68 (T4)

  • Strokes Gained: Approach the Green mark of 3.789 is his highest of the season (previous: 2.209, R4/WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession) and third in the field (leader: Patrick Cantlay, 4.004)
  • Four major championship victories, including two at the PGA Championship: 2017 U.S. Open, 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 PGA Championship, 2019 PGA Championship
  • Earned eighth PGA TOUR title earlier this season at the Waste Management Phoenix Open; four total top-10s in 11 starts on the season
  • Entered the week with missed cuts in each of his last two starts on TOUR (Masters Tournament, AT&T Byron Nelson), his only starts since March 1 (right knee injury)

Additional Player Notes

  • Playing in his second PGA Championship (T33/2020) and sixth major championship, Viktor Hovland opens with a 3-under 69 to stand T2; Hovland, a two-time PGA TOUR winner at age 23, entered the week at No. 3 in the FedExCup standings with T3s in each of his last two starts (Valspar Championship, Wells Fargo Championship) and a win earlier in the season at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN
  • Defending champion Collin Morikawa records a 2-under 70 to stand T8; Morikawa hit 13 of 14 fairways, most of any player in the field
  • 2005 PGA Championship winner and 44-time PGA TOUR champion Phil Mickelson (T8) records a 2-under 70, his third under-par first-round score in his last 15 appearances at the PGA Championship; Mickelson does not have a top-10 on the PGA TOUR since the 2020 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T2), a span of 16 starts
  • Entering the week with top-10s in each of his last four starts on the PGA TOUR, Jordan Spieth (T41) cards a 1-over 73; Spieth can become the sixth player to complete the Career Grand Slam with a win this week (major championship titles: 2015 Masters Tournament, 2015 U.S. Open, 2017 The Open Championship)
  • Patrick Cantlay (T41/+1) makes two eagles (Nos. 2, 7) for the second time in a major championship round (first: R4/2012 Masters Tournament); Cantlay leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (4.004) and is 140th in SG: Putting (-2.448)
  • World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson (T97) records a 4-over 76, snapping the longest active streak of rounds in the 60s at the PGA Championship (9)
  • Making his first start since winning his 19th PGA TOUR title at the Wells Fargo Championship, Rory McIlroy (T77) opens with a 3-over 75 at the site of his eight-stroke victory at the 2012 PGA Championship; McIlroy made three bogeys on par 5s (Nos. 16, 2, 7) for the first time in a major championship round
  • Making his major championship debut, John Catlin (T77/+3) was assessed a one-stroke penalty for a breach of the PGA Championship Pace of Play Policy, which was adopted under Rule 5.6b(3); Catlin was assessed the penalty on the par-4 3rd (bogey)
  • Coming off his first PGA TOUR win (Valspar Championship) and a runner-up (AT&T Byron Nelson) in his last two starts on the PGA TOUR, Sam Burns withdrew during the first round due to a back injury

Course Statistics

Toughest Hole                                          Easiest Hole

R1:        Par-3 17th (3.503)                                     Par-5 7th (4.406)

 

Scoring Averages                                                 

                  Front 9                     Back 9                     Total                        Cumulative

R1:            36.858                      37.923                      74.781                      –

 

Bogey-free rounds

R1 (0): None



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