Cam Davis at the pointy end of US PGA Championship leaderboard at five-under with Adam Scott right in the mix
A hot putter has put Aussie Cameron Davis just two shots off the lead after the first round of the US PGA Championship upstaging a number of big names at Quail Hollow.
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Australia’s Cam Davis has held his nerve to upstage some of the biggest names in golf and grab a share of second place after a dramatic opening round of the 107th PGA Championship, the second major of 2025.
The 30-year-old from Sydney got his putter running hot on a day when many of the top players struggled to get going on the slippery greens at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, shooting a five-under-par 66.
Australia’s 2002 British Open winner Cameron Smith had a shocker, making four bogeys and a double in a back-nine 41 to finish at seven-over 78.
After briefly holding the outright lead, Davis ended the first day tied with American Ryan Gerard, with both men two shots behind Venezuela’s 40-year-old veteran Jhonattan Vegas, who stormed home late with birdies on four of his last five holes to lead at seven-under.
Davis, who finished tied for fourth at the 2023 PGA Championship in his best finish at a major, could have been outright second if not for a bogey on his final hole but said he was still thrilled with the way he started the tournament.
“Rolled a lot of putts that went in and kept the momentum going, and I feel like for a major, when you’re playing a difficult golf course, if you can do that, you can keep things moving forward,” he said.
“Very happy with my work today. But it’s still a four-round event. But you can definitely help yourself a lot by having a good first round.”
Australia’s Adam Scott remained in the mix at two-under, despite making his only bogeys of the day at the 16th and 17th holes, part of Quail Hollow’s notorious Green Mile stretch. He finished tied for 20th.
Northern Ireland’s newly crowned Masters champion Rory McIlroy failed to make anything happen on one of his favourite courses and signed for a three-over 74, declining to speak to the media after plummeting to equal 97th and in danger of missing the cut.
McIlroy’s chances of collecting another major this weekend already appear slim as only two players have ever won the PGA Championship after being placed 50th or worse on the leaderboard at the end of the first round.
World number one Scottie Scheffler chipped in for an eagle to get himself back in contention with a two-under 69 despite back-to-back double bogeys when his ball got stuck in the mud, leaving him fuming at the rules preventing him from not being allowed to take a drop.
“I understand it’s part of the game, but there’s nothing more frustrating for a player. You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes,” Scheffler said.
“But I don’t make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules. I did a good job of battling back today and not letting a bad break like that, which cost me a couple shots, get to me. Did a good job battling after that and posting a decent score.”
Elvis Smylie was the next best of the Aussies, posting a round of one-under while Jason Day, the last Aussie to win the PGA Championship a decade ago, shot a 73, one better than Min Woo Lee.
Playing the back nine first, Davis got off to a flyer when he birdied his first hole, the 10th, before handing the shot back with a bogey on the tricky-par 3, 13th.
The 2017 Australian Open champion, Davis then went on a wild streak, making birdies on five of his next nine holes to join Gerard in a share of the lead.
Davis snatched the overall lead after he made a spectacular birdie on the par-3 sixth, his 15th hole, when he drained a 20-foot putt.
He made a great save for par on the seventh after his chip from off the green rolled back down the slope and ended up further away from the hole than where he started but dropped a shot on the last after a wayward drive into the rough.
“At this point in time, I’m just letting it all happen and seeing how it shakes up,” Davis said.
“If you had told me I was leading the tournament after the first round tied for the lead, I would never say anything but positive things about that. Yeah, very cool.”
Davis had no great expectations of shooting a low round but said that approach may have helped him.
“The only way you shoot a good score is by not trying to shoot a really good score but just having a few extra putts drop from 20, 30 feet after good shots to get there,” he said.
“No inklings that a low one was out there when I teed off, when I was teeing off this morning, but at the same time, they are just receptive enough right now that if you hit a good shot you can get it to stop within 15 feet, and there are enough guys out here that are good enough to hit those close.
“I’m not surprised. I’m surprised actually someone didn’t get a really low one today, but at the same time, 5-under is a pretty low score in a major actually, so pretty happy with it.”
Davis snatched the overall lead after he made a spectacular birdie on the par-3 sixth, his 15th hole, when he drained a 20-foot putt.
He made a great save for par on the seventh after his chip from off the green rolled back down the slope and ended up further away from the hole than where he started but dropped a shot on the last after a wayward drive into the rough.
“At this point in time, I’m just letting it all happen and seeing how it shakes up,” Davis said.
“If you had told me I was leading the tournament after the first round tied for the lead, I would never say anything but positive things about that. Yeah, very cool.”
Davis had no great expectations of shooting a low round but said that approach may have helped him.
“The only way you shoot a good score is by not trying to shoot a really good score but just having a few extra putts drop from 20, 30 feet after good shots to get there,” he said.
“No inklings that a low one was out there when I teed off, when I was teeing off this morning, but at the same time, they are just receptive enough right now that if you hit a good shot you can get it to stop within 15 feet, and there are enough guys out here that are good enough to hit those close.
“I’m not surprised. I’m surprised actually someone didn’t get a really low one today, but at the same time, 5-under is a pretty low score in a major actually, so pretty happy with it.”
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