Scottie Scheffler is not present this week at Quail Hollow. The imminent birth of his child has caused the Texan to skip the sixth designated tournament of the season. A door that opens for the rest of the players who, seeing Scheffler’s level in recent weeks, are sure to appreciate his absence at this Wells Fargo.
Among the rest of the pack, there is a desire to achieve a high-flying victory and, of course, a lot of eagerness to arrive in the best possible form at the PGA Championship which begins in just seven days.
The leader after the first day is a silent wolf who does not make headlines, but is always there, does not open newspapers, but is a more calm and serene specimen that is unlikely to miss his appointment with the head of the tournaments. Xander Schauffele (-7) starts as the outstanding leader of the tournament with a three-stroke advantage over his immediate pursuers, and starts another week, with aspirations to everything at Wells Fargo.
The world number five has seven top tens this season, only Scheffler has more on the circuit. Since the 2022 Masters, the Californian has not missed a cut. Very solid and very consistent, close to his best version.
Xander acknowledged in the preview to be very happy with his game, but that he lacks to finish a perfect week that allows him to achieve a victory that has been resisting him for 22 months. Quail Hollow is an ideal scenario for him, a course that suits the world number five very well. Without needing to go very far, last year he finished second and in the 2022 Presidents Cup he had a great performance.
Today, the player from La Jolla has started his way back to victory with a great round of seven under par. His 64 strokes allow him to match his best start of the season and be the sole leader after an intense first day that also had to be delayed due to bad weather.
In the pack that pursues Schauffele there is an alpha male who enjoys a lot at Quail Hollow, one of his favourite dens. Rory McIlroy (-4) knows what it is to win three times on the Charlotte course and wants to take advantage of the absence of the World Number One to add one more to his record. He’s going to have to fight a lot.
The Northern Irishman arrived in Charlotte intending to confirm the good feelings after his victory in New Orleans and so far it has been, or at least during some stretches. In the world of ‘Rorylandia’ it can be said that the first eight flags have been very positive and even calm, with hardly any mistakes. After two pars out, he signed three consecutive birdies and reached the zenith of his round at the eighth flag with a 16-meter eagle putt that hit the flag and fell round in the hole. Pure Rory.
From that moment on, the round got out of control, especially from the tee. In the last ten holes Rory met again with that version that alternates great shots with avoidable mistakes. Three birdies and three bogeys have been succeeding until in the last flag he has conceded a painful three-putt that has made him drop to -4.
Alongside the Northern Irishman we find another of the great title candidates, Collin Morikawa (-4). who has maintained the great level shown in the Masters and in the Heritage. The Californian has started with a round of 66 strokes that place him third in the table. Five birdies and a solitary bogey on his last flag position him well from the start and with options to everything. Tied with them two appears Alex Noren. One stroke behind and four strokes from the head comes a real bus of nine players tied at -3, among which the presence of Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Jason Day.
The sour note of the day was left by Hideki Matsuyama who had to withdraw from the tournament without even being able to tee off at hole one. A week away from the start of the PGA Championship, back discomfort has prevented the Japanese from being part of the game today.
