PGA Championship 2023 live updates: First round underway at Oak ...

18 May 2023

USA TODAY

PGA Championship 2023 live updates First round underway at Oak

The PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club has begun after a frost delay. Follow along for the latest updates, picks and more from Rochester, N.Y.

After a brief weather delay, the 2023 PGA Championship is underway at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, the fourth time the course has hosted the championship.

Although Tiger Woods is not in the field, some of golf’s biggest names are teeing off Thursday morning, including 16 players from LIV Golf. There are 156 players in the field, and they will play the first two rounds Thursday and Friday in groups of three.

USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest news, updates, analysis and more throughout the day. Follow along.

Kazuki Higa does his best Tiger Woods impression on way to early lead

Kazuki Higa of Japan came out of the gates blazing with four consecutive birdies to take the early lead at the PGA Championship.

Live Leaderboard: PGA Championship Tournament Scores, Schedules, Pairings and More

After just lipping out a birdie putt on No. 10, his first hole of the round, Higa rolled in an 11-footer to go into red figures.

Then, channeling Tiger Woods' iconic shot at Augusta National, the 28-year-old Higa rolled in a long birdie putt on No. 12 that just hung on the lip of the cup for a split second before tumbling in.

The 5-2 Higa continued his hot streak with two more birdies on the 13th and 14th holes.

Higa, No. 99 in the world golf rankings, has played on the Japan Tour since 2017 and he has four career victories. He has made three starts on the PGA Tour this year and missed the cut in two, including the Masters. This is his first PGA Championship appearance.

The first eagle of PGA Championship has landed

Scott Stallings began his round on the 10th hole which, most golf analysts believe, will play as one of the easiest of the week on the East Course. Stallings proved that as he striped a drive down the middle at the 423-yard par-4. With 128 yards left to the flag, Stallings likely hit some type of wedge and he two-hopped it into the hole for an eagle-2.

The 38-year-old is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, the last in 2014. He has said that if he wasn't a professional golfer, he'd be a pediatrician. Stallings has struggled this season as he has no top-10 finishes in 16 starts.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

How to watch PGA Championship 2023

Here is the TV schedule:

Thursday, May 18 and Friday, May 19

7 a.m.-1 p.m.: ESPN+
1 p.m.-7 p.m.: ESPN

The tournament can be livestreamed on:

Is Justin Thomas playing today?

Yes. If he’s going to win a third PGA this week, Thomas has to play the way he did two weekends ago at Quail Hollow which, when it isn’t hosting majors, is the annual home of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Thomas hasn’t won since his victory at Southern Hills and has only four top 10 finishes in the 19 events he has teed it up. But despite a tie for 14th on a course he knows well and has succeeded on, he felt like things were starting to click. Now the trick will be to carry that forward when he begins his PGA defense Thursday.

“I’ve preached this to myself, I’m sure I’ve said it to y’all or I’ve said it to younger guys that ask, but how you learn is failure and negatives, and I feel like I’ve had a great opportunity for a lot of learning the past, whatever, six months, couple months, this year,” he said. “I said it in Charlotte a little bit, I’m starting to see a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Thomas got off to an excellent start with a birdie on his first hole of the day.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Opening of practice facilities, golf course pushed back due to frost

All practice facilities and the golf course at Oak Hill Country Club were temporarily closed Thursday morning because of frost. To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site was required to stay off any grass.

The practice range opened at 7:35 a.m. and the putting green at 7:45, pushing starting times back by a total of one hour and 50 minutes.

Round 1 tee times begin at 8:50 a.m. on the first tee and 8:55 a.m. on the 10th tee.

Temperatures are supposed to rise into the mid-60s by early afternoon under sunny skies and light winds.

GALLERY: 10 beautiful photos of frost-covered Oak Hill

Jordan Spieth injury update

“How are you feeling, Jordan?” a spectator shouted with genuine concern to Jordan Spieth from behind the rope lining the right side of the 13th fairway at Oak Hill on Tuesday as Spieth sauntered to his ball.

“I feel good,” Spieth said imitating the deep baritone of James Brown.

But does Spieth, who withdrew from last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson, his hometown event, citing a left wrist injury, really feel so good, as the soul singer Brown would say? That we don’t know because when a reporter asked to speak to him about his injury, he declined and said, “But thanks for your concern.”

Spieth, ranked No. 10 in the world, is bidding to complete the career Grand Slam this week by winning the PGA Championship. It marks his seventh attempt since winning the 2017 British Open for his third major title.

— Adam Schupak, Golfweek

Map of Oak Hill Country Club

Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course is regarded as one of top golf courses in America. It's also one of the most challenging. The East Course is built around part of Allen Creek, which weaves a hazard through half of the holes. The par-70 course plays 7.394 yards. Here's a hole-by-hole bird's-eye view.

Hole by hole distances and par

No. 1, 460 yards, par 4
No. 2, 405 yards, par 4
No. 3, 230 yards, par 3
No. 4, 615 yards, par 5
No. 5, 180 yards, par 3
No. 6, 503 yards, par 4
No. 7, 461 yards, par 4
No. 8, 429 yards, par 4
No. 9, 482 yards, par 4
No. 10, 430 yards, par 4
No. 11, 245 yards, par 3
No. 12, 399 yards, par 4
No. 13, 623 yards, par 5
No. 14, 320 yards, par 4
No. 15, 155 yards, par 3
No. 16, 458 yards, par 4
No. 17, 502 yards, par 4
No. 18, 497 yards, par 4

— Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Who are the PGA Championship announcers?

ESPN: Scott Van Pelt will anchor live coverage on ESPN and ESPN+ and will be joined for analysis by former world No. 1 golfer David Duvall. Hole announcers are Curtis Strange, Bob Wischusen and David Fleming. On-course reporters will be Andy North, Billy Kratzert, Suzy Whaley, Ken Brown and John Maginnes.

CBS: Jim Nantz will host the network's coverage from the 18th tower for the 33rd straight year and will be joined by analyst Trevor Immelman. Hole announcers are Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo. On-course reporters will be Dottie Pepper, Colt Knost and Mark Immelman. Amanda Renner will provide reports and conduct interviews.

— Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Updated PGA Championship tee times, groupings for Thursday

Half the field will start at No. 1, the other half on No. 10, and they will switch for the second round. The morning tee times were scheduled to begin at 7 a.m., but play was delayed for an hour and 50 minutes due to early-morning frost.

The afternoon tee times that were supposed to start at 12:30 p.m. are being pushed back as well. Here are the updated tee times for Thursday's opening round:

1st tee
- 8:50 a.m.: Shaun Micheel, Braden Shattuck, Steven Alker
- 9:01 a.m.: Ben Griffin, Chris French, Joel Dahmen
- 9:12 a.m.: Wyatt Worthington II, Nico Echavarria, Wyndham Clark
- 9:23 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Ryan Fox, K.H. Lee
- 9:34 a.m.: Paul Casey, Adam Svensson, Beau Hossler
- 9:45 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala
- 9:56 a.m.: Corey Conners, Ockie Strydom, Joaquin Niemann
- 10:07 a.m.: Kevin Kisner, Jimmy Walker, Padraig Harrington
- 10:18 a.m.: Alex Noren, J.T. Poston, Mackenzie Hughes
- 10:29 a.m.: Lee Hodges, Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth
- 10:40 a.m.: Taylor Moore, Denny McCarthy, Brendan Steele
- 10:51 a.m.: Jeremy Wells, Justin Suh, Adri Arnaus
- 11:02 a.m.: Anthony Cordes, Mark Hubbard, Dean Burmester
- 2:20 p.m.: Matt Cahill, Taylor Montgomery, Cam Davis
- 2:31 p.m.: Michael Block, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Pendrith
- 2:42 p.m.: Alex Beach, Brendon Todd, Sihwan Kim
- 2:53 p.m.: Patrick Reed, Rasmus Hojgaard, Nick Taylor
- 3:04 p.m.: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, John Somers, Chez Reavie
- 3:15 p.m.: Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young, Hideki Matsuyama
- 3:26 p.m.: Adam Scott, Max Homa, Tony Finau
- 3:37 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson
- 3:48 p.m.: Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson
- 3:59 p.m.: Alex Smalley, Russell Henley, Mito Pereira
- 4:10 p.m.: Adam Hadwin, Matt Kuchar, Talor Gooch
- 4:21 p.m.: Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Francesco Molinari
- 4:32 p.m.: Russell Grove, Patrick Rodgers, Ben Taylor
10th tee
- 8:55 a.m.: Trey Mullinax, Josh Speight, Kazuki Higa
- 9:06 a.m.: Adam Schenk, Colin Inglis, Thriston Lawrence
- 9:17 a.m.: Min Woo Lee, Andrew Putnam, Emiliano Grillo
- 9:28 a.m.: Harold Varner III, Scott Stallings, Nicolai Hojgaard
- 9:39 a.m.: Steve Holmes, Adrian Otaegui, Davis Riley
- 9:50 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland
- 10:01 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa
- 10:12 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland
- 10:23 a.m.: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm
- 10:34 a.m.: Luke Donald, Adrian Meronk, Yannik Paul
- 10:45 a.m.: Kenny Pigman, Davis Thompson, Maverick McNealy
- 10:56 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau
- 11:07 a.m.: Jesse Droemer, Matt NeSmith, Rikuya Hoshino
- 2:15 p.m.: Sam Ryder, Gabe Reynolds, Brandon Wu
- 2:26 p.m.: Sadom Kaewkanjana, Ben Kern, Thorbjorn Olesen
- 2:37 p.m.: Webb Simpson, Y.E. Yang, Danny Willett
- 2:48 p.m.: Sepp Straka, Harris English, Robert Macintyre
- 2:59 p.m.: Thomas Pieters, Keith Mitchell, Pablo Larrazabal
- 3:10 p.m.: Lucas Herbert, Brian Harman, Callum Shinkwin
- 3:21 p.m.: Tom Kim, Sam Burns, Abraham Ancer
- 3:32 p.m.: Sungjae Im, Chris Kirk. Seamus Power
- 3:43 p.m.: Si Woo Kim, Stephan Jaeger, Anirban Lahiri
- 3:54 p.m.: Victor Perez, Aaron Wise, Jordan Smith
- 4:05 p.m.: Chris Sanger, J.J. Spaun, David Micheluzzi
- 4:16 p.m.: Thomas Detry, J.J. Killeen, Matt Wallace
- 4:27 p.m.: Nick Hardy, Greg Koch, Eric Cole

Who will win the PGA Championship 2023?

Justin Thomas is the defending champion, but Jon Rahm enters the week as one of the betting favorites (+750). The Spaniard has amassed four wins already this season including the Masters in April — his second major championship victory.

However, it’s Scottie Scheffler on top of the betting odds list, sitting at +700. He tied for fifth at last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson and grabbed a T-10 finish at Augusta National.

At double Scheffler’s odds is McIlroy (+1400), who is going through a bit of a funk. In his last three stroke-play events, the Northern Irishman has missed the cut at the Players and Masters, and tied for 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

PGA Championship dark horse picks 2023

Although the field is littered with stars from both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League, there are several names further down the odds list worth keeping an eye on.

Here are five sleeper picks for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill: Tommy Fleetwood (60/1), Rickie Fowler (60/1), Adam Scott (80/1), Shane Lowry (90/1), Gary Woodland (90/1).

— Riley Hamel, Golfweek

Rory McIlroy at Oak Hill in Rochester

Rory McIlroy stopped short of saying he has the home course advantage this week for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, especially when you consider he actually hasn’t played the East Course since its renovation.

“It’s not as if I have a ton of local knowledge here compared to everyone else,” McIlroy said Tuesday before heading out to play a practice round to get familiarized with the changes. “The last two days are the most I’ve really seen of this golf course over the last couple years.”

He may not have much of an advantage regarding the subtleties of the course or the best way to negotiate the daunting challenge of the East Course, but McIlroy will likely be the darling of the massive galleries.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Oak Hill Country Club designer

A voluminous renovation has been ongoing for several years at Oak Hill, and the goal of renowned golf course architect Andrew Green was to restore the East Course as close as possible to the original design Donald Ross created nearly a century ago.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Purse for PGA Championship 2023

There will be $15 million in prize money awarded. The winner will take home $2.7 million.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Who's missing at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill?

Will Zalatoris, who is ranked No. 9 in the world, is the only player in the top 100 not at Oak Hill as his season ended due to back surgery.

Jordan Spieth, No. 10 in the world, is battling a wrist injury which forced him to withdraw last week from the AT&T Byron Nelson. He practiced Tuesday, but it’s possible he might have to pull out. If he plays, he’ll start Thursday at 8:22 a.m. on No. 10 with Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry.

— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

LIV Golfers at the PGA Championship

The LIV Golf contingent has a stout record in the PGA. The 17 players in the field have combined for 32 top-10 finishes and have made 100 of 131 cuts (76.3 percent).

Englishman Paul Casey announced Wednesday that he's withdrawing from the tournament due to injury, leaving 16 LIV golfers in the field. Previously, fellow LIV golfer Martin Kaymer pulled out as well.

Abraham Ancer: Best finish, T8 in 2021; four of four cuts made.
Dean Burmester: First appearance.
~~Paul Casey: Best finish, T2 in 2020; 13 of 19 cuts made.~~
Bryson DeChambeau: Best finish, T4 in 2020, three of five cuts made.
Talor Gooch: Best finish, T20 in 2022; two of three cuts made.
Dustin Johnson: Best finish, Solo second in 2019, nine of 13 cuts made.
Sihwan Kim: First appearance.
Brooks Koepka: Best finish, won in 2018 and 2019; 10 of 10 cuts made.
Anirbarn Lahiri: Best finish, T5 in 2015; two of six cuts made.
Phil Mickelson: Best finish, won in 2005 and 2021; 26 of 29 cuts made.
Joaquin Niemann: Best finish, T23 in 2022; three of five cuts made.
Mito Pereira: Best finish, T2 in 2022; one of one cuts made.
Thomas Pieters: Best finish, T6 in 2018; six of seven cuts made.
Patrick Reed: Best finish, T2 in 2017; seven of nine cuts made.
Cameron Smith: Best finish, T13, 2022; six of seven cuts made.
Brendan Steele: Best finish, T9 in 2022; six of nine cuts made
Harold Varner III: Best finish, T29 in 2020; four of five cuts made.

— Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union

Is Tiger Woods playing in the PGA Championship 2023?

No. Woods had to withdraw from the Masters due to an ankle injury which later required surgery, likely ending his 2023 season.

PGA Championship merch at Oak Hill

Here is a first look at some of the items available at the Merchandise Center located by the main entrance at the 2023 PGA Championship which is being held at the Oak Hill Country Club.

PGA Championship 2023 odds

Here are the odds: