Aussie’s top Day at office in PGA

AUSTRALIAN star Jason Day shot a bogey-free five-underpar 65 to take a share of the lead after yesterday’s opening round of the PGA Championship, the first major of the pandemic-interrupted season.

The 2015 PGA champion, Day, pictured, rolled in five birdies for a one-shot cushion with co-leader Brendon Todd atop a star-studded crowded leaderboard at the TPC Harding Park course in San Francisco.

Day and Todd are just edging out a group of nine players that includes four major champions, including twotime defending PGA champ Brooks Koepka and Germany’s Martin Kaymer. The other former major winners are American Zach Johnson and England’s Justin Rose.

Xander Schauffele, Bud Cauley, Scottie Scheffler, France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Brendan Steele are also at four-under 66.

The first PGA Championship on the US west coast since 1988 is being contested without spectators after the season was shut down for three months because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

But the relatively muted atmosphere proved no hindrance to Day, who is coming off a string of top-10 finishes.

“I feel like the momentum that I’ve had over the last three starts has kind of seeped into this week,” Day said.

“The funny thing is that every day I’m excited to go back to the golf course and play, whereas before I was struggling to get up and going.

“The game is slowly coming around, the confidence is coming around because I’m starting to see the results.”

Todd, who already has two PGA Tour wins this season, had eight birdies.

“I did a great job just scraping it around and giving myself a chance to shoot a good nine coming in,” Todd said of his five-under round.

Reigning Masters champ Tiger Woods showed why it is never wise to count him out of a major, shooting a solid 68 to join another large group of players at two-under, three shots behind the leaders.