JIMMY’S DAY
Walker’s in lead at PGA, stars trailing
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — A half hour after sunrise and two minutes following the first tee shot on the opening hole of the 98th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on Thursday, Jason Day, defending champion, pulled into his reserved parking space by the clubhouse. It was granted to him as a past winner and marked as such with a sign, but he maintained that the Wanamaker Trophy awarded him at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin a year ago was now in his rearview. He relished an opportunity to dine with fellow champions on Tuesday, but readied to pivot to daily duties.
“I don’t want that to be the last one I have,” he said.
Day has work to do if he wants to collect a title this weekend despite finishing with a 2-under 68. Jimmy Walker, an Okie by birth and Texan by choice, fired off a 5-under 65 in Round 1 to shoot atop the PGA leaderboard with six birdies and one bogey in Round 1. Done around noon, Walker watched as the mercury rose in on-course thermometers, wind picked up and everyone from Day to Jordan Spieth (70) failed to match his mark.
“I haven’t started off a tournament with a low round in quite a while, which is a bit of a bummer,” Spieth said. “The same this week. I had plenty of chances early to get to three, four under. But I’m only five back.”
Walker, ranked No. 48 in the world, took the lead in stride. He welcomed the idea of joining Danny Willett (Masters), Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open) and Henrik Stenson (British Open) as first-time major winners this season. His closest counterparts — Emiliano Grillo, Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer — are one shot behind at 4-under. Of the three major champs on hand, Stenson (3-under 67) is the best position at three under.
“Three first-time Major winners this year, I don’t think it’s coincidence or anything,” Walker said. “They are all good players and it was just a matter of time. So just keep that rolling.”
Day, who is tied for ninth, drove the ball well in making his performance look easy, but Walker displayed a full game. He birdied the first hole, bogeyed the sixth and buried another birdie on the seventh. He added four more birdies on the back nine, finding his way onto fairways and putting better than he had all year. It was an inspired performance for a player who described his recent rounds of even-par play as “real stale and stagnant” that left him with finishes in the 20s. He missed the cut at both the U.S. and British Opens. “Just haven’t been scoring,” he said. “Haven’t been making the 10 to 15, 18-footers you need to start running up the leaderboard and to have high finishes.”
No major winner from this year struggled as much as Johnson, who fired a stunning 7-over-par 77. He double bogeyed the third and 11th holes and bogeyed three others. His lone birdie at No. 9 offered a moment of relief, but he completed his round with another bogey at 18 to put him seven over par. He did not stop to answer questions after his round.
High temperatures proved to be a hurdle as temperatures topped 90 degrees before cooling down with the wind and rain. Caddies kept bottles of water at the ready for contestants, and Rory McIlroy (74), who finished nine back, returned in the evening to practice putting because he wanted to stay out of the heat once he was done playing. Night fell as he dropped balls into the holes on the practice green. He then carried his putter in his right hand and the keys to his silver courtesy SUV in the left. He was parked in the space reserved for him as a two-time PGA champion.
Asked how he was feeling after the session, he smiled. “Better,” he said.