Looking ahead to the rest of the 2025 PGA Championship - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a day when many of golf's biggest stars struggled in the opening round of the PGA Championship, some of the sport's not-so-familiar names littered the top of the leaderboard Thursday at Quail Hollow Club.

As if the day wasn't strange enough, Jhonattan Vegas, who last made the cut at a major when he tied for 57th at the 2021 U.S. Open, carded birdies on five of his last six holes to post a 7-under 64 that gave him a two-stroke lead.

Vegas, who was playing with Australia's Elvis Smylie, is the first player from Venezuela to have the lead or co-lead after the first round of the major.

«It feels amazing,» Vegas said. «It's what we dream of.»

Ryan Gerard and Cam Davis were tied for second at 5 under, and European Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald was among five golfers at 4 under.

Can it get any stranger at Quail Hollow on Friday? Here's what to watch for in the second round.

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Mark Schlabach: If not for a couple of mud balls on the par-4 16th on Thursday, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele might have been right in the mix after 18 holes. Neither of them played their best in the first round, but Scheffler hung in enough to post a 2-under 69. Schauffele was 1 over after 18 holes.

Scheffler wasn't happy about the conditions, especially after a mud ball contributed to his double-bogey 6 on the 16th. Schauffele hit nearly the same shot, and Rory McIlroy also made a mess of the long par 4.

«Overall, I did a good job battling and keeping a level head out there during a day [in] which there [were] definitely some challenging aspects to the course,» Scheffler said. «I did a good job posting a number on a day where I didn't have my best stuff.»

McIlroy was a