McIlroy and Schauffele make birdie starts at PGA Championship

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina :Masters champion Rory McIlroy began the PGA Championship with a birdie on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club where he was playing alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in a group featuring the world's top three players.

The trio all had birdie putts at their opening hole, the par-five 10th, where McIlroy sank his from 10 feet, defending champion Schauffele rolled his in from five feet while Scheffler settled for par after his birdie attempt slid wide of the cup.

McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at last month's Masters, showed up at the 10th hole wearing a dark green polo shirt and just missed the fairway with his tee shot and left his second shot in the rough to the left of the green.

The Northern Irishman is attempting to start 2025 by winning the first two major championships of the year, something only five golfers have done over the last 70 years.

Quail Hollow is a happy hunting ground for McIlroy, who won the PGA Tour's regular stop here for a record-extending fourth time last year and set the course record in 2015.

New Zealand's Ryan Fox was the early on-course leader after going three under over his first six holes.

The early starters were greeted with sunny skies and soggy fairways, a remnant of the rain that hammered the course earlier in the week and limited the amount of practice players were able to get in ahead of the year's second major.

Despite the wet conditions, the PGA of America announced late on Wednesday that there was no plan to play with preferred lies, which allows players to lift, clean, and replace their balls within designated areas.

Jordan Spieth, making his ninth attempt at securing a career Grand Slam, and Justin Thomas, who won the first of his two PGA