Rahm begins PGA Championship bid at frost-hit Oak Hill

ROCHESTER, New York :Masters champion Jon Rahm's bid for the third leg of the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors got underway on Thursday at the PGA Championship where frost delayed the start of the first round by nearly two hours.

Spanish world number one Rahm set off in the ninth group off the 10th tee alongside U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Australian Cameron Smith at sunny Oak Hill with temperatures around 45 Fahrenheit (7.2 Celsius) at the year's second major.

Brooks Koepka, who along with fellow LIV Golf member Phil Mickelson finished joint runner-up at the Masters, was playing three groups ahead in the company of world number two Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland.

That trio was being followed around the course by another high-profile group made up of defending champion Justin Thomas, world number three Rory McIlroy and twice major champion Collin Morikawa.

Thomas matched the largest fourth-round comeback in PGA Championship history last year when he overcome a seven-shot deficit at Southern Hills before emerging as the winner in a three-hole aggregate playoff.

Japan's Kazuki Higa, making his PGA Championship debut, grabbed the early on-course lead with a scorching start that saw him cover his first five holes in four under par.

With early-morning temperatures at 28 Fahrenheit, Oak Hill was left coated in a thin layer of white until mainly sunny skies brought a more familiar look to the course.

Oak Hill has undergone a restoration since it last hosted a PGA Championship in 2013 and this week the par-70 layout will present a challenging tee-to-green test featuring narrow fairways, deep rough and steep-faced bunkers.

Tournament favourite Rahm, who won the 2021 U.S. Open and added a second major title last