Sizzling Schauffele grabs early lead at PGA Championship

:Xander Schauffele set the early pace in the opening round of the PGA Championship on Thursday, making the turn at Valhalla Golf Club with a sizzling five-under as the Olympic champion looked to atone for a shock loss at the Wells Fargo.

Schauffele, who held a final round two shot lead at Quail Hollow on Sunday before losing by five shots to Rory McIlroy, was a man on a mission in Louisville.

Playing the back nine first, the world number three enjoyed an error free start highlighted by five birdies. He made the turn one clear of Tony Finau, who was on four-under through seven.

Lurking in a group two back is Jordan Spieth, who needs a PGA Championship to complete a career grand slam.

McIlroy, coming off back-to-back PGA Tour wins, carried that momentum into the first round. He rolled in a six-footer for a birdie on his opening hole, the par five 10th, then picked up a second at the 13th to briefly join a crowd at the top of the Valhalla leaderboard.

But the Northern Irishman, who announced on Monday that he had filed for divorce, stalled after the early burst, taking a bogey at the 17th to make the turn at one-under.

Following a brief 10-minute fog delay, play got underway with crowd favourite Michael Block, the club professional who produced a feelgood story at last year's PGA Championship where he finished in a share of 15th place, hitting the first shot.

It was not looking as if Block was going to enjoy another fairytale run this year as the 47-year-old got off to a horrific start, with four bogeys through 14 holes to leave him on five-over.

Defending champion and LIV Golf standard bearer Brooks Koepka, bidding to become the tournament's first repeat winner since he retained the title in 2019, was on even par through nine