PGA Championship 2023: Updated Predictions for Top Prize Money

The opening day of the 2023 PGA Championship delivered some surprises at both ends of the leaderboard.

Bryson DeChambeau is the leader in the clubhouse for the first round that will be completed on Friday morning. Eric Cole has four holes to play to maintain his one-shot advantage on DeChambeau.

A handful of regular major contenders are around Cole and DeChambeau on the leaderboard, like Dustin Johnson and Viktor Hovland, but there is one name that is surprisingly far off the chase for the $2.7 million first-place purse.

Jon Rahm sits in a tie for 117th at six-over entering Friday. The Masters winner has a lot of work to do just to make the cut.

The Spaniard is capable of turning his tournament around and making the weekend, but Oak Hill Country Club presented a ton of challenges for everyone in the field.

The cut line will probably be a few strokes over par. The golfers in a tie for 63rd after the first round sat at three-over. Those scores could move backward if the course continues to play tough.

Bryson DeChambeau Keeps Up Consistency at Oak Hill

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ROCHESTER, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Bryson DeChambeau of The United States plays his tee shot on the par 3, 15th hole during the first round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on May 18, 2023 in Rochester, New York. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

DeChambeau was one of the few golfers who maintained a steady hand during Thursday's opening round.

The 2020 U.S. Open winner rebounded from both of his bogeys with birdies within two holes of dropping shots and played a stellar back nine with three birdies and six pars.

DeChambeau's avoidance of bogeys will be a key factor in him staying at the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend.

The 29-year-old followed a similar strategy when he won his only major title at Winged Foot Golf Club. Oak Hill is set up in a similar fashion, as the shots outside of the fairway are incredibly difficult to make. Bogeys will be made, and the real task to avoid dropping multiple shots on a single hole.

DeChambeau navigated the challenges of Oak Hill well on Thursday, and he should bank on his U.S. Open-winning experience to be in contention to play in one of the PGA Championship's final groups at the weekend.

Jon Rahm Bounces Back

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ROCHESTER, NY - MAY 18: Jon Rahm putts on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on Thursday, May 18, 2023 in Rochester, New York. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images)

The good news for Rahm is his play can't get much worse.

The 2023 Masters champion shot a six-over 76 on Thursday. He wasn't the only big name to struggle, though, as Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jason Day also shot six-over.

Rahm has been the model of consistency at major tournaments over the last few years, so we all just expect him to bounce back on Friday and make the cut.

Rahm's keys for Round 2 should be to avoid the big mistakes, such as the double bogey on the seventh hole that dropped him back to seven-over before he birdied the eighth.

The Spaniard did record two birdies, and he was one-under through the first six holes of his round, but the mistakes piled up as he made the turn.

Rahm needs a mistake-free round to make the cut. He may only need two or three birdies to achieve that feat since the course played difficult for a majority of the competitors.

Only 19 golfers enter Friday with an under-par score, and nine of them sit at one-under. The cut line could drop to four- or five-over if more players struggle on Friday, which would be good news for Rahm.