PGA Championship 2013: What to Expect from Golf's Biggest Superstars on Day 1

The final major championship of the season is finally here.

The best golfers in the world will tee off from Oak Hill Country Club on Thursday looking to aid their chances of winning the PGA Championship with a good start to the week. While leading the field after the first day isn’t essential to being victorious on Sunday afternoon, it certainly helps the cause.

Rory McIlroy is the defending champion, and he played very well at Kiawah Island in the first round a year ago. There, the eventual winner shot five under and was just one stroke off the lead—held by Carl Pettersson at six under—entering the second round of action. It was tied for the second-best round he had all week.

This year’s champion needs to be within a few shots of the leader to make things easier in the later rounds of the championship. But how are those expected to be in the hunt going to play on Thursday from Oak Hill?

Here’s a look at what to expect from some of the top golfers in the world on Thursday, as we look back on how they did in the first round at the three major championships earlier this season.

Tiger Woods

If Tiger Woods is going to win his fifth career PGA Championship and 15th major tournament, it’ll likely be because he played well on Thursday. In the three major championships this year, Tiger has played best in the first round—albeit it’s by less than a stroke and he’s yet to win any of those tournaments.

When Tiger took the course at Augusta, he put together his strongest round of the tournament on Thursday, shooting a two-under 70. He would play just as well in the third and fourth rounds as well. He wasn’t as good when the U.S. Open commenced, though, but that could’ve been due to an elbow injury.

Tiger shot three over in the first round at Merion. He played better in the second round—shooting even par—but the weekend was a disaster and he had no chance at coming away with a victory. He turned things around at the Open Championship, shooting two under on Thursday, two strokes better than in any other round.

Tiger is coming off a big win at the Bridgestone Invitational, and his confidence will likely be through the roof once he steps on to the opening tee at Oak Hill. As long as he stays composed throughout the round, he should play well. In reality, it’s the weekend he needs to worry about; he’ll likely be fine in the first two rounds.

Henrik Stenson

Henrik Stenson is one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour without a major championship on his resume. He’s finished in the top 25 in all three majors this season, including a second-place finish at the Open Championship. He hasn’t played the PGA Championship the last two years and missed the cut in 2010.

When Stenson finished in second a few weeks ago in Scotland, he shot one under in three rounds, including the first. His third round was the one that hurt his chances of coming away with a victory, as he shot three over. He didn’t play so well on Thursday in the other two majors of the year, though.

At the Masters, Stenson was horrible on Thursday, as he shot three over. It was the worst score for him throughout the championship by a pair of strokes. He posted his second-worst score of the U.S. Open in the first round as well. Through three major championships this year, Stenson hasn't usually shot a low score on Thursday.

His first-round average is the second worst of the four rounds at championships. That doesn’t bode well entering Oak Hill, which is one of the tougher courses in the world. A couple of early bogeys could likely demolish all hope for the Swede. Stenson needs a strong start in order to aid his chances at winning come Sunday.

Adam Scott

Adam Scott will be looking to win the second major of his career and of the season this week at Oak Hill. Scott won the Masters earlier in the year and was nearly victorious at the Open Championship just a few weeks ago. In Scotland, he finished four strokes behind Phil Mickelson for third place.

Scott has been sharp in the opening round at majors throughout the year. In fact, it’s tied for his best of the four rounds with the third. He shot a first-round 69 at the Masters—he shot the same score in the third and fourth rounds and three strokes worse in the second round.

The Masters champion didn’t play well at the U.S. Open, finishing tied for 45th. But even though he wasn’t impressive overall, his first-round score was still the lowest of the tournament for him (72). He posted his second-lowest score at the Open Championship during the first round (71)—playing a stroke better in the third.

On Thursday, expect to see Scott’s best—or close to it. He’ll likely thrive on the par fives, as he's made birdie or better on them 50.76 percent of the time this season—sixth-best on the PGA Tour. Scott may not end up winning the major championship, but he’ll be among the leaders after the first round of action from Oak Hill.

All statistics in this article were obtained via PGATour.com unless otherwise noted.