PGA Championship 2013 Leaderboard: Latest Scores from Oak Hill

Oh, what a day it’s been at the PGA Championship.

Oak Hill Country Club has played soft thus far, but many top golfers are still having trouble taking advantage of the opportunities handed to them. Part of the problem for many has been positioning. If a player hits a ball just a little too hard, he could end up writing a bogey on his scorecard instead of a birdie.

Positioning didn’t seem to be a big issue for Jim Furyk, who’s the clubhouse leader at this point of the opening round of the major championship. Furyk shot five under on Thursday to get off to a great start as he seeks a second major victory this week in Rochester and his first since the 2003 U.S. Open.

Furyk played beautifully to start his day, teeing off on the 10th hole. There, he made birdie en route to a clean back nine. At the turn, he was already three-under par and just getting started. He birdied the first hole and was flawless on the front nine until he reached the ninth. The final hole of his round was his lone bogey on the day.

The American finished tied for 25th at the Masters, but was cut at the U.S. Open and the Open Championship earlier this year. Having a good start at Oak Hill could go a long way toward his chances of winning the championship on Sunday.

Aside from Furyk’s impressive opening round, here are some other scores from New York.

Tiger Starts Hot, Finishes Cold

If your hopes were high after Tiger Woods made the turn at two under, join the club. It looked as if Woods was going to be able to replicate the success he had at the Bridgestone Invitational last week at Oak Hill on Thursday.

He played a perfect back nine to start his day, but then fell apart on the final nine of his round.

Tiger really didn’t look so hot on the front nine, even though he only shot worse than par on a pair of holes. He failed to make birdie or better on the par-five fourth—one of two par-fives on the course—as he bogeyed the hole. He didn’t end his day well either, making double bogey on the ninth to finish at one over.

Woods is seeking the fifth PGA Championship and the 15th major of his career this week in New York. If he’s going to win at Oak Hill, he’s going to need to turn things around come Friday. He can’t afford to have as many poor shots as he did on Thursday if he is to come close to finishing toward the top of the leaderboard.

Bradley Shoots An Inconsistent One-Under

Playing alongside Tiger Woods brings a lot of pressure, but Keegan Bradley was more composed than he usually is on Thursday. He didn’t get off to a good start, however, as he bogeyed the opening hole. He would get back to even par with a birdie on the par-three 15th, but was back over after a bogey on No. 16.

Bradley played much better as the round went on, as he was two under on the front nine. He birdied the first hole and after a bogey on the par-three third, he birdied back-to-back holes to get to one under for the day. He made par on the final four holes to enter the clubhouse in good shape heading into Friday.

If anyone is going to be a contender at Oak Hill, the last two years would suggest it’s going to be Bradley. He won the PGA Championship two years ago at Atlanta Athletic Club and finished tied for third a year ago at Kiawah Island. He finished tied for second last week at the Bridgestone and could be among the leaders this week, too.

Watch Out for Hearn

If David Hearn could’ve started on the second hole and finished on the 17th, he’d likely be the leader right now. Instead, he’s a shot back of Furyk for the championship lead. Hearn played the first hole of the course poorly, as he started his round with a bogey. He was great from there, though.

Hearn made three birdies after his bogey start to make the turn at two under. He made a smooth transition to the back nine, birdieing the 10th and 11th holes. He made par on the next four holes and then got to five under with a birdie on the 16th. He failed to stay at five under, though, as he bogeyed No. 18.

Hearn isn’t one of the more notable players on the PGA Tour, which is why it’s somewhat surprising he played so well on Thursday. This is only the fourth major tournament he’s ever played in and his first appearance at the PGA Championship. It will be interesting to see where he is on the leaderboard entering the weekend.

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