PGA Championship Leaderboard 2025 Review of Top Scorecards and Player Stats on Day 1

The PGA Championship leaderboard is chock full of surprises after one round at Quail Hollow Club.

Jhonattan Vegas emerged as the surprise first-round leader from one of the last groups to tee off on Thursday. The Colombian rolled in five birdies on his last six holes to reach seven-under.

Prior to Vegas' run of birdies, Cam Davis and Ryan Gerard were the unexpected pair of leaders at five-under.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who hasn't played much in 2025, is one of the many players sitting at four-under.

Most of the notable names in the field struggled, including Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who shot a three-over 74.

Scottie Scheffler is one of the most notable names under par at two-under, but even he dealt with his share of struggles on Thursday.

PGA Championship Leaderboard

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Jhonattan Vegas (-7)

Cam Davis (-5)

Ryan Gerard (-5)

Luke Donald (-4)

Ryan Fox (-4)

Alex Smalley (-4)

Stephan Jaeger (-4)

Aaron Rai (-4)

Full leaderboard can be found on PGATour.com.

Jhonattan Vegas Emerges as Surprise First Round Leader

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Jhonattan Vegas produced the one of the best stretches you'll ever see to close out the early round of a major.

The Venezuelan mastered Quail Hollow's front nine with five birdies on his final six holes to take a two-shot lead into Friday.

Vegas rolled in nine birdies in total on Thursday, but two of them were negated by a pair of bogeys on the back nine.

Vegas began his run of birdies after three pars on holes Nos. 1-3.

The 40-year-old barely been a a fixture on weekends at majors, let alone the top part of the leaderboard.

His first-round lead is a total surprise, but given his lackluster major track record, it's hard to imagine he stays in this position even by the end of the second round.

Rory McIlroy Struggles in First Major Round After Masters Win

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Rory McIlroy had a rough go around Quail Hollow in his first major round after his Masters triumph.

McIlroy carded three bogeys and had a disastrous double bogey at No. 16 at a course where he won four times on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy only managed to record two birdies, both of which came on his first nine holes.

The Masters champion stabilized his round on the front nine, where he rolled in seven pars, but the lack of birdies on his second nine holes set him back well behind the leaders.

McIlroy is currently eight shots back of the leaders, and by the time he hits the course on Friday afternoon, he might have to fight to make the cut.

Scottie Scheffler Rebounds on Second Nine

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Scottie Scheffler was more fortunate on his second nine than McIlroy did from the same threesome.

Scheffler rolled in three birdies on the front nine to rebound from an up-and-down back nine to reach four-under.

Scheffler started his round with an eagle, birdie, bogey and double bogey in his opening seven holes.

The two-time major champion turned his round around with three pars on the 17th, 18th and first holes.

He then found his stride on the front nine with three birdies. He did drop one shot back with a bogey on the third, but he fared so much better than McIlroy on the front nine.

Scheffler is only three shots back of the leaders entering Friday, and given all the unknown players at the top, he can be viewed as the PGA Championship favorite in his current position.