The first day of the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club is in the books, and a familiar name (but not anyone you probably hoped it would be) is on top: 44-year-old Steve Stricker.
PGA Championship 2011: Final Day 1 Leaderboard Update
Stricker tied the single-round major championship scoring record with a 7-under 63, and he’s two up on second-place Jerry Kelly (-5). Rounding out the top-10 are Shawn Micheel (-4), Scott Verplank (-3), and an eight-way tie at -2 between Brendon De Jonge, Matteo Mannassero, Davis Love III, John Senden, Bill Haas, Brandt Jobe, Anders Hanson and Simon Dyson.
There are a lot of old, familiar names in the mix, and a lot of young, strange ones (Anders? Really?), but other than Stricker, who’s No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, none of these guys figure to challenge for the championship come Sunday afternoon.
Other notables who are in contention: Stevie Williams Adam Scott, Stewart Cink and Trevor Immelman at -1, Rory McIlroy, K.J. Choi, Luke Donald, and Camilo Villegas at even par, and Phil Mickelson at +1.
The big story of the day was obviously noted golf enthusiast Tiger Woods’ +7 opening round, but it’s not all bad for Tiger — he’s tied with John Daly. Tiger was “angry” with himself after the round, and he should be; nobody likes the chin beard, man.
Other notable cellar-dwellers: Bubba Watson, Ernie Els, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter are all at +4, Dustin Johnson and Geoff Ogilvy are at +5, British Open champion Darren Clark at +8, Lucas Glover’s beard at +10, and Japanese wunderkind bringin’ up the rear at +15.
You can see the full PGA Championship Leaderboard here, and follow this storystream for updates throughout the day Friday on Round 2 from Atlanta Athletic Club.
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