PGA Championship 2014: Leaderboard, live updates, scores from Thursday’s round at Valhalla

TNT has broadcast rights to the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. The broadcast ran nearly an hour long on Thursday, which interrupted the usual syndicated program schedule. Viewers were not too pleased about it and took their dissatisfaction to Twitter:

Supernatural, Castle and Bones fans weren’t the only ones upset with the coverage. Golf fans were too fond of TNT’s broadcast either.

Rory McIlroy proved he was indeed human, with a rough two-hole stretch during the first round of the PGA Championship. His response proved he was worthy of that newly acquired No. 1 ranking. McIlroy shredded the final seven holes of the back nine and came in with a 5-under round of 66.

At 5-under, McIlroy is one shot off the lead. He could easily be the clubhouse leader had he not run into some trouble after making the turn. McIlroy played a clean front nine and made the turn at 3-under, but that’s when things temporarily fell apart. The par-5 10th hole is playing as one of the easier holes on the course and a definite birdie opportunity. McIlroy appeared to be in prime position to go for the green in two following an excellent tee shot. He squandered that opportunity when he hooked his second shot well out of bounds.

Jason Dufner, struggling with arthritis and bulging disks in his neck, finally called it quits midway through Thursday’s opening round of his PGA Championship defense.

Dufner, the second likely member of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup to withdraw from this week’s final major of the season after back spasms forced Matt Kuchar out before he had even teed off, arrived at Valhalla with a sore neck and a long shot to go back-to-back in the PGA.

We’ve already seen the likely putt of the tournament, now there is a very strong leader in the clubhouse for the sigh of the tournament.

Ryan Palmer is playing very well and is tied for the lead. That didn’t prohibit him from letting out this exasperated sigh following a bad shot.

It was all going so well for Rory McIlroy, who made the turn inside the top 10 with a steady 3-under 35 to start his PGA Championship.

Then things came undone at the par-5 10th hole, which measures about 595 yards and is not really a two-shot hole. We’ve seen a few guys get up near the front of the green, and Rory went for it by ripping a fairway wood. But he went right ahead and ripped it off the entire golf course.

Rory McIlroy ran away from most of the field in the last two events he played. The newly-minted No. 1 in the world hasn’t pulled away from the entire field just yet, but he’s off to another very good start. McIlroy made the turn at 3-under and is working his way up the leaderboard.

McIlroy’s has been in impeccable form recently, playing well from tee-to-green. That continued during his first nine holes on Thursday where he was steady as usual. McIlroy has been especially solid with his putter recently and casually rolled in a birdie putt at No. 4 to move into the red.

This is one way to start a major championship if you’re one of the 20 unknown and untested PGA of America club pros.

Johan Kok started his PGA Championship on the 10th hole, a 595-yard par-5, and managed to bomb his approach shot to the front edge of the green. It’s really not an eagle or two-shot hole for just about everyone in the field, but Kok was at least in the vicinity of the putting surface.

Bubba Watson is one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour. When that’s going right, it means booming drives down the fairway. When it goes wrong, however, it means shots that go way offline. The latter happened on No. 2 at Valhalla when Watson hit his tee shot deep into the woods.

His ball nestled next to a bush and being a lefthander, that mean Watson had to take a stance inside the bush for his second shot.

John Daly, if recent history is any indication, probably won’t make the cut at this week’s PGA Championship, but his sartorially splendid pink checkered Loudmouth pants made their usual flashy entrance.

Daly, whose trousers enjoyed the long-drive contest far more than Bubba Watson did, started out with five bogeys in his first six holes but two birdies on the back nine had him tied with Tiger Woods at 3-over for the day. The two former PGA champs shared a laugh in the parking lot -- sight of Tiger’s spectacular, if potentially short-lived, return to competitive golf on Wednesday -- before each drove away.

Following days of speculation on whether he would even play in the tournament due to a back injury, Tiger Woods did indeed tee it up for the first round of the 2014 PGA Championship. He may not be around for long, however, following a 3-over round of 74 on Thursday. Woods wasn’t sharp, especially off the tee, and will now have ground to make up on Friday if he’s going to make the cut, let alone contend.

Woods didn’t get much practice time. He arrived in Louisville on Wednesday and played a nine-hole round with Steve Stricker. Woods only played the front nine, so when he stepped to the 10th tee to begin his round on Thursday, it was the first time he’d hit a tee shot on that hole this week. The lack of practice was evident. Woods struggled off the tee, leading to plenty of frustration, including at No. 11, where he had a few choice words for himself after hitting it into the hazard off the tee.

Tiger Woods, in the most chronicled practice round of his career and the Ryder Cup looming in September, may have had motives Wednesday at Valhalla beyond gauging his fitness for this week’s major tilt.

With his chances of making the Gleneagles team on his own merits looking dim -- especially after getting off to an extremely shaggy start to his PGA Championship (1-over at the turn) -- Woods hit the course for his first public swings since his withdrawal Sunday at Firestone with two guys who may have some sway with U.S. captain Tom Watson.

Bubba Watson’s childish ranting about the PGA Championship’s revived long-drive contest did not fall on deaf ears, as PGA president Ted Bishop on Wednesday took the whiny Masters champion to task for opting out of an event that was fun for everyone but baby Bubba.

Watson, during his Tuesday press conference, went off on one of his Bubba toots about why he -- the longest driver on the PGA Tour and, for some unfathomable reason, still a fan favorite -- vehemently opposed participating in an exhibition at which he would likely have excelled.

A stunningly beautiful image from the driving range at Valhalla this morning.

Please play well, it would be great to have you around for the weekend.

Tiger Woods is playing about as well as we could have expected, dropping two shots in his first five holes to fall four shots off the lead. There have been no signs that Tiger is in pain, or struggling with his back, but his swing and his game are just not sharp. It was this way before Sunday’s back injury, and it was only going to get worse with no practice all week.

Tiger’s first hole started well enough. He went off No. 10, a par-5 that will play as a three-shot hole for pretty much everyone in the field. Tiger put his drive in the middle of the fairway, laid up, and stuck his third shot in the center for a good birdie chance. The putt for his first red number, however, came up short and it didn’t take Tiger too long to show his frustration with getting a par.

Tiger Woods, as anyone tuned into Golf Channel’s live coverage of a usually ho-hum Wednesday afternoon of practice rounds can attest, tends to attract attention.

It may seem an eternity but it really wasn’t that long ago that the former world No. 1 made headlines by tying his opponents into knots on his way to the winner’s circle. Now, the aging superstar with the balky back sparks pandemonium by tying his shoe laces on the way from his courtesy car to the practice range.

So Tiger Woods dramatically parachuted into Louisville Wednesday afternoon and announced that he was going to play in the PGA Championship. It was a chaotic, surreal scene ending a few days of persistent and uninformed speculation on whether Woods, just a couple days removed from injuring his back and struggling just to put on his shoes, would be able to play. The frenzy was the perfect boost and lead-in for the PGA to the first round.

But guess what? Tiger will play his first round before the TV coverage even starts.

The opening round of the season’s final major begins bright and early Thursday in Louisville, and the marquee group of the day will storm the course first thing in the morning. The PGA of America grouped Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Padraig Harrington together for the first two rounds, and while they all may be past their primes, this will be the threesome everyone on the grounds at Valhalla will follow.

Woods jolted this 96th edition of the PGA Championship to life on Wednesday afternoon, ending days of rampant and uninformed speculation on whether he’d try to play just days after sustaining what looked to be another painful back injury. Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee characterized Tiger’s arrival at Valhalla like a “stick hitting a hornet’s nest.” Media and fans rushed to figure out if Tiger was actually on the grounds, thanks to a premature PGA announcement, and if he had plans to officially register or just test the back. It was a chaotic, surreal scene for what should normally be a quiet practice day just 18 hours before tee times begin.

The PGA Championship got a huge boost on Wednesday afternoon when the biggest draw in the sport showed up in Louisville to give it a go at Valhalla. The TV networks associated with the season’s final major undoubtedly exhaled when Tiger Woods walked onto the driving range a little after noon ET. The first three days of the week were spent largely in a state of manic indecision as we waited for word on whether Tiger would show up. When he did, the crowd, and Golf Channel, took the coverage of his arrival to surreal depths. It was the latest, and perhaps most intense, reminder of how different Tiger is from anyone else when it comes to drawing crowds, interest and TV ratings.

Tiger’s arrival could be a windfall for TNT and CBS, the traditional broadcast partners of the PGA Championship. I say “could be” because we’re still not sure how effective Tiger will be, and whether or not he’ll stay healthy enough to get through 18 or 36 holes. It may be a challenge for Tiger to make the cut, and if he does head home early after 36 holes, then CBS will miss out on the Tiger mania. This is the high point of the summer schedule for CBS Golf, but Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo, David Feherty and crew don’t show up until after the cut is made and late in the afternoon on Saturday. TNT, which does have sole coverage of the first two rounds, could be in trouble if Tiger’s back flares up again and he can’t make it to the second round. Woods will be out at 8:35 a.m. ET on Thursday, and should be done or just about on his last hole when TNT comes on the air at 1 p.m. Friday’s round, if he makes it there, will be played entirely during the coverage window.

Rory McIlroy chuckled uncomfortably when the subject of his heir apparency popped up three years ago at Congressional and he visibly flinched on Tuesday when it gained momentum again ahead of this week’s PGA Championship.

The three-time major winner may be on a serious roll and seeking not only his fourth grand slam title, second of the season and second in a row, but his third straight victory on the PGA Tour. With such consistently dominant performances, the likes of which the golf world has not witnessed since a certain missing-yet-ever-present 14-time major titleholder was in his prime, comparisons to Tiger Woods are inevitable.