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2019 PGA Championship Live Coverage: Highlights from the first round at Bethpage

By GOLF Editors
May 16, 2019
Brooks Koepka surged to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday at the PGA Championship, while Tiger Woods battled to stay in the tournament.
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The 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black is officially underway. You can follow Thursday’s first round with our PGA Championship Live Coverage below, featuring live score updates, highlights from your favorite players, and video clips of the best shots.

Tiger Woods begins his opening round at 8:24 a.m. ET on Thursday, alongside Francesco Molinari and defending champion Brooks Koepka. This is the first tournament start for Woods since his victory at the Masters in April. Woods, who won the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, will try and capture his 16th major title this week.

Brooks Koepka hits driver.
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PGA Championship 2019: Our staff’s picks to win and sleepers to watch

But Koepka will not go quietly. Brooks has won three majors in his last eight tries, including the 2018 PGA Championship just eight months ago. Molinari, on the other hand, will try to rebound from his collapse on Sunday at the Masters after holding the 54-hole lead.

Our PGA Championship Live Coverage kicks off just before that trio’s tee time. Follow the entire first round of the PGA Championship below.

PGA Championship Live Coverage: Thursday’s First Round (ET)

FULL PGA LEADERBOARD | OUR PICKS TO WIN
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6:53 p.m. That’s about all for today. Brooks and Danny Lee go low, everyone else bunches up behind them. Should provide for some good theater for tomorrow at Bethpage. Check back in on GOLF.com for more tomorrow and throughout the weekend.

6:36 p.m. Rory FINALLY makes one. A birdie on 18 brings a smile to his face. He shoots a two over, 72.

6:33 p.m. Lots of big names lurking right below the top of the leaderboard: DJ (-1), Spieth (-1), Phil (-1), Schauffele (E), Day (-1), etc. There are 25 guys at even par right now. Should provide a recipe for an intriguing day tomorrow and into the weekend.

6:12 p.m. Spieth holes it. That’ll give him a jolt going into tomorrow. He shoots 69.

6:09 p.m. Really good shot from the fairway bunker for Spieth, who will have about 15-20 feet to finish off his round in red numbers. Pat Perez sticks one close on 17, and will have a 5-7 footer to get to two under par.

5:57 p.m. So, after all those birdie opportunities squandered, Rory is going to give one back on 15. He’s now three over. That’s killer. Spieth and Rahm both make par on 17, both staying at even par.

5:45 p.m. For his confidence, that’s a massive birdie for Spieth on 16, as he gets back to even par. Also, John Daly just finished up his round — five over par, 75.

5:42 p.m. Back to back birdies now for Si Woo Kim, who joins the group tied for fourth at two under.

5:31 p.m. DJ chips in for birdie on 15, and he moves into red figures. He’s one of eight guys at one under par.

5:21 p.m. Rory’s been a couple inches off on birdie putts all day. Has been threatening, but just can’t seem to find a momentum-builder. Misses one again on 14. He remains two over.

5:05 p.m. Well, how about that? Danny Lee drains his birdie on 18 to finish with a 64. He’ll head into Friday just one shot behind Koepka.

5:02 p.m. Phil pours in a birdie at 12 now, inciting a fist bump and igniting the fans. He’s now under par and has three birdies in his last four holes.

4:59 p.m Aside from Koepka, things remain bunched at the top. 15 under par. 22 guys at even par. We’ll see if anyone can jump into the Koepka/Lee range by day’s end.

4:52 p.m. Impressive stuff from Danny Lee, who nabs a birdie on 17 to move right back to five under, two behind Koepka.

4:50 p.m. Phil is feelin’ it a little bit. Bombs his drive down the 12th fairway. Let’s see if he can give these fans the run they’re looking for…

4:45 p.m. Things continuing to go sideways for Jordan Spieth after that promising front nine. He blows a long par putt past the whole, and makes bogey to move to one over par. Meanwhile, Phil makes birdie at 11 — and the fans are loving it. He’s even.

4:43 p.m. Man. Rory lips out a birdie putt he could’ve really used. He stays at two over par.

4:34 p.m. Add Sung Kang to the list of people under par. He’s one of 15 in red numbers right now.

4:27 p.m. Phil with a sand save on 10, stays at one over. On the same hole, Jason Day misses a par putt from a few feet. Tough miss, as he goes to two over. Now 50(!!) bogeys on hole 10.

4:22 p.m. Some quick updates: Sung Kang joins the group at even par with a birdie on two. Spieth skirts a birdie putt past, neglecting a much-needed bounce-back birdie chance. DJ stays at one over on the day. Phil finds the bunker at 10, as his seesaw continues.

4:11 p.m. Phil bounces back with a birdie on 9. Spieth salvages a double bogey to move back to even par. Going to be an interesting back nine for him, one way or another.

4:06 p.m. Oof. After nine bogey-free holes, Spieth is having a rough go of it on 10. He yells in frustration as his 4th shot finds the rough in front of the green. Likely headed for double or worse…

4:03 p.m. Danny Lee made birdie on 14. Don’t look now, but he’s two clear of Fleetwood in third and just two behind Koepka.

4:00 p.m. Phil with a nice approach into the par-4 9th, to about 10 feet. Let’s see if he can get one of those bogeys back.

3:50 p.m. After six bogey-free holes, Phil makes that two in a row. Left his chip short out of the thick stuff and missed the putt to the left. He’s two over after 8 holes now. On 10, Spieth hit one a mile left, and will have a tall task ahead.

 3:45 p.m. Spieth leaves himself about 20 feet for birdie at 9. Misses it left, but will make the turn at two under. Really encouraging open to the tournament for him. Meanwhile, DJ drains a long birdie putt to get back to even.

3:29 p.m. After a string of six pars, Phil misses a shortie to bogey No. 7 and fall to one over on the day. Meanwhile, Danny Lee drains a solid eight footer to save par and stay four under.

3:16 p.m. Several players are currently under par on the course right now: Kuchar, Perez, Rahm, Horschel, Finau and club pro Ryan Vermeer.

3:12 p.m. Phil Mickelson remarkably saves par from the fescue on 6 to stay even par. Rory is still one over through No. 6, as is Jason Day.

2:58 p.m. Phil Mickelson goes with driver on No. 6 and hooks it into the heavy fescue on the left. Trevor Immelman can’t believe it: “You never go with driver” on 6. McIlroy finds the fairway with a 4-iron.

2:53 p.m. Gary Woodland is now three under par after a birdie on No. 7. He has a clean card so far, too! And hey, Jordan Spieth is two under through six now, reigniting that career grand slam conversation.

2:46 p.m. Danny Lee is four under par through 10 holes to claim solo second.

2:39 p.m. Phil pars No. 4 to stay at even par. Big biride opportunity missed there. Day drains a short birdie to get back to even, and Rory misses a birdie putt from about 30 feet to stay one over.

2:30 p.m. Jordan Spieth just birdied No. 4 to get to one under on the day.

2:20 p.m. The par-3 3rd is playing 235 yards today. It’s playing tough, too, yielding only six birdies thus far. Phil and Rory parred while Day bogeyed.

2:05 p.m. Phil and Jason par the second hole to stay even par through 2, while Rory bogeys to move to one over. Meanwhile, Paul Casey is having a hot start: two under through four. Gary Woodland also just birdied No. 4 to get to two under.

1:57 p.m. Just a scoring update: Of the 78 players in the morning wave, only seven finished under par.

1:50 p.m. Missed birdie attempts by Mickelson, McIlory and Day on No. 1, so it’s pars for everyone and on to No. 2.

1:35 p.m. Our next featured group is Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day. Let’s see what they’ve got today.

1:27 p.m. HOLY MOLY! Brooks Kopeka drains another one! Seven under par on the day, NO BOGEYS. His 63 sets a new course record and stretches his lead to four shots over Tommy Fleetwood. Tiger two-putts to finish at two-over-par 72.

1:24 p.m. Kopeka finds the green pin-high and will have about 20 feet left for birdie, while Tiger’s shot flies a little too far and lands on the back fringe. Still puttable, though, so he will have a birdie look, albeit a lengthy one.

1:20 p.m. Kopeka, Tiger and Molinari all find the fairway on the 460-yard par-4 9th. Let’s see if we can finish this first round off with a bang.

1:12 p.m. Tiger fails to make his par and suffers back-to-back bogeys. He’s now two over on the day. Koepka two-putts for par to stay and six under heading into No. 9 — the group’s final hole of the day.

1:09 p.m. Koepka has about 40 feet for birdie, while Tiger and Molinari are left with tough 6-footers for par. Tiger has to chip from the fringe and the ball had just a bit too much speed, slipping past the hole on the low side.

1:03 p.m. Koepka and Molinari find the green on the par-3 8th, but Tiger ends up in the first cut on the right side of the green.

12:50. Wow — another three-putt for Tiger. That’s a bit of an unforced bogey for Woods, and his third three-whack of the day. He’s back to 1-over for the day despite hitting the ball frankly pretty well.

12:42. Tiger and Koepka each find the fairway and green at No. 7, although Woods is a long way from the hole.

12:32. Wow. Koepka can’t be stopped at the moment! He just poured in a meaty par putt. Woods cleaned up a two-putt of his own. Now on to the 495-yard par-4 7th, which is playing a healthy distance into the wind today.

12:26. Koepka’s short, and Tiger’s onto the right side of the green with a lengthy birdie putt.

12:24. Not much of a showing for our featured group off the 6th tee. Koepka finds the right rough, while Woods lays back off the tee with an iron and…misses the fairway into the left bunker.

12:19. Yikes — and Tiger three-putts after a brutal lip-out from five feet. A little too much pace on that thing, I guess, and he’ll go back to even par.

12:16. Yowza! Another birdie from Koepka. He is gapping the field and now leads by three over Luke List.

12:10. Molinari had to lay up from the rough. Tiger finds the back of the green and will face a lengthy left-to-righter. Koepka hits it much closer and will have an uphill look at birdie.

12:09. This thing has taken a pretty crazy turn, from +3 to T5 for Tiger Woods. He’s in the fairway at No. 5. Koepka hits it well past him, also in the fairway.

12:01. Whoa! Eagle for Tiger. That was a big right-t0-left swinger, and Tiger Woods is back to red figures. Just four holes ago he was +3.

12:00. Koepka isn’t able to get his chip on the green, but wedges his fourth shot to about three feet.

11:52. Another really good long iron from Tiger, who finds the middle of the green from 210. He’s had a couple sketchy moments, but that swing is starting to really look good. Koepka clubs his up just short of the green.

11:50. Frankie caught the lip, yikes! Not much of a layup; that only went about 20 yards.

11:45. Koepka seems to keep missing by the correct amount — he smoked his tee shot left here but seems to have caught an okay lie. Molinari is in the fairway bunker, while Woods found the fairway.

11:37. Wow — birdie for Koepka! And a miss for Woods. That’s five under and a two-shot lead for Koepka.

11:30. After a bit of a wait on the 3rd tee, Woods rips a long iron — and this is another really good one, to about 10 feet. Molinari hits his to 15-20 feet, and Koepka’s inside 15 feet too. Spectacular shots considering this thing is like, 235 yards.

11:18. You want some course updates? Let’s do course updates.

Hardest hole: No. 15. That was true in the ’02 and ’09 U.S. Opens, too — no big surprise.

Fewest birdies: No. 17. Zero birdies thus far! Through 42 players, 29 pars, 12 bogeys and one double (Woods)

Easiest hole: No. 4. 4.61 scoring average. That’s almost identical to No. 15, which is averaging 4.55 at present. Make a 9 between those two holes and you’ll be doing just fine.

Scoring average: 72.637. That’s 2.637 shots over par, obviously, but the front (36.135) and back (36.53) are playing pretty similar.

11:17. Koepka just misses high and hard, but Woods converts his. Back to +1.

11:13. Piece of cake for Koepka, who hits it inside 10 feet. Even better for Woods, who had 110 yards up the hill and stiffed it in to about 2 feet. He’ll have that to get back to +1.

11:11. Woods, Koepka, Molinari all find the fairway at No. 2, the shortest par-4 on the course. Tiger took the most aggressive line with his 3-wood and should have just a wedge left, I think.

11:10. Up ahead, we’re on Rickie Fowler mullet watch. Still hasn’t taken his hat off in my line of vision, but he’s got a serious party in the back thing going on under a black-and-pink lid. Updates to come.

11:03. Well, that turned out unexpectedly. Molinari made par. Woods and Koepka made birdie! Fun times. Koepka is your solo leader…although just as I type that Fleetwood tied him at four under.

10:55. Got questions about the tournament? Hit me up on Twitter @dylan_dethier.

Off the tee at No. 1 it’s Molinari down the middle, Tiger down the right, Koepka down the WAY right.

10:50. Not much of an effort at birdie for Woods, who races his high and hard some three feet past and cleans up for par. Much better for Molinari (E) and Koepka (-3), who each make birdie. Three-way tie at the top now: Koepka, Fleetwood and Matt Wallace.

10:42. Tiger finds the middle of the fairway at 18, then hits it some 15 feet past the hole from 137 yards. Par here would give him an opening 3-over 38.

10:40. Leaderboard check: Matt Wallace has opened up a two-shot lead on the field at four under par. Vegas check: Brooks Koepka (-2) has surged to the betting favorite at +450.

10:35. Hey folks — Dylan Dethier taking over here for a spell. Tough times for Team Tiger. He just hacked out of a plugged lie on 17, then three-putted from the back fringe to make his second double of the day.

10:22: Tiger (+1) makes his tester to save par, and Koepka (-2) does as well. Molinari finishes off his birdie to move back to +1.

10:19: After his pitch out at 16, Tiger nearly chips in for birdie, but it runs just by the edge of the hole. He’ll have a few feet downhill for par.

10:16: Molinari hits a beautiful approach to a few feet at 16. Tiger is stuck in deep rough, so he’s forced to hack out, running it up to 10 yards short of the green.

10:12: Here’s a look at Tiger’s first birdie of the day:

10:10: Tiger’s drive at the par-4 16th is OK but never fades, ending up a yard into the left rough. Molinari is in the first cut on the left side, while Koepka is back in the fairway.

10:06: Molinari left his first putt woefully short and can’t convert the par saver. He drops to +2. Koepka two-putts to remain at -2. Meanwhile, Matt Wallace has taken sole possession of the lead at -3.

10:04: BIRDIE! Tiger drains his 15-footer at 15 for his first birdie of the day. That’s a huge putt that moves him back to +1. It’s just the second birdie of the day on the difficult 15th.

9:59: Tiger hits a terrific approach from over 200 yards to about 15 feet below the hole. He’ll have his first good look at birdie. Koepka and Molinari also reach the green in two.

9:52: Tiger and Francesco are safely in the fairway at the par-4 15th, but Koepka lost his drive way right.

9:46: Koepka’s birdie to tie the lead:

9:45: Just before our featured trio got there, Rickie Fowler made his first birdie of the day at 14 to move to +1:

9:43: Tiger’s uphill birdie putt at 14 starts left and stays there. Koepka drains a 20-footer to finally make his second birdie of the day. He’s now tied for the lead at -2. Molinari matches Koepka’s birdie to improve to +1.

9:38: Now our featured trio faces their first par-3 of the day at the 14th hole. Tiger hits a nice one with his tee shot and will have a 30-footer for birdie.

9:31: For the third hole in a row, Keopka narrowly missed a birdie putt, after opening with a bird at 10. He remains at -1 despite his stellar play so far. Tiger makes his par to stay at+2.

9:29: Tiger is able to make good contact with his chip and rolls it up close to the hole. He’ll have a short one for par, but this is a hole where he likely expected to get a shot back

9:25: Tiger has a short wedge for his third shot into the par-5 13th hole, but he hits it over the green into deep rough. He’s left himself with a difficult chip for his fourth shot.

9:17: We discovered a die-hard Tiger fan in the form of our cab driver on the way to Bethpage Black:

https://twitter.com/GOLF_com/status/1129008789506666498

9:14: Here’s a look at Koepka’s birdie from off the green at 10, our featured group’s first hole of the day:

9:12: In a repeat from the last hole, Tiger almost makes a long birdie putt and settles for par. Molinari dropped another shot, and Koepka two-putts for par. The scores through 3 holes: Koepka -1; Woods +2, Molinari +2. The early lead is currently at -2.

9:05: Tiger has a long way to go for his second at 12, but he smashes a long iron and reaches the green safely. Koepka also hits the putting surface fro 191.

8:59: At the par-4 12th, Koepka and Tiger hit their drives into the fairway, but Molinari loses his to the left once again. He’s in the deep stuff.

8:52: Tiger is first to putt from outside 40 feet, and he nearly drains it. It has a little too much pace and sets up a short one for par. Koepka misses his mid-range birdie putt and settles for par. Tiger and Molinari clean up their shorties to match Koepka’s score at 11.

8:50: Here’s a look at Tiger’s tee shot at 11:

8:49: Tiger’s tee shot at 11 is much better, splitting the fairway. He takes a smooth iron from there and reaches the green safely, though he’ll have a long birdie putt. Koepka stuck his approach to 10 feet, setting up another birdie try.

8:41: Ouch. Tiger’s putt for bogey burns the edge of the cup at 10, leading to a dreaded double bogey on his first hole of the tournament. Koepka, on the other hand, sank a long putt from off the green for birdie. He has a three-shot advantage on Tiger already.

8:37: Here’s a look at Tiger’s opening tee shot:

8:36: For his third shot at 10, Tiger hits a low pitch to the green but flies it over the putting surface. Not good. He’ll have to complete a tough up-and-down just to make bogey.

8:34: Tiger has 200 yards left from the rough, so he chooses to lay it up on the long par-4. He’ll need to get up and down for birdie. Molinari found his first tee shot, and Koepka went for the green and missed. A tough start for our featured group.

8:26: Koepka has the honors and bombs it down the 10th fairway. Molinari follows and shanks it to the right into deep grass, forcing him to hit a provisional. Tiger is third and hits a decent one that just sneaks into the right fairway. And we’re off!

8:20: Tiger, Brooks and Frankie have arrived at the 10th tee where they will start their first round in just a few minutes.

7:54: Tiger Woods was out on the range at Bethpage Black this morning warming up for the opening round. He tees off at 8:24 a.m. ET.

7:52: In case you want to watch the action for yourself, here’s what you need to know:

7:50: Good morning, and welcome to our PGA Championship Live coverage of the first round of the 2019 PGA Championship! Stick with us to get the latest updates and highligh videos from Thursday’s action.

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