Liv Golf at 2025 PGA championship: Highlights by Jon Rahm, David Puig, more

The 2025 PGA Championship, The Second Major of the Year, is in Full Swing at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, and This Field Field Features 16 Liv Golf Players – Bryson Dechameau, Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Sergio, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Tom McKibbin, Patrick Reed, Martin Kaymer, Richard BlandDean Burmester, John Catlin And David Puig.

Some made the field based on the current world rankings, while others qualified with the youngest big victories or were among the top 15 at the 2024 PGA championship. There are also some special cases because former PGA champions earn a lifelong liberation for the tournament and received a handful of LIV golfer invitations to play in this year's tournament.

Here are the highlights according to round 1.

David Puig bravely puts on 71

Despite a back injury that occurred late in his last round during the latest tournament of Liv Golf in Korea, Puig produced a brave uniform par 71, which leaves him in a good position to make the cut. Although his round ended with a double bogey, the 23-year-old from Spain was pleased with the circumstances with which he was confronted.

“When I say the truth, I think it was a great day overall,” said Puig. “Especially without practicing and having any kind of back pain. I think I competed very well.”

Puig said his back on him in the last five or six holes in Korea, although he managed to overcome him by ending Eagle-Birdie birds on his last three holes to slip into the top 20 ranking.

Jon Rahms roller coaster route

Rahm started his round with the 10th tee and played his first nine holes in a Bogy-Free 2 under, including three consecutive pars through the dangerous Green Mile. From there, things went wrong, and Rahm made Bogey-Birdie-Bogey-Bogey-Birdie-Bogey on his next six holes, who spends good goals in his first nine.

Fortunately, a birdie left him with 1 under 70 in the short par-4-eight and in a good place to achieve an influence on the second round on Friday. “It's funny because I made Bogeys but didn't necessarily make terrible fluctuations,” said the Captain of Legion XIII about this sixth adventure. “It was simply missed in the wrong places.”

Rahm is used to starting with 70 in the PGA championship – it is the fifth time in nine career starts that it was opened with this number. This includes his first PGA start in 2017 at Quail Hollow. His opening of 70 made him 15th place, but a second round 75 dropped him from the dispute into the weekend.

Eight years later, he has the chance to take a more positive step.

Alex Smalley changes from alternative to contender within 20 hours

There were many non-Liv golfers who also had strong excursions on Thursday.

Smalley was on Quail Hollow on Puting Green, went through his exercises and looked like one of the other 156 players at the PGA championship. But he wasn't. On the eve of the major, Smalley was not sure whether he would have a discount time.

And then, in about 20 hours, the native of North Carolina changed from the first alternative to a 4-below 67, which held its name at the top of the ranking on Thursday.

“I really prepared like any other week,” said Smalley. “Obviously it is interesting to be the first to be an alternative. I lost hope after every hour of death. And you know that you hear that the complaints of everyone who is alternatively at first.”

In this case it was Sahith Theegala, who had to withdraw in the Philadelphia Cricket Club last week during the Truist Championship. And his neck injury never got better for the Californian to play the PGA championship, a major that he ended in the top 15 a year ago. So he was outside.

Smalley was in.

He had three birdies in a four-hole route on the back nine (after he started in 10th place), left a few shots on hard par 4s on the front nine and then shot back into the mixture by a 70-foot putt over the green on the Par-5 seventh for Eagle Log.

Smalley made a short birdie putt on the short par-4-dachel, achieved par-4-ninth hole par and had its lowest score in his third appearance at the PGA championship.

Donald and Bradley transformed the opening round of the PGA championship into their own Little Ryder Cup competition on Thursday.

Shortly after Donald, a surprising 4-off parlor 67-card 67 cardiac opening round in a major in 21 years of axis Bradley with a 68 and put both Ryder Cup captains in Quail Hollow with 54 remaining holes.

“If 14-14 is bound, do you talk about a playoff?

Bradley got a giggle from Donald's comments and said that he had planned to write an SMS to his counterpart and let him know that he was “pumped” for him.

“It is unique,” said Bradley that both Ryder Cup captains have in the top 10. “You know, one of the interesting things to become captain, only other captains can understand what you get through, and the daily process and the pressure and everything that goes hand in hand.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Parts of this piece are with the kind permission of Mike McAllister in cooperation with Liv Golf.

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