Crowded at the top of PGA Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Notes and observations from Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship where Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner each birdied the 18th hole to grab a share of the lead at 67. The two own a one-stroke lead over Grayson Murray, Gary Woodland, U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka, D.A. Points and Chris Stroud, who won last week’s Barracuda Championship. Murray playing a home game Grayson Murray was born, raised and still lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is only two-and-a-half hours from Charlotte. Until this week, though, the 23-year-old had never played Quail Hollow Club. Considering the significant changes to the course made last summer, though, maybe it was good for Murray to come to the PGA Championship flying blind, so to speak. After all, the 68 he shot in the first round that included a 32 on the extremely challenging back nine left him one stroke off the lead. Murray shot 83-81 at the 2013 U.S. Open in his only other major appearance. “This course is very tough,â€� Murray said. “I played about as good as I could. I had some putts that could have dropped but that’s how golf is. I’m very pleased with the round today.â€� That 7:20 a.m. start came early. But maybe it was only fitting that a native North Carolinian hit the opening tee shot of the first PGA played in the state since the 1974 event at Tanglewood. And he had plenty of fans urging him on as the round progressed. “It was nice to have a lot of friends and family out there supporting me,â€� he said. “You hear, ‘Go Grayson, let’s go.’ It’s good motivation for me.â€� Murray didn’t even know he was in the PGA field until two weeks ago when the rookie won the Barbasol Championship. He also vaulted from 124th to 58th in the FedExCup with the win and locked up a two-year exemption and trip to Maui for the SBS Tournament of Champions in January. “People ask me was it a relief or excitement,â€� Murray said. “And it was excitement. … Getting that first win was huge confidence-wise. “I can’t say how hard it is to win out here. I can’t stress it — what these guys do, what Jason Day or Rory or Jordan or Hideki, people take that for granted. It’s unbelievable. Hopefully I can be in that category in the next year or two and be in their shoes. “Right now, I’m just trying to get that second one.â€� Murray credits Josh Gregory, who used to be the golf coach at Southern Methodist, with helping turn his season around. He hired Gregory the week of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the results were almost immediate – he missed his fifth straight cut at Bay Hill but then made 10 in a row. “My short game has really elevated since I have been working with Josh,â€� Murray said. “My time management, I’m out here practicing for a purpose now.â€� And Murray has another purpose this week. He may be young and he may be less experienced than some but he knows he has the game to compete. “Honestly, that win took a lot of nerves off,â€� he said. “I’m freewheeling it now. … All the world class players are here, so I’ll have to play my A-plus game probably right now to win where some guys may be able to play their B-plus and win. “Hopefully I’ll be at that stage of my career soon.â€� Reed’s game coming around Patrick Reed came to Quail Hollow in a positive frame of mind, even if the rest of his body was a little fatigued. The 27-year-old is competing in his ninth straight event – on two continents, no less – this week at the PGA. Two of those, played in Scotland and Germany, were sandwiched around the Open Championship, all three of which counted toward his European Tour membership. The rest were in the good old USA. Reed showed no signs of being tired on Thursday, though, as he fired a 69 that left him two strokes off the lead. Reed, who has won five times on TOUR, has yet to post a top-10 in a major, with a tie for 12th at the 2016 Open Championship his best in 15 appearances. “I feel like it’s moving in the right direction,â€� Reed said when asked about his game. “I got to keep my energy level up. Being my ninth week in a row, you have to save your energy for tournament rounds.â€� Reed said he hadn’t planned on playing nine straight tournaments. But the 2016-17 campaign hasn’t been up to his standards with just two top-10 finishes, and Reed prefers to work on his game between the ropes rather than beating balls. “If I don’t feel like things are going exactly how I want to, I don’t want to go home and try to work on it at the range,â€� he explained. “I can go to the range and it the ball perfect every time. I want to fix it on the golf course. That’s why I have been playing a lot.â€� While Reed is 54th and safely in the FedExCup Playoffs that begin in two weeks at THE NORTHERN TRUST, where he will defend his most recent title, The Presidents Cup is a different story. The fiery Texan ranks 11th in the standings with the top 10 automatically qualifying and Captain Steve Stricker making two picks on Sept. 6. “Those team events are always on my mind,â€� Reed said. “The way you take care of those is go out and play good golf. I don’t sit there and focus on standings and what you need points-wise. “At the end of the day you win a golf tournament, it takes care of itself. That’s been the way I thought about I everything when it comes to World Ranking, FedExCup, the Playoffs, Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, any of those team events. If you go out and play golf like you are supposed to, it’s going to take care of yourself. That’s all you can control.â€� Quail Hollow suits big-hitting Woodland To say Gary Woodland is a fan of the changes made at Quail Hollow might be something of an understatement. The new holes suit his eye and the 196 yards added by architect Tom Fazio pose no problems for him. “I hit more drivers now than I ever did,â€� said the man who ranks 14th on TOUR in distance off the tee. “… Almost like they did it for me, I think.â€� Woodland demonstrated his affinity for the course on Thursday with a 68 that left him one stroke off the lead. He made four birdies and dropped just one shot to par. Interestingly, the putter, which has been uncooperative this year, was the key to Woodland’s round. He came into the week ranked 182nd in Strokes Gained: Putting but finished the day ranked in the top 10. “I haven’t made putts in a long time,â€� Woodland said, adding that seeing birdies drop in his first seven holes set the tone. In an attempt to shore up his putting, Woodland worked with Brad Faxon early in the week and Steve Stricker on Wednesday. “I talked to two of the greats,â€� he said. “I picked up some things definitely.â€� Most of his conversation with the Presidents Cup captain on Wednesday focused on his setup. More importantly, Woodland was trying to let things happen rather than focus on the fundamentals. “The day before a major, it’s all about freeing it up,â€� he said. “We’re not trying to do too much. Just get comfortable was the big deal.

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