Should you be looking for a way to assess the ups and downs and wildness of the first round of the 107th PGA Championship, it would be perfect if you could view it from the perspective of Jason Baile.
After all, it was a day when the unheralded roared to the top of the leaderboard – Jhonattan Vegas, who in 16 major championships has missed 10 cuts and never had a top 20, setting the pace with 7-under 64, followed by Ryan Gerard in his first PGA Championship shooting 5-under 66 to tie Aussie Cam Davis, who has missed the cut in four of his last five major championship starts.
WATCH: Hole outs from Round 1 of the PGA Championship
Oh, and it was a day when the top three players in the world – Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele – made a trio of double-bogeys at one hole but the 871st golfer in the world, Luke Donald (67), didn’t make even one bogey over 18 holes.
A wild and inexplicable 13 hours for 156 players and to connect to the swings of emotions that golf delivers, consider Baile. Recently named the PGA of America’s 2025 Teacher & Coach of the Year, Baile is the PGA Director of Golf at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla.
His work with a small parade of quality PGA TOUR members brought him to Quail Hollow and when Gerard, a 25-year-old North Carolina native signed for 66, Baile stood quietly to the side. Yes, he was thrilled for Gerard, whose round would have been exquisite if not for bogeys at 17 and 18, and Baile offered the highest praise about the one-time standout at North Carolina.
“Not at all surprised,” said Baile. “Ryan has an incredible attitude. He takes the blinders off on big stages. Ryan just does Ryan very well.”
At the time, Ryan was alone in the lead, though Davis would come in hours later with his 66, then with twilight falling Vegas stunned the proceedings with birdies on five of his final six holes to shoot 64. In 18 previous rounds of PGA Championship competition, Vegas had broken 70 just three times and never had he gone below 68.
So, yes, it was the signature moment of a day filled with the unexpected, though again the roller-coaster vibes of professional golf were explained by Baile.
As he offered praise for Gerard, who has been trending of late with three top 15 finishes in his last six PGA TOUR stops, Baile switched gears to talk about another player he works with, Bud Cauley. The 35-year-old birdied Nos. 14 and 15 to get to 1-under and all the long, hard work he’s put in to get healthy and back onto the PGA TOUR stage was shining through.
Then it came crashing down. A bogey, bogey, double-bogey finish upon “The Green Mile,” the demanding 16th, 17th, and 18th holes.
Baile watched Gerard do a host of interviews, but conceded his emotions were torn. “I feel for Bud. I need to catch up,” said Baile.
Hours later, though Gerard had left for his hotel, Baile was still watching one of his students, Lucas Glover. He wore a smile and explained that he had also caught up with Cauley. All was good.
“He was in good spirits. He knew that he had played better than his score,” said Baile. “I just wanted him to know how proud I was of him.”
Golf, said the coach, had truly shown its wild side on this day.
NOTES FROM THE COURSE:
- There were 15 eagles made, none more dramatic than Eric Cole who used a 7-iron to ace the 186-yard fourth. “I was right on the edge on whether I had enough club,” said Cole, who would shoot 1-under 71. “So I hit a little bigger draw than I normally would have.” A most unlikely eagle by Sepp Straka at the 488-yard third hole when he holed his second shot from 186 yards.
- If Jordan Spieth is to complete the career grand slam this week, he’s going to have to mount a massive rally. The three-time major winner took 40 strokes on his back nine, shot 76, and is 12 off the lead
- A triple-bogey at the par-5 seventh was the lowlight to Phil Mickelson’s 8-over 79, tying for his highest opening round in a PGA Championship. The previous 79? It came at Quail Hollow in 2017.
- Justin Thomas, the winner of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, was 4-over through his first five holes, then battled back with five birdies between Nos. 8 and 16 to get to just 1-over. But he bogeyed the 18th to shoot 2-over 73. He’s nine off the lead, which is a bigger deficit than he faced eight years ago when he opened with 73, six back.
- The field average was 72.757 - No surprise, but the 16th played toughest, to a field average of 4.410. The par-3 17th was next, at 3.372.
WATCH: JT Gets Out of Green Mile Mess With This Incredible Shot
