Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy heading in opposite directions at PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy have two different stories after round one of the PGA Championship: one is in the lead, the other is searching for answers

Brooks Koepka playing well in a major championship? No surprise there.

Never mind that he had missed the cut in his last two events and had only four competitive rounds since the beginning of March. Forget about the fact that he’s still dealing with a knee injury that hasn’t properly healed. If there is a major, Koepka will be there and challenging for the lead.

That’s what he did on Thursday during the first round of the 103rd PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Koepka shot a three-under 69 on the difficult 7,876-yard course, the longest in major championship history and made even tougher by a stiff wind that blows into the player’s faces. He’s part of a four-way tie for the clubhouse lead with Keegan Bradley, Aaron Wise, and Viktor Hovland after the morning rounds.

Koepka displayed brilliant ball-striking, a deft touch on the greens, and the resilience of a man who knows what it’s like to win a major. His round got off to a potentially disastrous start, his opening tee shot on the 10th hole finding a waste bunker left of the fairway. Koepka’s second shot couldn’t get over the hill in front of the bunker. Still 165 yards from the hole playing his third shot, he had to scramble just to make a double-bogey.

That was the bad part. But there was plenty of good shots to come. He got back to even by the turn. At the fourth hole (his 13th), Koepka holed a 24-foot putt for birdie to get to one-under for his round. He made a 16-footer at the par-three fifth. And at the seventh, he reached the 579-yard par-five in two shots and two-putted for his sixth birdie of the round. Koepka led all players in the morning wave in Strokes Gained: Approach.

“I love it when it’s difficult. I think that’s why I do so well in the majors,” he said following his round. “I just know mentally I can grind it out. Like when it’s windy like this, it’s not so much putting, it’s more ball striking, and I felt like I struck it really well today.”

Koepka still not fully healed from March knee surgery

Back in February, Koepka shot a 65 in Phoenix to win his eighth career PGA Tour title. A few weeks later, while at home in Florida, he slipped and dislocated his right knee cap, forcing him to undergo surgery on March 16. His availability for the major championships was suddenly in doubt.

But he hurried back in time to play the Masters, where he missed the cut after rounds of 74-75. He took a month off to allow the knee to heal before returning for the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, again missing the cut. It’s not exactly the form he wanted to take into a major.

The knee didn’t appear to be a problem on Thursday, though he still has to bend awkwardly to read putts. Koepka says he can hit every shot. Unlike at Augusta, where he had to pick his way around the course to avoid steep slopes, he was in full control.

“It’s a major. I’m going to show up. I’m ready to play,” he said. “I’ve been itching to do this since Augusta. I mean, I feel so much better now. I don’t need to be 100 percent to be able to play good.”

Koepka is aiming to win his third PGA Championship in his last four attempts. His record at this tournament since 2018 is well ahead of the rest of the field. He’s shot under-par nine of his last 13 rounds, with a scoring average of 67.8. He’s now 81-under in the majors since 2017; only Dustin Johnson is even within 50 shots of him.

Pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy didn’t have as much luck around Kiawah Island on Thursday. McIlroy, who won the PGA Championship at this course by a tournament-record eight shots in 2012, got to one-under after consecutive birdies at the 11th and 12th. But he made only one other birdie the rest of the round and shot three-over 75. He’s currently in a tie for 110th place.

McIlroy made six bogeys; in 2012, he made just seven all week. He bogeyed three of the par-fives for the first time in a round in his major championship career.

It’s just 18 holes, but the two multiple-time PGA champions are already separated by six shots. Koepka has his sights set on a third Wanamaker Trophy; McIlroy hopes he’s just around for the weekend.