A Thursday filled with unsung heroes at the PGA Championship finished with the best, and maybe the most unexpected, performance of the bunch.
Jhonattan Vegas is the leader at Quail Hollow after posting a phenomenal 7-under 64 round late on Thursday afternoon in Charlotte. Vegas tops a leaderboard that includes a lot of other names you wouldn’t expect, including Cam Davis and relatively unknown Ryan Gerard.
This was a historic run for Vegas, one that certainly nobody saw coming. He is the first Venezuelan to have a lead or a co-lead after any round at a major, according to the PGA Tour Communications department.
Vegas did not start his round off all that well, bogeying the par-5 10th hole after teeing off on the back nine. However, he battled back with three straight birdies on holes 13, 14 and 15 as a part of a 2-under first nine.
Then, as the sun began to set on Quail Hollow, Vegas started to rise. He made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 and then finished his round with three straight birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 9 to get into the clubhouse two clear of the field.
Alas, his 64 is his lowest round ever at a major, having played 45 rounds.
Of course, now all of the attention turns to how Vegas responds to sleeping on the lead. He has never even finished in the top 20 at a major, so this is uncharted territory for him.
He does however have four PGA Tour wins to his credit. Most recently, the 40-year-old won the 2024 3M Open in Minneapolis.
Vegas will tee of with the morning wave on Friday, so he will have the opportunity to post a score before some of the notable chasers, such as Scottie Scheffler at 2-under, get going in the afternoon.
It feels like the leaderboard will start to fill with top players, especially at a major. But Vegas showed on Thursday that he has the game to take on Quail Hollow with the best of them.
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