"VAN" (Sports Desk - 16.05.2025) :: Cam Davis defied a dry spell dating back to the first week in February to sit just two strokes off the lead after Round 1 of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
With just one top-50 finish in an eight-tournament stretch that included five straight missed cuts, Davis did not present as the obvious Aussie contender leading into the second men’s major championship of 2025.
Yet the 30-year-old gained six strokes on the field on the greens to shoot 5-under 66 and trail unlikely front-runner Jhonattan Vegas (64) by two by day’s end.
The last man in the field after his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday, Kiwi Ryan Fox (67) is just one back of Davis in a share of fourth as two late bogeys saw Adam Scott (69) drop back into a tie for 20th at 2-under.
Playing alongside Vegas, Elvis Smylie impressed in his first PGA Championship round, missing a par putt on his final hole from 14 feet in a round of 1-under 71 for a share of 29th.
A round equal to the best recorded at the Regions Tradition has earned Richard Green a two-stroke lead after Round 1 of the first senior major for 2025.
The Victorian left-hander had eight birdies and an eagle at the par-5 13th to post 9-under 63, two strokes clear of Kiwi Steven Alker and American duo Jerry Kelly and Stewart Cink.
An eagle at the par-5 15th was the highlight of Greg Chalmers’ opening round of 5-under 67 that has the West Australian in a tie for seventh as David Bransdon (69), Cameron Percy (70), Mark Hensby (70) and Michael Wright (70) finished day one inside the top 25.
Green’s 63 at Greystone Golf and Country Club matched that by Alker in Round 4 last year and Robert Karlsson in Round 3 of the 2023 championship and puts him in a front-running position in pursuit of a first PGA TOUR Champions victory.
The 54-year-old has been a runner-up on six occasions – including twice in senior majors last year – and knows that knocking on the door often enough will eventually nudge it open.
“It’s been a lot of good stuff last year and in big tournaments,” said Green, who has coach Darrell Brown with him in Birmingham, Alabama.
“I’ve taken that into this year and trying to find little improvements that I can try to make from last year, which is very difficult to do.
“I’ve just got to keep putting myself in there. I like four rounds. I’ve put myself in a great position today, so you never know.
“Just got to keep doing your thing, keep battling your own battles and hopefully I’m there at the end.”
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