PGA Championship 2023: First round delayed by almost two hours as frost hits Oak Hill
The start of the PGA Championship has been delayed by almost two hours due to frost.
Play was due to begin at 12pm BST on Thursday afternoon, with Steve Alker, Shaun Micheel and Braden Shattuck the opening group on the first hole, however tournament organisers announced that a morning frost delay forced facilities at Oak Hill to remain close.
The practice putting green was opened as conditions improved and the first round of the tournament will get underway at 1:50pm, with all tee times pushed back by one hour and 50 minutes.
It means Rory McIlroy will now get his bid for a fifth major underway at 3:01pm, alongside defending champion Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, with Jon Rahm teeing off 22 minutes later.
This year is the first time the PGA Championship has returned to Oak Hill since 2013, when Jason Dufner picked up his first major. Since then, the New York course has undergone major changes and will play significantly longer this week, playing into the hands of the big-hitters.
World number one Rahm goes into the second major of the year well-fancied, after his Masters triumph last month, but it is Scottie Scheffler who just edges him out as favourite, with the two separating themselves from McIlroy and the rest of the world’s best at the top of the rankings.