Stephan Jaeger has never finished among the top 20 in a major championship but if he can keep this up, well who knows where he could find himself on Sunday evening.

The German goes way left off the tee on the par-three 14th and ends up taking a drop in front of the hospitality area. Despite having precious little space to land his chip it sticks within 14 feet and he rattles in the putt to save his par.

Bud Cauley has a putt to take the lead on 13 but he's too scared of hitting it past the hole so hits a nervy jab that's never given a chance to reach the cup.

He's still playing nicely though and has a clean card with three birdies and no bogeys as yet.

Image source, Getty Images

Jordan Spieth is feeling it! After a well-judged approach into the first, leaving his ball under the hole, he pours in his birdie putt and moves to two under.

Spieth hasn't had a top 10 in nearly a year. He's looking better than he has done in a long time here. Two birdies, eight pars.

After an admittedly weak wedge from the centre of the first fairway, Rory McIlroy again relies on his superlative lag-putting to tidy up for par, but Jon Rahm drops a shot after missing the green with a short club in his hands.

Image source, Getty Images

Bryson DeChambeau has spooned his drive at the second miles right, and I mean miles right! So far right he's in among the merchandising and hospitality tents, but that means he's got a decent lie from the fans tramplling down the grass so better there than just a few feet off the fairway.

And the recovery shot is a beauty onto the green.

Lovely stuff from Dan Brown. The Englishman plots a course down the right of the 13th off the tee and then clips into 10 feet with his second.

That leaves a tricky left-to-right putt that he tickles down towards the hole and sees disappear.

What a US PGA Championship debut so far for the 31-year-old.

There are just 13 bunkers as you head down the third and when Cameron Smith pops his approach into a sand trap guarding the dance floor it causes him no end of bother.

The Australian doesn't have the best of lies and can't really get close to the pin from there which means the 2022 Open champion coughs up a shot.

Image source, Getty Images

Xander Schauffele's birdie attempt at the first trickles by on the right side and he stays one back. Lurking.

Brooks Koepka played a shocker of a wedge from the fairway. It lands woefully short and spins all the way down the slope. But he does well to two-putt from there.

And finally some good news for Tyrrell Hatton! A birdie three moves him back to two over. Possibly a turning point?

Rory McIlroy finds the left half of the fairway on 18. His approach is a smidge left and he lands around 20 feet from the cup. A delicate left-to-righter to come and it's tracking...but just runs out of pace and stops in the jaws. He needs some inspiration.

Jordan Spieth is swinging well and sets up another promising birdie look, but he's on the move as soon as he hits the putt and settles for par.

Birdie-less Jon Rahm overclubbed with his second but plays a glorious little bump and run with his ball up against the back fringe down the slope and taps in for par.

American Derek Berg is currently propping up the leaderboard after a disastrous opening nine holes. He started at the 10th and posted three bogeys and three double-bogeys to shoot 44 - the same as his age.

Berg is a PGA Teaching Professional at PNW Golf Academy and playing in his first US PGA Championship after earning a spot by finishing joint 10th in the 2026 PGA Professional Championship.

And as I write this, he's just birdied the first, his 10th, to get to eight over. Rory McIlroy did say the front nine was the easiest of the two...

It's all just gone wrong in the last couple of holes for Alex Fitzpatrick, who has followed up that double bogey on 14 with a bogey on 15 to drop to one over.

He went from bunker-to-bunker on the last to cost him two shots then found the sand again on the long par-four 15th with his approach as another shot goes begging.

Image source, Getty Images

With the greens as they are you'd imagine a top putter will win this weekend - and there aren't too many better with the flat stick than Sam Burns.

The American hasn't actually been the best putter in the field, he's 20th so far, with his approach play doing the heavy lifting so far as he's the fifth-best with his irons out of the entire field right now.

But he's been solid on the greens and that all adds up to him being just a shot off the lead as things stand.

Xander Schauffele races his birdie putt past on the 18th - his ninth - but pops it in for his par and a first nine 33 with four birdies and two bogeys.

Schauffele's had a couple of wild swings today, but he's a gutsy competitor and it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him contending on Sunday evening.

Brooks Koepka is out in 34 but Tyrrell Hatton has a lot of work ahead of him after covering Aronimink's back nine in 38.

Three-putt bogeys are always a source of immense frustration at any level of the game. But when you're setting the pace in a major, I suspect it's doubly annoying.

Stephan Jaeger is seven feet shy with a 32-foot birdie attempt on the 12th and he then can't hole the par saver.

He drops into a share of the lead alongside American Bud Cauley - the 36-year-old world number 66 who is best... er... buds with two-time winner of this championship Justin Thomas. In fact, JT was best man when Bud got married.

Image source, Getty Images

A four-over 39 was not what Bryson DeChambeau wanted from his front nine but that's exactly what his sloppy play has deserved so far.

Off the tee has been the only acceptable area of his game so far, with his iron play and short game being miles off what we've come to expect from the big-hitting American.

He's got work to do just to get back into the tournament down his back nine.

Rory McIlroy's lag-putting is an unheralded part of his game. With Aronimink's severely undulating greens, he's going to need it this week and it hasn't deserted him at the 17th as he curls one around the ridge from 55 feet to secure a sixth straight par.

Jon Rahm is no slouch on the greens either and he makes his three from the front left of the green.

And Jordan Spieth continues to delight the Philly crowd. Having missed the green right and run his chip 12 feet past, he sinks his par putt to stay in the red. Chasing the Slam, he's looking good so far.

Everyone loves a hole-out from the fairway and England's Dan Brown has just delighted the fans on the 11th by knocking in a wedge from 102 yards.

A couple of hops on the green before the ball sidled across the slope and into the hole for an eagle-two.

He had been one under after nine holes - three birdies and two bogeys - but dropped a shot on the 10th before his perfectly judged second on the 11th lifted him up the leaderboard.

Another wild one from Xander Schauffele, this time off the tee at the par-three 17th. He hoicks it way left, but this time his short game can't bail him out and he stumbles to his second bogey of the round.

Brooks Koepka makes another stress-free par and Tyrrell Hatton picks up a three but the Englishman needs birdies.

Bryson DeChambeau goes for a high cut over one of the rare trees still left at Aronimink but the ball drops just short of the 18th green and plugs in the bunker.

It's a tough escape which he plays nicely but he faces a tough putt to save par coming up...

Step forward Ryan Fox. The New Zealander has just become the first player to birdie the 245-yard par-three eighth. A super tee shot in to about eight feet set up the chance and Fox rolled his ball right into the middle of the cup.

With his power, Rory McIlroy is usually licking his lips when he arrives at a par-five, but he misses the fairway at 16. Despite a good lie, he dumps his second in the bunker and aggressively knocks it out of the sand to 14 feet and can't get the putt to drop.

Jon Rahm fluffs one into the same bunker while trying to flop his third over it, but he does well to salvage par.

And having visited the same trap, Jordan Spieth gets up and down for his first birdie of the day, drawing a big cheer from the crowd!