The 2025 Senior PGA Championship kicked off on Thursday, May 22, to a small but fun number of spectators who were brave enough to handle the elements. Today’s rainy first round at the 85th Senior PGA Championship saw some of golf’s biggest names take the stage at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, and saw a last-minute shift in the leaderboard.
Keith Horne would lead the pack after a blustery first day of action. His 68 strokes landed him at 4-under for the day. Things were heating up for the South African on the Front 9, where he found his form on the 6th hole. It’s there where he birdied a par-5 (526 yards), which in turn led to an eagle on the 8th.
“I think the relief of having a wetter and softer golf course out there today was — yeah, I was very fortunate,” Horne began. “I played a practice round on Monday, and I was very scared to play the golf course. The greens were hard and fast, and to get out there today and to have them a little bit softer and slower, it was a huge help.”
The championship is decided by seventy-two holes of stroke play or four rounds of 18 holes. Following the first 36 holes of play (Days 1 & 2), the field of 156 players will be reduced to the low 70 scorers and ties. Those players will advance to complete the final two rounds.
Fellow countryman Ernie Els finished tied for fourth, posting 3-under 69 after birdying holes 4, 11, and 12. “It was raining a bit this morning. It was a little uncomfortable, a little chilly,” Els began after finishing the course. “I’ll take something under par and see where we go.”
Miguel Angel Jiménez finished an even 72. I witnessed both of his errors on the Front 9: bogeys on holes 1 and 5. But as is typical of the Spaniard, he took it in stride. Even in the rain, if you couldn’t see his long flowing mane, you could easily spot the large cloud of cigar smoke that followed him after each hole.
The 61-year-old was able to redeem his early mistakes by birdying the 11th hole, staying level through the next five, and birdying the 17th. Jiménez was grouped with Alan Morin (USA) and defending champion Richard Bland (ENG).
Before I could even think about dinner, Australian Cameron Percy came out of nowhere and spoiled a day dominated by the South African contingent (Horne, Fichardt, Els), who all placed in the top five. He managed an eagle on 6 and a birdie on 8, all while dealing with tightness in his back. Because of this, he credited his effort down the stretch to good fortune.
“I sort of got lucky on 6. I hit a 3-wood off the tee and then a 4-iron in, and there was a bit of wind I couldn’t feel, and it drifted to like two feet, so I got lucky there,” said Percy after taking the lead late this evening. “Then 8, the guy I played with, Eric, he putted on a very similar line, and so I sort of had a read, so that was pretty lucky there, too, I’d imagine.”
His late-match heroics would see Horne dethroned from the No. 1 spot, but that didn’t matter much to Cameron Percy. “Yeah, it really doesn’t,” he began. “Like I said, normally there’s a score in kind you have at the end of the week that typically wins, so it doesn’t really matter what you shoot the first round.”
Top 10 Leaderboard
| POSITION | NAME | TOTAL |
| 1 | Cameron Percy | -5 |
| 2 | Keith Horne | -4 |
| T3 | Darren Fichardt | -3 |
| T3 | Simon Khan | -3 |
| T3 | Ernie Els | -3 |
| T3 | Mario Tiziani | -3 |
| T7 | Matt Gogel | -2 |
| T7 | Robert Karlsson | -2 |
| T7 | Y.E. Yang | -2 |
| T7 | Felipe Aguilar | -2 |
You can watch the Senior PGA Championship on NBC and the Golf Channel.
First Round, Thursday, May 22: GOLF Channel 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Second Round, Friday, May 23: GOLF Channel 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Third Round, Saturday, May 24: NBC 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Fourth Round, Sunday, May 25: NBC 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Richard Randolph