Two Ryder Cup captains in hunt at PGA Championship and ones a surprise

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— There were a number of unlikely names at the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard in Thursday’s opening round at Quail Hollow, but none was more eye-opening than Luke Donald.Donald, the European Ryder Cup captain, is 47 years old, ranked 871st in the world and only a part-time player these days, with most of his focus on readying for Bethpage Black, where he’s hoping to lead Europe to a second consecutive Ryder Cup victory.Donald shot a 4-under-par 67, tied for fourth and just three shots out of the lead despite entering the week having missed the cut in the last five tournaments in which he’s played.“Obviously, I’ve been trending with all the five or six missed cuts coming into this week,’’ Donald deadpanned afterward.

“Golf’s a crazy game.’’Donald’s game, other than not being in good form, also didn’t figure to be a good fit for a particularly short hitter such as him at Quail Hollow, which maxes out to about 7,700 yards.“It was a pleasant surprise,’’ he said.“It’s always fun, bogey-free in a major championship on a course that you wouldn’t have thought would be ideal for me.’’Sitting one shot behind Donald at 3-under is Keegan Bradley, the 38-year-old U.S.

Ryder Cup captain.Those who had the two Ryder Cup captains shooting a combined 7-under in the opening round on their bingo card, please raise your hands.The only time that two sitting captains were among the top 10 after any major championship round during a Ryder Cup year was at the 1937 British Open at Carnoustie.At the end of that second round, European captain Charles Whitecombe and U.S.captain Walter Hagen were tied for second and eighth, respectively.“Someone just told me it was the lowest first round in a major I’ve had since 2004 or something,’’ Donald said.It was his first bogey-free round in a major championship since 2015, and it tied his lowest career first round in a major (the 2004 PGA).Asked what it’s like going to a tou...