Australia’s Cameron Percy has taken the lead after the first round of the US Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club. Despite not completing a full practice round due to a back issue, Percy scored a 5-under-par 67 in Maryland, securing a one-shot lead over South Africa’s Keith Horne as he aims for his first over-50s major title.
Percy disclosed that his physiotherapist recommended rest before the tournament, limiting his preparation to a course walk with his caddie and nine holes played in rainy conditions on Wednesday. “On Sunday, it was so wet and I slipped on a rock and made a mess of myself,” Percy said. He added that he spent considerable time with the physiotherapist in the days leading up to the event.
Despite not having a complete practice round, Percy expressed satisfaction with his performance given the challenging weather conditions. “In the weather we had today, I’m pretty happy with a 5-under. It was nasty out there for a while,” he stated.
Percy’s bogey-free round featured an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole, where his approach shot landed close to the cup. He moved ahead of Horne with a birdie at the par-4 eighth hole. Percy credited Denmark’s Soren Keldsen for helping him maintain focus during their round together. “I was really just trying to keep up with Soren. He started incredible,” Percy remarked.
Other Australian players also performed well, with Stuart Appleby and Scott Hend tied for seventh place at 2-under-par. Appleby recorded five birdies but dropped a shot at the final hole, while Hend mixed four birdies with two bogeys on the back nine.
The Senior PGA Championship is being broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from Friday through Monday.
Australasian scores:
1 Cameron Percy 67
T7 Stuart Appleby 70
T7 Scott Hend 70
T24 Brendan Jones 71
T24 Richard Green 71
T24 Mark Hensby 71
T35 David Bransdon 72
T35 Rod Pampling 72
T35 Mick Smith 72
T48 Andre Stolz 73
T71 Michael Wright 75
T71 Steven Alker 75
T107 Michael Campbell 77
Photo: PGA of America
