Craig Stevens, the only club professional from Georgia in the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, posted a better first-round score than four-time champion Tiger Woods. But that's little solace for Stevens, a Dallas, Ga., resident who is a teaching professional at Fox Creek and Legacy Links in Smyrna.
Stevens shot a first-round 76 – one better than Woods – but has work to do on Friday if he wants to achieve his goal of making the cut.
Stevens hit the first shot of the tournament off the No. 1 tee. He ripped it down the middle and put his approach shot within range of a birdie, but failed to convert. Stevens, playing in his third PGA Championship, admitted the emotions were running high.
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“It was real cool,” Stevens said. “I knew people were coming out. With all the people being here, that was really great. I really gave me some chills, but I hit my golf ball well and it was great.”
Stevens shot a 5-over 40 on the front nine; he found the water on No. 8 that led to a double-bogey.
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He regained his composure and made back-to-back birdies at No. 12 and 13.
“That was awesome,” he said. “And it was really going good.”
After a bogey at the 260-yard par 3 15th, Stevens closed the round with a double-bogey at No. 18, giving him a 36 on the back nine.
“The greens being where they are, you cannot miss,” Stevens said. “I got up-and-down several times. The easiest up-and-down I had was on 15 and I didn't, so that took a little bit of wind out of the sail. But other than that, I didn't play all that bad, just missed a few, and we'll go tomorrow.”