First round Thursday, May 19, 2022 Two-time champion
Rory McIlroy shot 65 (−5), his lowest round in his PGA Championship career, to take a one-shot lead over
Tom Hoge and
Will Zalatoris. Beginning his round on the 10th hole, McIlroy birdied four holes in a row on his first nine and did not make a bogey until the sixth hole, his 15th. He finished the round by making an 18-foot putt for birdie on the ninth, taking the first-round lead at a major championship for the first time since the
2014 Open Championship and first after any round since winning the
2014 PGA Championship. Hoge made only one bogey to go with five birdies, while Zalatoris birdied three of his first four holes to equal Hoge's four-under 66.
2017 champion
Justin Thomas was even-par making the turn after bogeys on holes eight and nine before making three birdies on the back-nine to shoot 67 (−3), the lowest score in the afternoon. World No. 1 and
Masters champion
Scottie Scheffler eagled the par-5 fifth hole to go two-under on his round but made four bogeys on the back-nine to finish with a one-over 71.
Tiger Woods was two-under through five holes before making seven bogeys the rest of his round, finishing at four-over 74. :
Second round Friday, May 20, 2022 Will Zalatoris shot a bogey-free round of 65 (−5) to take a one-shot lead over
Mito Pereira at nine-under. Zalatoris birdied three holes in a row on his back-nine to get to eight-under for the tournament. At the par-4 17th hole, after his drive went into the trees to the right of the fairway, Zalatoris hit his approach to seven feet and made the putt for sole possession of the 36-hole lead. Pereira, playing in just his second major championship and first PGA Championship, was two-under on his round at the turn before making four birdies on his second nine. He had a six-foot birdie putt on the ninth (his 18th) to shoot 63 but missed, settling for a six-under 64 to finish at eight-under. Playing in the more difficult morning conditions,
Justin Thomas birdied the ninth (also his 18th) for a second consecutive round of 67 (−3). At six-under for the tournament, he held the lead as he finished his round before being passed by Zalatoris and Pereira in the afternoon.
Bubba Watson made nine birdies in a tournament-record round of 63 (−7), narrowly missing a 22-foot putt on the 18th for the first 62 in PGA Championship history. He was the third player to shoot 63 in a major at Southern Hills, along with Raymond Floyd in
1982 and
Tiger Woods in
2007. He finished at five-under and in fourth place. Overnight leader
Rory McIlroy made two bogeys on the front-nine and didn't make a birdie until the 12th, settling for a one-over 71 to fall back to a tie for fifth place at four-under. Woods, in the same group with McIlroy, double-bogeyed the 11th hole after hitting a chip shot over the green into a bunker to fall to five-over and outside the cutline, but he rebounded with birdies at the 13th and 16th to finish at three-over and make the cut by two shots. The 36-hole cut came at 144 (+4) and better; 79 players advanced to the weekend. Notables to miss the cut included World No. 1
Scottie Scheffler, the reigning
Masters champion, and two-time major champion
Dustin Johnson. : He rebounded with a 17-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th, then hit his approach on the par-3 14th to six feet for another birdie. He finished the round by making a 27-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green to finish at nine-under for the tournament. He became the first player to lead after 54 holes in his tournament debut since
John Daly in
1991. Zalatoris, the overnight leader, bogeyed four holes on his front-nine, including a three-putt on the par-3 sixth hole. He made his first birdie on the round on the 13th, holing a 35-foot putt. After a bogey on the 16th when he could not advance his ball out of the right rough off the tee, he hit his second on the par-4 17th inside four feet for a birdie to climb back to six-under for the tournament, three shots back of Pereira.
Matt Fitzpatrick and
Cameron Young both shot 67 (−3) to climb into contention. Fitzpatrick birdied four of his last 10 holes, including both 17 and 18, to join Zalatoris at six-under and a tie for second place. Young drove the green on the 17th and made a 24-foot putt for eagle to finish at five-under and alone in fourth place.
2017 champion
Justin Thomas began the round in third place but shot 74 (+4) to fall seven shots off the lead at two-under. Two-time champion
Rory McIlroy also shot 74, including a triple-bogey at the 11th; he finished at even-par.
Bubba Watson was alone in second place while playing the front-nine but went four-over on the back-nine to join a group tied for seventh place at two-under.
Tiger Woods shot a nine-over 79, including a stretch of five bogeys in a row for the first time in his major championship career, before withdrawing from the tournament after the round. : Zalatoris bogeyed the 12th, while Young tied Pereira at six-under when the leader also bogeyed the hole. Pereira reached the green on the par-5 13th hole in two shots and two-putted for birdie, while Young fell two behind after hitting his tee shot on the par-3 14th into a bunker. Young three-putted for a double-bogey on the 16th and finished the round at four-under following a 71. Pereira's tee shot on the 14th flew over the green and he made another bogey, dropping his lead again to just one shot. Zalatoris also three-putted for bogey on the 16th before holing a seven-foot birdie putt at the 17th to reach five-under. While the leaders were struggling,
Justin Thomas, who began the round seven shots behind, was quickly moving up the leaderboard. He birdied the ninth hole, then made a 64-foot putt from the front of the 11th green for another birdie. He made his second consecutive birdie on the 12th hole to reach four-under, then got up-and-down from a bunker on the short 17th for another birdie that moved him to five-under. At the 18th, he hit his approach to 10 feet but missed the birdie putt, settling for a par and a three-under round of 67. Zalatoris made an eight-foot par putt on the 18th to tie Thomas for the clubhouse lead at five-under. Leading by one playing the 18th, Pereira hit his drive to the right into a water hazard, found the rough on his third shot, then chipped over the green. He suffered a double-bogey on the hole, dropping down to four-under and a shot out of the playoff.
Final leaderboard : Thomas' seven-shot comeback after 54 holes tied
John Mahaffey in
1978 for the largest in PGA Championship history.
Scorecard : ==Notes==