Eric Cole, still chasing a first career win, charged to the top of the PGA Championship first-round leaderboard ahead of a pack of major winners on Thursday before play was halted due to darkness, bringing the curtain down on a wild day at Oak Hill.

Starting on the back nine, the PGA Tour rookie mixed six birdies with a bogey to reach five-under par with four holes to play. Former U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau holds the overnight clubhouse lead after carding a four-under 66.

Lurking a shot further back on three-under are a pair of Masters winners in world number two Scottie Scheffler and LIV&nbsp;Golf&nbsp;hope Dustin Johnson, along with Canadian Corey Conners. "It was a good day, five-under through the holes that I played was good," said Cole. "I played solid for the most part and got a couple of good breaks when I needed them, so it was a good day."

From scores to temperatures, it was a day of highs and lows as a treacherous East Course bared its teeth with only 19 in the 156-player field getting under par. An overnight frost delayed the start of play by nearly two hours, with&nbsp;golfers and spectators bundled up in wool hats, gloves, and winter coats as action finally got underway.

By mid-morning the freezing temperatures and frost had given way to sunny skies before an evening chill arrived with 33&nbsp;golfers still on the course. World number one Jon Rahm wrestled with the gnarly rough and crater-like bunkers, the Masters champion slumping to a six-over 76 to leave him 11 shots off the pace.

Rahm, who has made the cut at each of the last 14 major championships, the longest current streak of its kind, was undone by an ugly six-hole stretch around the turn that included five bogeys. "Couldn't find the fairway and the fairways that I missed cost me bogeys," said Rahm.

The Spaniard was not alone. U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick also had a 76, as did Australian Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner who arrived at Oak Hill riding the momentum from his Byron Nelson victory on Sunday.

But at least they avoided being waist-deep in mud like Tom Kim, who waded into a swamp in search of his ball only to get stuck. The South Korean eventually managed to crawl out before washing himself off in a nearby creek and finishing with a three-over 73.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/florida-judge-rules-in-favour-of-tiger-woods-over-nda-dispute-against-ex-girlfriend-report-593633">Florida judge rules in favour of Tiger Woods over NDA dispute against ex-girlfriend - Report</a>

'MESSY'

DeChambeau, who missed last year's PGA Championship as he was recovering from surgery on his left hand, started on the back nine and reached the turn at one under. From there he went bogey-free and added three birdies to put a LIV&nbsp;Golf&nbsp;member top of the leaderboard.

Scheffler also began on the back nine and reached the turn at one-under before adding birdies at the par-three fifth and the par-four eighth, where his approach shot settled three feet from the cup, enroute to his first bogey-free round in a major.

"It was a grind today," said Scheffler. "The&nbsp;golf&nbsp;course is very tough. And I think these are probably the easiest conditions we are going to have all week." World number three Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at last month's Masters, got off to a slow start and reached the turn at three-over but steadied the ship coming home and finished his day with a one-over 71.

"Messy," McIlroy said of his round. "Didn't hit the ball well at all. Thought I did really well to shoot one-over in the end ... but I am going to need to play a lot better than that if I want to feature in this tournament." Brooks Koepka, who finished joint runner-up at the Masters, opened with a 72 while Jordan Spieth, making his seventh attempt at completing the coveted career Grand Slam of&nbsp;golf's four majors, shot a 73.

Eric Cole, still chasing a first career win, charged to the top of the PGA Championship first-round leaderboard ahead of a pack of major winners on Thursday before play was halted due to darkness, bringing the curtain down on a wild day at Oak Hill.

Eric Cole, still chasing a first career win, charged to the top of the PGA Championship first-round leaderboard ahead of a pack of major winners on Thursday before play was halted due to darkness, bringing the curtain down on a wild day at Oak Hill. Starting on the back nine, the PGA Tour rookie mixed six birdies with a bogey to reach five-under par with four holes to play. Former U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau holds the overnight clubhouse lead after carding a four-under 66. Lurking a shot further back on three-under are a pair of Masters winners in world number two Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf hope Dustin Johnson, along with Canadian Corey Conners. "It was a good day, five-under through the holes that I played was good," said Cole. "I played solid for the most part and got a couple of good breaks when I needed them, so it was a good day." From scores to temperatures, it was a day of highs and lows as a treacherous East Course bared its teeth with only 19 in the 156-player field getting under par. An overnight frost delayed the start of play by nearly two hours, with golfers and spectators bundled up in wool hats, gloves, and winter coats as action finally got underway. By mid-morning the freezing temperatures and frost had given way to sunny skies before an evening chill arrived with 33 golfers still on the course. World number one Jon Rahm wrestled with the gnarly rough and crater-like bunkers, the Masters champion slumping to a six-over 76 to leave him 11 shots off the pace. Rahm, who has made the cut at each of the last 14 major championships, the longest current streak of its kind, was undone by an ugly six-hole stretch around the turn that included five bogeys. "Couldn't find the fairway and the fairways that I missed cost me bogeys," said Rahm. The Spaniard was not alone. U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick also had a 76, as did Australian Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner who arrived at Oak Hill riding the momentum from his Byron Nelson victory on Sunday. But at least they avoided being waist-deep in mud like Tom Kim, who waded into a swamp in search of his ball only to get stuck. The South Korean eventually managed to crawl out before washing himself off in a nearby creek and finishing with a three-over 73. Also Read: Florida judge rules in favour of Tiger Woods over NDA dispute against ex-girlfriend - Report 'MESSY' DeChambeau, who missed last year's PGA Championship as he was recovering from surgery on his left hand, started on the back nine and reached the turn at one under. From there he went bogey-free and added three birdies to put a LIV Golf member top of the leaderboard. Scheffler also began on the back nine and reached the turn at one-under before adding birdies at the par-three fifth and the par-four eighth, where his approach shot settled three feet from the cup, enroute to his first bogey-free round in a major. "It was a grind today," said Scheffler. "The golf course is very tough. And I think these are probably the easiest conditions we are going to have all week." World number three Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at last month's Masters, got off to a slow start and reached the turn at three-over but steadied the ship coming home and finished his day with a one-over 71. "Messy," McIlroy said of his round. "Didn't hit the ball well at all. Thought I did really well to shoot one-over in the end ... but I am going to need to play a lot better than that if I want to feature in this tournament." Brooks Koepka, who finished joint runner-up at the Masters, opened with a 72 while Jordan Spieth, making his seventh attempt at completing the coveted career Grand Slam of golf's four majors, shot a 73.

Golf: Eric Cole leads PGA Championship, chased by pack of major winners

Eric Cole, who spent the night atop the PGA Championship leaderboard, was back at Oak Hill early on Friday to complete his opening round, turning over the lead to Bryson DeChambeau after a double-bogey start to his day. Leading by one stroke, the PGA Tour rookie got off to a nervous start by sending his first shot into the creek lining the par four sixth.

A missed short putt added to a wobbly start for the American, who took a six to drop into a tie for second with world number two Scottie Scheffler, former world number one Dustin Johnson and Canadian Corey Conners on three-under. Cole steadied the ship by closing out with three consecutive pars to leave LIV Golf hope DeChambeau leading by one on four-under 66.

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(PGA Championship live streaming is available on FanCode)

While Cole had a double-bogey start, six-times major winner Phil Mickelson was closing out his first round with a double bogey on the 18th to finish at three-over 73.

With a massive 156 player field and officials scrambling to get the year's second major back on schedule, players were headed back out for their second rounds while others were closing out their first.

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Eric Cole, who spent the night atop the PGA Championship leaderboard, was back at Oak Hill early on Friday to complete his opening round, turning over the lead to Bryson DeChambeau after a double-bogey start to his day.

Eric Cole, who spent the night atop the PGA Championship leaderboard, was back at Oak Hill early on Friday to complete his opening round, turning over the lead to Bryson DeChambeau after a double-bogey start to his day. Leading by one stroke, the PGA Tour rookie got off to a nervous start by sending his first shot into the creek lining the par four sixth. A missed short putt added to a wobbly start for the American, who took a six to drop into a tie for second with world number two Scottie Scheffler, former world number one Dustin Johnson and Canadian Corey Conners on three-under. Cole steadied the ship by closing out with three consecutive pars to leave LIV Golf hope DeChambeau leading by one on four-under 66. Also Read: Golf: Eric Cole leads PGA Championship, chased by pack of major winners (PGA Championship live streaming is available on FanCode) While Cole had a double-bogey start, six-times major winner Phil Mickelson was closing out his first round with a double bogey on the 18th to finish at three-over 73. With a massive 156 player field and officials scrambling to get the year's second major back on schedule, players were headed back out for their second rounds while others were closing out their first. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. ×

Golf: Eric Cole double-bogey hands Bryson DeChambeau PGA Championship lead

Chris&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;birdied the first playoff hole to beat Eric Cole at the Honda Classic on Sunday, ending a near eight-year title drought with his fifth US PGA Tour triumph. It was an emotional win for the 37-year-old American, whose last victory at Colonial in 2015 was followed by time away from the game in 2019 to deal with depression and alcohol misuse.

He took a two-shot lead into the final round and carded a one-under-par 69, shaking off a bogey at the 72nd hole with a birdie when they returned again to 18 for the first hole of the playoff.

There&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;spun his approach within a foot of the pin while Cole was in a greenside bunker and missed a 10-foot birdie attempt to extend the playoff.

"I just have so much to be thankful for,"&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;said. "I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful for my sobriety. I'm so grateful for my family. I'm so grateful for everyone that's supported me throughout the past three or four years especially."

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Cole, who is a US tour rookie this season at the age of 34 -- and with 56 professional wins behind him on the Minor League Golf Tour mini-tour -- carded a final-round 67 on the par-70 PGA National course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he joined&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;in finishing with a 72-hole total of 14-under par 266.

He and&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;dueled all day and finished two strokes in front of third-placed Tyler Duncan, who carded a 66 for 268.

Kirk&nbsp;got off to a quick start, rolling in a 17-foot birdie putt at the opening hole.

After a bogey at the second he got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the third and rolled in a 34-foot birdie at the eighth to take a two-shot lead.

Cole had kept in touch with birdies at the third, fourth and fifth -- where he snaked in a 70-foot putt.

He was in the water for a bogey at the sixth, but after a birdie at 11 pulled him back within one stroke he grabbed the outright lead at the 13th as he rapped in a seven-foot birdie putt while&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;bogeyed.

Cole gave back a stroke with a bogey at 15, where he needed two shots to get out of a greenside bunker, and&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;regained the solo lead with a 19-foot birdie at the 16th.

<h2>Cole hangs tough</h2>

Kirk&nbsp;couldn't close it out at 18, however, as his second shot from the fairway found the water and he was unable to convert a 16-foot par-saving putt.

"I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long,"&nbsp;Kirk&nbsp;said.

"Coming down the stretch, I felt good. Obviously that putt on 16 was huge and was in a great position on 18, just made a bad swing at the wrong time."

Cole, who is the son of former PGA Tour player Bobby Cole and former LPGA player Laura Baugh, called it a "great week overall."

"I felt like I hung pretty tough, and I was really proud of that," he said.

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Chris Kirk birdied the first playoff hole to beat Eric Cole at the Honda Classic on Sunday, ending a near eight-year title drought with his fifth US PGA Tour triumph.

Chris Kirk birdied the first playoff hole to beat Eric Cole at the Honda Classic on Sunday, ending a near eight-year title drought with his fifth US PGA Tour triumph. It was an emotional win for the 37-year-old American, whose last victory at Colonial in 2015 was followed by time away from the game in 2019 to deal with depression and alcohol misuse. He took a two-shot lead into the final round and carded a one-under-par 69, shaking off a bogey at the 72nd hole with a birdie when they returned again to 18 for the first hole of the playoff. There Kirk spun his approach within a foot of the pin while Cole was in a greenside bunker and missed a 10-foot birdie attempt to extend the playoff. "I just have so much to be thankful for," Kirk said. "I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful for my sobriety. I'm so grateful for my family. I'm so grateful for everyone that's supported me throughout the past three or four years especially." Also Read: Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson to feature in controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf League Cole, who is a US tour rookie this season at the age of 34 -- and with 56 professional wins behind him on the Minor League Golf Tour mini-tour -- carded a final-round 67 on the par-70 PGA National course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he joined Kirk in finishing with a 72-hole total of 14-under par 266. He and Kirk dueled all day and finished two strokes in front of third-placed Tyler Duncan, who carded a 66 for 268. Kirk got off to a quick start, rolling in a 17-foot birdie putt at the opening hole. After a bogey at the second he got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the third and rolled in a 34-foot birdie at the eighth to take a two-shot lead. Cole had kept in touch with birdies at the third, fourth and fifth -- where he snaked in a 70-foot putt. He was in the water for a bogey at the sixth, but after a birdie at 11 pulled him back within one stroke he grabbed the outright lead at the 13th as he rapped in a seven-foot birdie putt while Kirk bogeyed. Cole gave back a stroke with a bogey at 15, where he needed two shots to get out of a greenside bunker, and Kirk regained the solo lead with a 19-foot birdie at the 16th. Cole hangs tough Kirk couldn't close it out at 18, however, as his second shot from the fairway found the water and he was unable to convert a 16-foot par-saving putt. "I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long," Kirk said. "Coming down the stretch, I felt good. Obviously that putt on 16 was huge and was in a great position on 18, just made a bad swing at the wrong time." Cole, who is the son of former PGA Tour player Bobby Cole and former LPGA player Laura Baugh, called it a "great week overall." "I felt like I hung pretty tough, and I was really proud of that," he said. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Golf: Chris Kirk beats Eric Cole in playoff to win Honda Classic

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Golf: Eric Cole leads PGA Championship, chased by pack of major winners

Golf: Eric Cole double-bogey hands Bryson DeChambeau PGA Championship lead

Golf: Chris Kirk beats Eric Cole in playoff to win Honda Classic