Truist Championship Round 1: Keith Mitchell Breaks Philly Cricket With a Career-Best 61

Philadelphia Cricket Club got its first look at a PGA TOUR field on Thursday, and Keith Mitchell treated the place like a member who knows every putt.

Mitchell shot a bogey-free 9-under 61 on the Wissahickon Course to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Truist Championship. It was the lowest round of Mitchell's TOUR career and it obliterated the course record of 65. Denny McCarthy sits alone in second after a 62. Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sepp Straka and Akshay Bhatia are tied for third at 7-under 63, and Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Sam Stevens and Joe Highsmith are another shot back at 64.

A Sleepy Start, Then a Sprint

For five holes, nothing about Mitchell's card suggested history. Mitchell started on the 10th tee and opened with five straight pars. Then the switch flipped. Birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th got Mitchell to 3 under at the turn, and the front nine turned into a clinic: four straight birdies from No. 5 through No. 8 for an inward 29. That is nine birdies in the final 13 holes, and CBS Sports noted Mitchell led the field in strokes gained tee to green and approach.

There was even a sniff of 59. Mitchell had 102 yards in on the ninth, the final hole of the day, with an outside chance at golf's magic number, but the birdie did not come. A 61 will have to do.

Mitchell, in the field on a sponsor exemption, had barely any intel on the place. "We're lucky to be here," Mitchell said, per Field Level Media. "This golf course is as classic as it gets, traditional."

The Fast Starter Problem

Here is the context that matters. Mitchell leads the TOUR in first-round scoring average at 67.1 and has opened with 65 or better in five straight starts, according to the PGA TOUR. The finishes have not always followed. The best of that recent stretch was a runner-up at the Corales Puntacana Championship, and Mitchell's lone TOUR win came back in 2019. Mitchell came into the week 71st in the FedExCup.

Mitchell knows the reputation. "Three more rounds like today will probably do it, and trying not to win on Friday and Saturday and Sunday," Mitchell said. "I've made it pretty hard lately. Hopefully I can just stay in front of it."

Rickie Has Something to Say

The loudest story on the board might be Fowler. The 2012 champion of this event needed sponsor exemptions to get into both this week and next week's PGA Championship, and he arrived ranked 125th in both the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Ranking. His best finish this season was a T18 at the Cognizant Classic.

Fowler answered with a 63, his best round since January. He was 6 under through seven holes, hit 16 greens, and ranked ninth in the field in approach play after coming in 116th on TOUR in that stat. The fix, per the PGA TOUR, was small: irons bent one degree upright to match a steeper swing.

"You obviously want to come out and prove yourself," Fowler said. "The negative stuff, I would say, kind of helps me in a way because it fuels me to kind of go out and prove people wrong."

Morikawa, Straka and a Crowded Chase

McCarthy's 62 was built on a heater of five straight birdies from Nos. 11 to 15. Morikawa went bogey-free in his first competitive round with new caddie Joe Greiner and said a new venue takes some recalibrating. "It's not as simple as 150 yards, hit it 155," Morikawa said. Straka and Bhatia quietly matched Morikawa's 63, and Lowry and Bradley, two major champions, are lurking at 64.

Behind them came a wall of 65s: Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim and Erik van Rooyen. With Scottie Scheffler not in the field, this is a week where a lot of big names see an opening.

Rory Shakes Off the Rust

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and a four-time winner of this event at Quail Hollow, was making his first individual start since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters. The result was a 66 with six birdies and two bogeys, including a three-putt at the 11th and a bogey at the 570-yard, par-5 15th. That leaves McIlroy five back, alongside Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Will Zalatoris.

"I felt like I was a little rusty out there, just hadn't played in a week and I hadn't really done a ton of practice," McIlroy said, per the PGA TOUR. "I certainly can tidy a few things up, but overall a decent day."

A Course With Its Guard Down

The tournament landed at Philadelphia Cricket Club for one year because Quail Hollow is hosting next week's PGA Championship. The A.W. Tillinghast design plays just 7,100 yards at par 70, and with perfect weather, receptive greens and modest par 4s, it had nowhere to hide. Sixty-four of the 72 players broke par, the field averaged roughly 67, and 10 players beat the old course record. Alex Noren, back for the first time since August after neck and leg injuries, shot 67.

There is no cut at this $20 million Signature Event, so everyone plays four rounds. The bigger variable is the weather. Rain was forecast to move in, and Friday tee times were pushed into the early morning. If the wind joins the party, Thursday's numbers will look like a mirage.

For now, the TOUR's best Thursday player owns the first chapter. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more details.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap, Rickie Fowler feature and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.