John Pak opened with an eagle at the par-4 10th and fired five birdies to close with a flawless 7-under 63 and take the lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“I hit the ball well. I judged it really well when I did miss the fairway and kind of just made sure to leave myself in the right spots. The putting was the best I’ve had all year. So, yeah, I’m pretty happy about it,” said Pak.
“[The eagle] was just like a perfect 9-iron. The wind was off the left, and I just tried to hit a 145 shot. I actually pushed it a little bit because I was aiming left of it, and it kind of just trickled in.
“We didn’t really see it, but saw a couple of guys behind the green throw their hands in the air. It was kind of nice to see that fall in.”
This was a new career-record for the American, beating his previous low round on the PGA Tour by two shots. His only top-25 finish in 27 career starts came at the 2025 Mexico Open at VidantaWorld (T17).
Pak holds his first lead after any round on Tour, his previous-best position after any round came after the first round of the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open (T8; finished T56).
He missed the cut with rounds of 73-75 in his only other start at the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2022.
Pak fnished No. 23 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning PGA Tour membership for the first time in his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Nine players are tied in second place at 4-under including England’s Matt Wallace who made a single bogey and Germany’s Matti Schmid who produced a colourful round featuring eight birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey at the par-4 12th.
World No. 1 and last week’s PGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler of the United States, currently T20 at 2-under, is seeking to become the first player to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson in 2017. He is also looking to win on Tour the week after a major for the second consecutive season (2024 Masters Tournament, 2024 RBC Heritage).
“It was a challenging day,” said Scheffler. “I didn’t hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Around this golf course you have to be in the fairway. I did a good job of posting a score, and hopefully I get out tomorrow in some softer conditions and take advantage of that.
“The fairways are narrow, especially when they get really firm out here, so you’re not going to be hitting as many fairways out here as you would a normal course. I was a little bit off on some of them, but overall I feel very good how I’m swinging it, and I’m sure I’ll hit more tomorrow.”
Fellow American Davis Riley opened his title defense with a 3-over 73 and lies in T106 at 3-over. Ben Hogan (1946-47, 1952-53) was the only back-to-back winners of the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Joel Dahmen aced the par-3 13th hole with a 7-iron from 186 yards, his first hole-in-one on Tour, and lies in T122 at 4-over. It marks the 11th ace on No. 13 (first since Sung Kang in 2020/R1) and the Tour’s 15th ace of the season.
Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5
Aon Next 10: The top 10 players in the FedExCup standings not otherwise exempt following the Charles Schwab Challenge will qualify for the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.
Aon Swing 5: The top five players not otherwise exempt who earn the most FedExCup points during the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic and the Charles Schwab Challenge will qualify for the Memorial Tournament presented by
Workday.
