Team Kuchar (Matt/Cameron) opened with a bogey-free 15-under 57 to take a two-stroke lead over 2021 PNC Championship champion Team Daly (John/John II), who eagled the par-5s 5th and 18th, after the first round of the PNC Championship.
Making their seventh appearance (fourth with Cameron) at the PNC Championship, Team Kuchar has five top-10 finishes. Their best was T5 (three times: 2020, 2022, 2023).
“Got off to an awesome start,” said Matt. “I mean, it’s so much fun to kind of put a drive out in the fairway, watch Cam smash it. It’s not even a consideration of whose ball we’re going to use.
“So we have a lot of short irons in. Between his wedge game and my wedge game we ended up with a whole lot of short putts. It was a fantastic start.
“He hit a wedge on the first to a foot. We both probably have some first hole, first tee jitters, and to get that one out of the way, hit it so close, got us off to a great start.
“It’s been so much fun just having this event become part of our lives. To be able to play with Cameron, my younger son Carson, started with playing with dad, so it’s certainly a special, special event.
“And then each year with Cam we seem to get good chances. We play well the first day and somebody seems to have a great day two and kind of gets the best of us.
“But I feel like he’s gone two years since he’s played last and the improvements in his game was leaps and bounds better than what it was two years ago.
“I’m certainly excited to go into Sunday’s final round with him in the form he’s in. This is some of the best I’ve seen him play and certainly excited to keep riding the coattails.”
47-year-old Matt is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2012 Players Championship. 18-year-old Cameron signed a National Letter of Intent on November 12 to play collegiate golf at Texas Christian University, starting in the fall of 2026.
Team Daly are making their 10th appearance at the PNC Championship and matched their second-lowest 18-hole score at this event (19th round), they shot 57 during the final round in 2021.
Two-time champion (2012, 2018) Team Love (Davis/Dru) sits T3 after opening with a bogey-free 12-under 60 featuring an eagle at the par-5 5th. Team Love is making their ninth appearance and first since their victory in 2018. In addition to the two wins, they have three runner-up finishes (2nd/2008, 2nd/2014, T2/2015).
Team Stricker (Steve/Izzi) sits T3 after shooting a bogey-free 12-under 60. The father-daughter duo is making their third appearance (10th/2023, 7th/2024).
Team Korda (Nelly/Petr) posted a bogey-free 12-under 60 featuring an eagle at the par-5 3rd for their lowest 18-hole score at the PNC Championship (ninth round). In four previous appearances, Team Korda’s best finish at this event is T5 (2022).
Five teams are T6 at 11-under, including two-time defending champion Team Langer (Bernhard/Jason) and Team Woodland (Gary/Dan), who are making their debut. Team Langer holds the record for most wins in PNC Championship history (6).
The PNC Championship is a two-day, 36-hole tournament that uses a two-person team Scramble format.
A member of each of the 20 teams holds at least one major title (PGA Tour, LPGA or PGA Tour Champions) or The Players Championship title, while the partner does not hold any playing status on a professional Tour.
Related: Golf in Mallorca: Views and Conditioning to Write Home About
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Kuchar | -15 | 57 |
| 2 | Team Daly | -13 | 59 |
| T3 | Team Love | -12 | 60 |
| T3 | Team Stricker | -12 | 60 |
| T3 | Team Korda | -12 | 60 |
| T6 | Team Leonard | -11 | 61 |
| T6 | Team Annika | -11 | 61 |
| T6 | Team Woodland | -11 | 61 |
| T6 | Team Langer | -11 | 61 |
| T6 | Team Duval | -11 | 61 |
| T11 | Team Price | -10 | 62 |
| T11 | Team Singh | -10 | 62 |
| T11 | Team Harrington | -10 | 62 |
| T14 | Team O'Meara | -9 | 63 |
| T14 | Team Immelman | -9 | 63 |
| T14 | Team Couples | -9 | 63 |
| 17 | Team Cink | -8 | 64 |
| T18 | Team Lehman | -7 | 65 |
| T18 | Team Trevino | -7 | 65 |
| T18 | Team Furyk | -7 | 65 |
