Cameron Percy holds the first-round lead in the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course.
Percy fired an opening 5-under 67 in the second-to-last group of the day, overtaking Keith Horne, who had the clubhouse lead all afternoon at 4-under par. The Australian had a quick turnaround with a 9:12 am tee time for round two on Friday, testing his back which he injured Sunday after slipping on a rock.
Our leader after Round ☝️
— Senior PGA Champ (@seniorpgachamp) May 23, 2025
Cameron Percy holds a one shot lead after firing a 5-under 67 🔥#SrPGAChamp pic.twitter.com/hodOHmHaHi
“In the weather we had today, I'm pretty happy with a 5-under. It was nasty out there for a while,” Percy said. “I thought they were going to blow the siren, but no, just keep going, and it was pretty tough. You had a lot of water on your ball and all that stuff, so it was really hard to judge.”
Percy has been seeing his physio every day, trying to work out the injury after hurting his back during the final round of the Regions Tradition last week, where he finished T36.
“I've been in the physio Monday, Tuesday for a good hour, hour and a half, and then yesterday for another hour," Percy said. "I'm pretty sore right now.”
The 51-year-old focused on treatment earlier in the week, only playing the front nine on Wednesday in wet conditions for preparation as a result of his injury.
Congressional's length proved challenging, as Percy couldn’t get home in two at the par-5 sixth hole with a driver and 3-wood. Just one day prior in fast and firm conditions, Percy says one of his peers only had to hit a hybrid and a 6-iron to find that same par-5 green in two.
“It’s unbelievable the disparity that this course can play at when it gets firm and fast from what I’m gathering,” Percy said.
Some of the features of the Blue Course, like the closely mown fairways right up to the lip of the fairway bunkers, remind him of what he sees at his Sandbelt courses like Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath in Australia.
“Except here, the slopes as you get up and around the greens are so severe that there’s no way to stop the ball until it goes all the way down to the bottom of a collection area,” Percy said.
Being on top of iron shots will be critical this week, especially as the conditions continue to dry out over the next three days with wind up to 15 mph both Friday and Saturday and 10 mph on Sunday. In the early going, Percy is in full control, hitting 16 of 18 greens Thursday.
