LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler began his pursuit of the second leg of the grand slam with a slam dunk.

The rest of his opening round at the PGA Championship wasn’t exactly a layup.

The world’s top-ranked player posted a somewhat pedestrian — by his current standard anyway — 4-under 67 at Valhalla on Thursday, a respectable number to be sure, but one that had the potential to be far lower after Scheffler’s 9-iron from 167 yards out on the first hole bounced once before hopping in for eagle.

“I was trying to hit it right at the pin because I felt like if I hit it the right way, the shortest it was going to go was on the pin,” Scheffler said. “I felt like it was going to go a little past the pin if anything, and it was nice to see that one go in obviously.”

The jolt immediately vaulted Scheffler onto the first page of the leaderboard, a place where he’s been a fixture for months. The early fireworks, however, soon gave way to steady if not quite spectacular golf.