Cam Davis defied a dry spell dating back to the first week in February to sit just two strokes off the lead after Round 1 of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.

With just one top-50 finish in an eight-tournament stretch that included five straight missed cuts, Davis did not present as the obvious Aussie contender leading into the second men’s major championship of 2025.

Yet the 30-year-old gained six strokes on the field on the greens to shoot 5-under 66 and trail unlikely front-runner Jhonattan Vegas (64) by two by day’s end.

The last man in the field after his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday, Kiwi Ryan Fox (67) is just one back of Davis in a share of fourth as two late bogeys saw Adam Scott (69) drop back into a tie for 20th at 2-under.

Playing alongside Vegas, Elvis Smylie impressed in his first PGA Championship round, missing a par putt on his final hole from 14 feet in a round of 1-under 71 for a share of 29th.

Admitting that his game “just kind of left me” after three top-20 finishes in his first four starts in 2025, Davis felt vindicated that hard work paid off on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I haven’t been having the best results on course over the last few months and been working really hard to turn that around,” said the two-time PGA TOUR winner.

“To see the first real sign that it’s turning around happen in the first round of a major, it’s very encouraging.

“It’s just constantly trying to go back to things that have worked, trying to keep the head in a place where you’re not feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall all the time.

“It’s letting it organically come, good processes, good routines. All those little one per centers add up to good golf eventually, and I feel like this week has been a week of good preparation.”

In addition to the three birdie putts he holed from outside 15 feet, Davis saved par from outside nine feet on four separate occasions, a formula he believes is essential for success in major championships.

“Rolled a lot of putts that went in and kept the momentum going,” said Davis, who was tied for fourth at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

“I feel like for a major, when you’re playing a difficult golf course, if you can do that, you can keep things moving forward.

“Very happy with my work today, but it’s still a four-round event. But you can definitely help yourself a lot by having a good first round.”

Starting his round from the 10th tee, Davis had the outright lead at 6-under when he holed a putt from just inside 22 feet for birdie at the par-3 sixth, part of the 164 feet and 8 inches of putts he holed for the day.

Forced to play away from the pin after just clearing the water with his second shot on his way to par at the par-5 seventh, Davis missed a 20-footer for birdie on eight and then made just his second bogey of the day when he was unable to get up-and-down from short of the green at the par-4 ninth.

Three birdies in his first five holes gave Fox the early lead, three birdies and two bogeys in his final five holes resulting in a final total of 4-under for the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic winner.

Scott’s round got rolling when he made birdie from 42 feet at the par-3 sixth, following that up with further birdies at seven and eight to turn in 3-under.

Four-under and bogey-free when he picked up another shot at the par-4 14th put Scott within one shot of the lead.

But the 2013 Masters champion was unable to make par when his second shot into 16 fed into the rough behind the green and then three-putted from 70 feet for bogey at the par-3 17th.

An early chip-in at the par-4 11th was the highlight of Jason Day’s 2-over 73, Min Woo Lee’s 74 consisted of an eagle, four birdies, seven bogeys, a double bogey and five pars and Karl Vilips and Cameron Smith both shot 78.