Golf: Ryan Fox makes great start to PGA Championship

Ryan Fox points to the direction of his tee shot on fifth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship. Photo / AP

A strong finish to his opening round has put Ryan Fox well in contention at the PGA Championship - the final golf major of the year.

Fox went birdie-birdie in the final two holes to finish at two-under with an opening round of 68.

That placed him in a tied for 16th at the end of the first round, four shots behind leader
Gary Woodland.

Fox started the day well with a birdie on the first hole and moved to two-under at the turn with a second birdie at the par five eighth hole.

But bogeys at the 11th and 15th holes saw the world number 82 slip back to even par before closing out the day on a high.

Woodland bounced back from an opening bogey to shoot 6-under 64, moving him ahead of early leader Rickie Fowler at Bellerive.

Woodland was still scuffling along at one-over until making birdie at the par-5 eighth. He added another to close out the front nine, then got hot over the final eight holes, making five birdies and steadily climbing the leaderboard on steaming afternoon.

Woodland got off to a good start last year, too. The Kansan shot 68 at Quail Hollow and was still within sight of the leaders entering the final round, when a 74 left him in a tie for 22nd.

Fowler sits a shot back at five-under with a 65, tied for his best score in a major. South Africa's Brandon Stone is at four-under while 13 players are at three-under including Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Jason Day and Justin Rose.

Tiger Woods rallied from a bogey-double bogey start to shoot an even-par 70.

Woods missed his first two fairways and dumped an approach shot in the water. But scrambled for enough pars to keep his round going, then made a pair of birdies on a bogey-free second nine.

Playing partner Justin Thomas was one-under and Rory McIlroy also was even.