CHARLOTTE (AFP) — Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas birdied five of his last six holes, ending with a spectacular 27-foot birdie putt to seize a two-stroke lead after Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Championship.

The 40-year-old South American, who snapped a seven-year win drought by capturing last year’s PGA 3M Open, fired a seven-under-par 64 to grab the lead at Quail Hollow.

“It feels amazing,” Vegas said. “It’s what we dream of, what we train for, what we work for every day.”

World number 70 Vegas, whose lowest prior major round was a 67, has never finished in the top 20 at a major.

“I’ve been really working on prioritizing playing well at majors,” he said. “Getting older, getting wiser, not putting so much pressure on myself, that’s the approach I’ve been taking and it worked out today.

“The game is there. We’ve just got to repeat what we did today.”

Australian Cam Davis and American Ryan Gerard shared second on 66 while a pack on 67 included German Stephan Jaeger, England’s Luke Donald and Aaron Rai, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and American Alex Smalley.

While Vegas had a dream start, it was a grind for the feature group of top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, defending champion Xander Schauffele and Masters champion Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler fired 69, Schauffele shot 72 and McIlroy stumbled in on 74 at a course where he has won four times.

“I didn’t feel like I hit it my best,” Scheffler said. “Did a good job keeping a level head out there and grinding out a good score.”

Vegas, whose round began with a bogey at the 10th hole, chipped in from 34 feet to birdie the 18th, then closed with his astonishing front-nine birdie run, capped by an 18-foot birdie putt at eight and his stunner at the ninth.

“Greens were getting a little bit bumpy at the end of the round so it was kind of tough,” but said after his birdie at eight, “I knew something special was happening.

“Nine was a bonus for everything happening in the day, one of those you don’t expect to make but we’ll take anything we can get.”

World number 68 Davis, a 30-year-old from Sydney, and 81st-ranked Gerard, a 25-year-old from nearby Raleigh making only his third major start, grinded out solid rounds.

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

In his PGA Championship debut, Gerard reeled off four birdies to start the back nine and chipped in for eagle from nearly 60 feet on the par-five 15th but closed with back-to-back bogeys.

“It’s kind of a dream,” Gerard said. “But to make that a reality... it’s a little bit extra special.”

Davis made seven birdies against two bogeys, highlighted by a 29-foot putt at the par-five 10th and a 21-footer at the par-three sixth.

“The swing is feeling a little better but I rolled in a lot of good putts,” Davis said. “I was reading them well and made a lot of good distance putts to keep the momentum going.”

Europe Ryder Cup captain Donald, chasing his first major title at age 47, can become the first Englishman since Jim Barnes in 1919 to win the PGA Championship, as could five other English players in the top 20.

Donald sank a clutch nine-foot par putt on the 18th hole to finish the day’s only bogey-free round.

“Very pleased with the score. It was a pleasant surprise,” Donald said. “I didn’t hit a ton of greens but my putter was really good.”

Only four Europeans have ever won the title, most recently by Northern Ireland’s McIlroy in 2014.

Top-three flop

Scheffler, second-ranked McIlroy and third-ranked Schauffele all made double bogeys at the par-four 16th. Scheffler and Schauffele found water from the fairway and complained of mud clinging to fairway balls.

“It’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go,” Scheffler said.

American Jordan Spieth, seeking a victory to complete a career Grand Slam, fired a 76 to stand 10 adrift.