KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the PGA Championship, golf’s second major of the year (all times local):

Brooks Koepka is off to a strong start in his chase for a third PGA Championship title.

Koepka shook off a double bogey on his opening hole to finish at 3-under 69, tied with Keegan Bradley and Viktor Hovland halfway through the opening round at Kiawah Island.

Koepka won the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019. He was in contention in the final round a year ago, but he faded from fourth to 29th after a closing 74.

Among those a stroke behind the leaders was defending champion Collin Morikawa, who missed a par putt on his final hole, the ninth, to fall out of the lead group.

Those teeing off in the afternoon are expected to face even stiffer winds at the Ocean Course than the early starters.

Martin Laird is looking to surprise at the PGA Championship the way he has this season on the PGA Tour.

Laird’s run of four consecutive birdies has him on top at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island as the morning wave of competitors finished their opening rounds Thursday.

Laird went seven years without a win before taking the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last October. He sits at 3-under 69, tied with Keegan Bradley for the lead.

Right behind is a group that includes two-time PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka. Koepka opened with a double-bogey 6 but has since made five birdies including two in a row at the fourth and fifth holes to stay near the top.

Those tied with Koepka include defending PGA winner Collin Morikawa and Stewart Cink, a two-time winner this season who took the RBC Heritage last month about two hours south of here on Hilton Head Island.

Bryson DeChambeau is heading in the wrong direction early on at the PGA Championship.

The reigning U.S. Open champion made bogey on four straight holes in the opening round at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

DeChambeau, whose scientific approach to the game has helped fueled his success, spoke of the “laminar flow of the wind” at the seaside layout. And he struggled to manage it during the middle of his opening nine of the year’s second major.

His approach on No. 13 was 40 feet from the hole, leading to a three-putt bogey. He put his tee shot on the next hole, a par 3, into the bunker and could not save par. He drove way left on the 15th and missed a 9-footer for par. On the 16th, DeChambeau’s approach went into a bunker and he could not get up and down to fall to 2-over par.

Matt Jones of Australia is at 4-under to lead in the middle of the morning wave.

Cameron Tringale is seeking his first win on the PGA Tour and is off to a strong start at the Ocean Course.

Tringale had three birdies on his opening nine holes at the PGA Championship and was a stroke ahead of four players, including Rickie Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen. He birdied the sixth and seventh holes to move to 3-under par.

Tringale is playing his seventh PGA Championship. He has never finished better than 72nd.

Rory McIlroy, who won the PGA on this course in 2012, got off to a bumpy start with an opening bogey on the 10th hole. But he bounced back with birdies on the next two holes.

Francesco Molinari has withdrawn from the PGA Championship.

The 2018 British Open champion cited a back injury in pulling out of the championship Thursday morning.

He was replaced in the field by first alternate Brandon Hagy, who has been practicing on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island this week.

Molinari has fallen to 144th in the world. If no one else withdraws, the PGA Championship will have 99 of the top 100, matching the record for most players from the top 100.

South Carolina native Patrick Rada found the middle of the fairway with the opening tee shot in the PGA Championship.

It was a gorgeous morning on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island with a little trepidation in the air. The flags along the practice range already were flapping even as the sun was beginning its climb over the Atlantic.

The wind is everything at Kiawah Island and it has been strong enough to get everyone’s attention this week. Even the power players have been using long irons, hybrids and even fairway metals into par 4s and par 3s.

Rada is the head PGA professional at MacArthur Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. He likely was chosen to hit the first tee shot given his South Carolina roots.

Among those playing in the morning were Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy won at 13-under 275 in 2012 the other time the PGA Championship was at Kiawah.

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