Grant Waite (64): "I'm very excited after today's play. It's a difficult course. I started out birdie, birdie and just felt a lot of good momentum and the round just kept building on itself. I'm very proud and honoured to play this well. Not everyone can say they've led a major championship before. It was a fun day and I enjoyed myself immensely."

Phil Mickelson (66): "I'm certainly pleased with my first round. There's a number of low scores but I'll take where I'm at. I kept the ball in play and made some good decisions and shot a low round. Today was a day that I tried to position myself and not make too many mistakes. I ended up making a decent number of putts and got within two shots of the lead and in second place."

Stuart Appleby (66): “The secret, as you’ve been told before out here, is driving the ball really well. I drove it okay today. Not flash, but got away twice with some bad drives, and I guess that’s really the secret of shooting under par here, getting away with the mistakes. They were easy conditions this morning. Really no wind. I guess if the breeze pops up here I think you are going to have a real hard time shooting par.”

Nicolas Fasth (66): “I’m very happy obviously. The course is playing tough and it’s a long course. I was really happy coming back in 30. It’s hard to tell how you make a lot of birdies here, but I did. I played wonderfully – my iron shots were great. It’s only my second major and I’m really impressed by the level of play here.”

David Toms (66): “I got off to a quick start. I played solid all day. Hit the ball great. Hit most of the fairways, most of the greens and made one long putt. I played great on Tuesday. Played great yesterday. Played the golf course well and it just carried over today.”

Dudley Hart (66): “I drove the ball real well. I missed two fairways and both of those were in the first cut. Obviously that’s a huge factor in your ability to play well on a major golf course. It helps when the greens are soft. It’s a long golf course and you’re hitting a lot of 4,5,6 irons into the greens. When the greens are soft, it makes hitting those irons a lot easier.”

Brad Faxon (66): “The greens are soft, the fairways are soft so the ball is staying in the fairway when you hit it there. The same peril for the long hitters is for the short hitters – the rough. You can’t hit it out of the rough onto the greens. I think once they get the pins a little more tucked and on some slope, you’ll see some change in the way the scores are.”

Fred Funk (66): “I was pretty happy with my round. It is a long course and it really favours the long hitters because the fairways are soft. I always believed I could compete for a major. I always thought I could play really well at the US Open and the PGA Championships. I would like to contend. I would love to get into position on Sunday to have fun with it and just see what would happen.”

K.J. Choi (66): “I’m happy. I made a couple of long putts. I’m happy to be on tour at the PGA Championship today. It’s very nice.”

John Huston (67): “It does feel good to shoot a good score on the first day. I think that’s what everybody is looking to do – just get in position. I think the greens are soft enough to where you can shoot a good score, but the course is long enough to where you’re not going to make a lot of birdies because you are hitting a lot of long shots into greens. It’s hard to shoot really, really low.”

Hal Sutton (67): “It’s playing fairly long. 18 isn’t playing as long as I expected it to. I killed a drive then hit 5-iron in. I felt like I drove the ball well. I missed three fairways today and only one of them did I really miss, the other two were just a foot or two off. I had 17 greens so I liked the way I played.”

Jonathan Kaye (67): “I think the course sets up good for guys who drive it well. The most important part is being in the fairway, otherwise you can’t attack. The greens are fairly soft so if you’re in the fairway you can take it at the hole.”

Andrew Coltart (67): “I’m happy with it. I didn’t feel really comfortable with the way I was swinging it, but I managed to get the job done. I managed to get my drives on the fairway and I think that helped.”

Carlos Franco (67): “The course is not too difficult for the guys who hit it long and straight. The fairway condition is a little too soft. I played well today – I made a three-under. My game is very, very good today. My golf is very confident, especially my driver and the long iron.”

Larry Nelson (68): “With my handicap I’m leading! I’m very happy with my start. They got a couple of hills up here, it’s just like punishment. They make you go backwards and up the hill a couple of times. I was a little bit tired – part mentally and part physically – but I think I’ll be okay.”

Sergio Garcia (68): “I hit my driver really, really well. I was hitting them in the middle of the fairway and long – the way it should be. I made some good saves and made some relatively easy putts for birdie. Overall I think 68 is a good round. If I keep hitting the ball the way I did today I’m sure I can post a good round.”

Paul McGinley (68): “I’m happy with it. I made a couple of mistakes coming in, but most people will. Things are working out for me. I’m playing nicely and controlling the ball well. I’m putting nicely. I’m enjoying it more than anything. It’s fun playing well.”

Greg Chalmers (68): “It’s a great start. I got away fairly quickly. I made four birdies on the first five holes and a bogey. I’m really happy with that. I have a good feeling about it and I like the golf course. I reached both par 5s and I couldn’t do that in the practice rounds. The course really dried up a lot.”

Joe Durant (68): “I thought I played really solid. I didn’t miss a green the whole day. My putter just didn’t co-operate very well. I really had a lot of chances. I’m really pleased with two-under, but it could have been better.”

Bernhard Langer (69): “I think anything under par is a good score. I played quite well but hit one bad shot. The other 17 holes I played pretty solid. I hit it long enough. Obviously, I’m not the longest out there, but there are a lot of guys who hit it around my distance and it’s not all about length. It’s a lot about accuracy, distance control and the short game.”

Tom Watson (69): “It was all right. 69 is a good score. The golf course is a long course, but with soft greens. If you keep the ball in play off the tee then you’re going to shoot a pretty good score because the greens are so soft. The ball is not going very far when it hits the greens and that means there could be some low scores this week.”

Scott Dunlap (69): “I thought I’d gotten somewhere with my putting but it let me down today. It is still the part of my game that doesn’t withstand the pressure of something like this. That’s disappointing. It just proves that most parts of my game will withstand this kind of heat and the putter doesn’t. It’s what’s kept me from winning on this Tour.”

Ian Woosnam (71): “I played pretty nicely on the back nine, and pretty poor on the front nine. We were on the clock for a long time, and just seemed to get behind. I was rushing a bit and lost concentration a bit.”