The Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, is playing host to the 2025 PGA Championship this week. While most expected Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, or even LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau to sit near the top of the leaderboard, it has been unheralded Jhonattan Vegas turning heads.

Vegas made history on Thursday, becoming the first Venezuelan-born golfer to hold the lead after any round at a major, ever. He signed for a 7-under 64 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead into Friday's second round.

While he was not nearly as impressive, he still managed to card a number in red figures with a 1-under 70. Things could have been far worse, though, if not for a rake giving the 40-year-old the break of a lifetime.

While playing the difficult par-3 17th, his tee shot was destined for the rough. It was well right of the hole and it appeared he would be staring at an incredibly difficult up-and-down.

Instead, his ball struck a rake sitting by the bunker and deflected straight to the center of the green.

He would two-putt to save par, keeping him at 10-under for the tournament. However, an ill-timed double bogey on the par-4 18th sent him into the clubhouse at 8-under par.

“It was a shock, for sure,” Vegas said after his round. “One, because once I saw that it hit something. I didn't know how hard it hit it and where it was going. I know that it was rolling through the green, but I didn't know immediately if it was going to be too hard and run maybe possibly into the water. Obviously a big shocker in that sense.

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“Sometimes you get a sprinkler head that goes out-of-bounds or the cart path that goes out-of-bounds or sometimes you hit a rake that goes on the green. It's just part of the game, and you've just got to enjoy it all.”

His play this week at the PGA Championship has been inexplicable. Vegas has never finished inside the top 20 in a major over the course of his career. He does have four wins on the PGA Tour, including the 2024 3M Open in Minneapolis.

But while many of the world's best golfers struggled on Thursday, Friday has been a different story.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has climbed to 4-under and is just four back as he plays his back nine. Rory McIlroy, who began his day at 3-over par, has moved into red figures at 1-under. The aforementioned DeChambeau, despite a bogey on the last, enters the weekend at 3-under.

Even PGA Tour fan favorite Max Homa has found his game, climbing into contention.

The 107th PGA Championship is shaping up to a wild race to see who will lift the Wanamaker Trophy at Quail Hollow.