Venezuela has never been known as a golf powerhouse. In fact, when Jhonattan Vegas earned his PGA Tour card for the 2011 season after finishing seventh on the then-Nationwide Tour's money list in 2010, he became the first from his country ever to do so.
And since then, he's continued to make his homeland proud by making all sorts of history.
Early in that 2011 season, making just his fifth-ever PGA Tour start and only his second as a full-fledged member, Vegas became the first Venezuelan to win on the PGA Tour with a victory at the Bob Hope Classic, defeating Bill Haas and Gary Woodland in a playoff.
With a T3 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open the following week, he also became the first rookie ever to sit atop the FedEx Cup standings.
In 2016, he became the first Venezuelan ever to represent his country in golf at the Olympics, tying for 50th in Brazil.
The following year, Vegas became the first Venezuelan ever to compete for the International Team at the Presidents Cup, although he didn't fare overly well, going 1-4 in his five matches at Liberty National in a 19-11 loss to the United States.
The former Texas Longhorn returned to the Olympics in the COVID-delayed Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021 and performed far better than he had five years earlier, tying for 16th.
Now, with a superb 7-under round of 64 to kick off his week at the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, Vegas became the first Venezuelan ever to lead or co-lead after any round of any major championship.
So, even if the 40-year-old veteran fails to emerge victorious come Sunday evening in Charlotte, he's already made some history this week. But he's certainly put himself in prime position to make a little more.
After carding nine birdies against two bogeys on Thursday, Vegas wasn't quite as sharp on Friday but still recorded four birdies against just a single bogey through his first 17 holes.
However, he made a massive mistake on the par-4 18th, somehow managing to make a double bogey despite finding the fairway off the tee, ultimately holing out for six after missing a three-foot bogey effort to finish at 1-under for the day.
Despite the mishap at the last, the four-time PGA Tour winner sits at 8-under at the midway point, marking his best 36-hole score in a major championship by six shots. His previous best was 2-under at the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, where he tied for 51st.
Sadly, that week represents one of just six times in which Vegas has completed all 72 holes of a major, as he missed the cut in 10 of his 16 total major appearances coming into this week.
As has been mentioned several times already during the various broadcasts from Quail Hollow, he's never finished in the top 20 in a major, his best result being a T22 at the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol.
Vegas is obviously hoping for a better finish this week, and you can bet all of Venezuela will be watching.