In fact, play has been abandoned for the day. The wind is whistling through Whistling Straits all right. It’s one hell of a storm, and you can’t blame the PGA for calling this off. There’s no chance of play. Such a shame, because it had been a hell of a second round. Charges by Jordan Spieth, George Coetzee, Justin Rose, Matt Jones and Jason Day. One of the craziest rollercoaster rounds ever by David Lingmerth: just the five pars. And a stunning record-equalling 63 by Hiroshi Iwata. Shame there wasn’t more of it. But what we had was brilliant. The completion of the second round, and hopefully all of the third round, will take place tomorrow. Looking forward to it? Us too. Nighty night, and make sure you’re tucked up tight in this wind!
-9: Day (14), Jones (12*)
-8: Rose (17)
-7: Lingmerth (F), English (15*), Finau (13*)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Steele (F), Henley (17*), Holmes (14*)
-5: Coetzee (F), D Johnson (14), Lee (13*)
-4: Iwata (F), Horschel (F), Siem (F), Matsuyama (F), Howell III (F), Kuchar (F), Snedeker (17), Casey (16), Lahiri (13*)
Just to give you a weather update: a tempest is raging in Wisconsin. So much so that, when Sky went to pictures of high winds and horizontal rain battering trees and flags, the digital signal went crazy and they had to cut to adverts. We could be waiting a while.
This could be a long break. The storm was expected quite a while ago, and took ages to creep up on Whistling Straits. Not much wind, you see. Which means there’s little chance of the angry stuff being blown away quickly. And according to the weather maps, there’s plenty of it around. Hmm. Hopefully we’ll get some more play soon. In the meantime, here’s the latest leaderboard, expanded to include Hiroshi Iwata, who lest we forget shot a record-equalling major-championship round of 63 today!
-9: Day (14), Jones (12*)
-8: Rose (17)
-7: Lingmerth (F), English (15*), Finau (13*)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Steele (F), Henley (17*), Holmes (14*)
-5: Coetzee (F), D Johnson (14), Lee (13*)
-4: Iwata (F), Horschel (F), Siem (F), Matsuyama (F), Howell III (F), Kuchar (F), Snedeker (17), Casey (16), Lahiri (13*)
A massive clap of thunder above. And there goes the hooter. Everyone into the clubhouse! After marking your balls, of course. An electrical storm, so everyone must retreat at once. Such a shame, because this second round has been cooking up into something special. But here’s the thing: if there’s a bit of rain now, it’ll soften the course and theoretically help the lads yet to complete their rounds, as it’ll be easier to go for the flags.
Rose pearls a long iron into the centre of 17, and his ball curls round towards the cup, stopping eight feet short. A gorgeous tee shot, and it’s been rewarded with a putt that was always heading dead centre. He was skipping after that long before it dropped. He’s -8, and just the one off the lead. Meanwhile a sorry end to Matt Kuchar’s round: bogey at 17 has been followed by another at 18, a mishit second shot the root cause. He’s -4 overall, and looks happy enough, but then the Kuch always does.
-9: Day (14), Jones (12*)
-8: Rose (17)
-7: Lingmerth (F), English (14*), Finau (13*)
Day’s birdie effort on 14 shaves the left of the cup. “Oh my goodness!” he moans, which isn’t quite up there on the Spieth holy-snap-hook kook-o-meter. But it’s sweet enough. He stays at -9. Jones also remains at -9 after creaming his tee shot at 3 to 12 feet, but failing to hit the birdie putt. Henley meanwhile only reaches the fringe of 8 with his whip out of the rough. He then severely undercooks his putt up, the apron fussing with his pullback. A double bogey’s the result. He’s back to -6. Harris English passes him the other way, with birdie at 5. That’s his third of the day, with no blemishes on the card. The 26-year old from Georgia hasn’t really done much in the majors yet; it could be his time to step up.
Rose whips his ball out of the thick greenside grass at 16, and nearly bumps his ball in for eagle. It stops one dimple short, and he’s happy enough with a bounce-back birdie. He’s -7 again. Another Day approach, this time at 14, screeches to a halt ten feet from the flag. He’s doing this with amazing regularity right now. Dustin sends his bounding witlessly through the green into bother. He’s missing with amazing regularity. He chips up to 12 feet, but the par saver doesn’t drop. That’s three bogeys in four holes.
Henley pulls his second at 8 into thick rubbish to the left of the green. A test from there. Speaking of tests, Kuchar flipped a gorgeous chip up from down that bank on 17, landing his ball six feet from the pin. But he couldn’t complete the escape, and drops back to -5.
We have a new leader in Jason Day! He moves to the front, -9, after spinning his ball to within ten feet at 13, and rolling the uphill putt straight into the cup. Bogey for Dustin, who is suddenly three strokes behind his playing partner at -6. But hold up ... back on 2, Matt Jones has crunched his second into the swale to the front right of the green. He bumps a pitch up to 18 inches, and taps in for a birdie. His compatriot was sole leader for a matter of seconds rather than minutes!
-9: Day (13), Jones (11*)
-8: Henley (16*)
-7: Lingmerth (F), Finau (12*)
A collective loss of concentration right now. Kuchar thins his tee shot at 17 straight through the green and down a vertical drop. He’s not OB, but what a test he’s left himself. Kaymer’s tee shot at 12 is a club short, and his putt from the fringe doesn’t leave the fringe. On 13, Dustin’s greenside, hitting three, and punches a high lob miles over the flag, when a simple bump and run would have surely sufficed. But on 7, Henley rakes a 70-footer up the huge green, and into the cup for an absurd birdie! He’s -8, in a tie with Jones and Day.
Sergio had been going so well. And so, and so. Double bogey at 14, with a three-putt from six feet, then another shot gone at 15. His shoulders are slumped, in the usual fashion. What a miserable capitulation. For a second there was hope. We had some hope. Rose drops one at 15 with a lot of Sergioesque faffing around the green. He’s back to -6, and barks an irritable GAWDSAKE upon bending down to retrieve his ball from the hole. But the 2010 champion Martin Kaymer continues to take care of business: a birdie at 11, and he’s -5 all of a sudden. And another birdie for Finau, this time at 2, and he’s one off the lead at -7!
Some magnificent tee shots at the par threes. Day wedges to six feet at 12. Fowler knocks his to ten feet. Up on 17, Steele creams a long iron to eight feet. His playing partner Hideki Matsuyama, who reached the turn in 35 and has since birdied 13 and 16, knocks his to 12 feet. Neither of the ones on 17 drop; Steele and Matsuyama stay at -6 and -5 respectively. Fowler can’t make his on 12 either; he stays at level par. It’s all up to Jason Day. Can he make his? He certainly can! And that’s back-to-back birdies, which take him to -8 and a share of the lead with Matt Jones!
Dustin can’t roll in his monster par effort on 11, and he’s back to -7. Also joining that group, but moving the other way, is Russell Henley, who responds to dropping one at 4 with a wedge to six feet and a birdie putt at 5. Kuchar drains a 20-footer on 15 to save his par and remain at -6. Meanwhile back on 11, Day rolls his eagle effort up to the side of the cup, and he taps in for birdie. He’s -7 too. This is some leaderboard all right.
-8: Jones (9*)
-7: Lingmerth (F), Henley (14*), Rose (14), D Johnson (11), Day (11)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Steele (16), Kuchar (15), English (11*), Finau (10*)
Jones birdies 18! He’s out in 32, at -8 overall, and given what Dustin is up to on 11, could be the sole leader in a minute or two. Dustin sends his fourth pin high, but he’s left himself a 30-footer straight across the green. Up on 14, Rose nearly sends his second through the green, but it bites before bounding off, spins back to four feet, and that’s a birdie that takes him to -7!
Dark clouds overhead. Wind’s up. Could be rain soon. Hopefully not thunder, but time will tell. Brendan Steele whips a fairway wood straight at the flag at 16. It’s one of the shots of the day, landing softly ten feet from the pin, and taking a couple of small, soft bounces to four feet. He’ll have that for an eagle that’d take him to -6. And it’s in. Trouble meanwhile for Dustin ‘Meltdown’ Johnson, DMJ to his friends. He drives into sand down the left of 11, slams his escape into the face of the bunker, and can only hack out sideways with his third. He’ll do well to get up and down from there. His partner Day blooters a drive down the middle, then zips a 7-iron to the front of the green. One more bump and he’d have been mighty close.
And suddenly we have a sole leader! Dustin Johnson, from the back of 10, rolls in a 25-foot left-to-right slider for birdie. He’s -8. Day can’t follow him in, and he remains at -6. Birdie for Kaymer at 9, and he’s reached the turn in 34, -4 overall. Casey isn’t far away from another birdie at 12, but his 12-footer slides right of the hole.
Birdie for Casey on the par-five 11th. He moves to -5. Finau rolls in a 15-foot par saver on 18 to reach the turn in 31 strokes. He’s -6. Jones sends his tee shot at 17 over the flag to eight feet, but leaves his birdie putt high on the left. Henley doesn’t go particularly close with a bunker shot at 4, and is up and after the poor par putt before it gets past the hole. He drops back to -6. It’s an absurdly crowded leaderboard, with three shots covering the top 20 players, and one shot between the first 11.
-7: Lingmerth (F), D Johnson (9), Jones (8*)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Kuchar (13), Henley (13*), Rose (12), English (10*), Day (9), Finau (9*)
Tiger, in trouble at 8, can just about get his club up and back, but the space is so tight, he can only blast it out of the trap and into the thick grass on the side of the bank. But he gets up and down from there for bogey, which isn’t a bad result at all from where he was. The second shot killed him there. He drops to +4, and the weekend will begin to look like a pipe dream soon if he doesn’t get a wriggle on.
Day finds a pot bunker at the front of 9 from the centre of the fairway. A poor shot, and one that costs him a stroke. He’s back to -6. Going the other way: Dustin, whose second into the green is straight at the flag. He rolls in the ten-footer he leaves himself, and the birdie propels him into the leading group again. He’s -7. “Yes, let’s expect no daft mistakes from Sergio ‘Daft Mistakes’ Garcia and Dustin ‘Meltdown’ Johnson,” agrees Simon McMahon. “We’ll wait till the weekend for those.”
Tiger’s in all sorts of bother down 8. He’s in the rough to the left of the hole, and lashes a fairway wood through the green and down the back. The ball nestles in one of those small bunkers, his ball on the downslope, offering no backswing if he wants to go straight for the green. Chances are he’ll have to play out sideways. This could get ugly, with the 14-time major winner already below the cut line. Meanwhile another birdie for Sergio, this time at 11. He’s -4, and going along very nicely.
Eagle for Finau at 16, having whistled his second to eight feet. He’s suddenly right in the mix. Kuchar misses a ten-footer on 12 for a birdie that would have given him a share of the lead. Dustin can’t find 8 in regulation and fails to sink the 25-foot left-to-right breaker he leaves himself; he’s back to -6, where he started. And Day sends his second to 12 feet, but can’t guide in the glacial left-to-right slider, and par will have to do.
-7: Lingmerth (F), Henley (10*), Day (8), Jones (6*)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Kuchar (11), Rose (10), D Johnson (8), English (8*), Finau (7*)
Rose clips a Sergioesque wedge into 10, and he rolls in his birdie putt from five feet. He’s -6, one off the lead. Paul Casey rolls in a 30-footer from the front of 9, and he’s out in 34, -4 for the tournament. Meanwhile Tiger in the jungle, miles wide right of 6. He can’t hold his second on the green, and he’ll have a job of work getting up and down from the thick stuff at the back. But he scrambles well. He stays at +3. The ignominy of missing three major-championship cuts in a row is his fuel.
Of course they do! Who could have doubted them? Sergio moves to -3, while Dustin joins the leaders at -7. Also at the toppermost, a birdie for Henley on 1, and he’s got himself a share, while co-leader Jones is forced to roll in a 20-footer to save his par at 15. And a birdie for Kuchar at 11 to move to -6. It’s a busy leaderboard now. A look at it coming up soon.
Dustin Johnson hasn’t done very much today, but he’s just sent his tee shot at 7 to 18 inches. One bounce to the left, and that would have been a hole in one. That’ll be a certain birdie, and he’ll be taking a share of the lead at -7. Up on 10, another sure-fire birdie, this time for Sergio, who screeches the handbrake on a wedge two feet from the flag. That’ll take him to -3. So what I’m going to do here is assume that Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia don’t make any daft mistakes. Dustin and Sergio. No daft mistakes. They’ll make their birdies, right?
Testing two putts?! Ahem. Day rattles in a birdie effort from the apron at 6. He’s suddenly got himself a share of the lead at -7! Dustin can’t make his birdie, but par will suffice. And Fowler tucks away his par saver. That’ll feel like a birdie. Elsewhere, Brandt Snedeker has been trundling along nicely. Birdies at 2, 8 and now 9 see him to -4 as he goes round the turn.
-7: Lingmerth (F), Day (6), Jones (5*)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Henley (9*), English (6*), D Johnson (6)
-5: Coetzee (F), Kuchar (10), Rose (9)
Martin Kaymer, the winner here five years ago, continues to stroll along in his unassuming, unfussy way. A birdie at 1, a bogey at 4, and now another birdie, this time at 5 after a gorgeous wedge to three feet. He’s -3. Dustin, Day and Fowler are all trying their hardest to bugger up 6 in different ways. Fowler hooks wildly off the tee into a hazard. After his penalty drop, he sends his third to six feet, a chance of escape. Meanwhile Day and Johnson find a bunker front right. The former takes too much sand with his escape, the latter not enough. Both are left with testing two-putts for their pars. Nobody safe here yet.
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Henley reaches the turn in 34 strokes with par at 18. He’s going very nicely, one off the lead at -6. Another birdie chance for Sergio, this time at 9, but he fails to hit it. He reaches the turn in 34 strokes.
Having missed two short birdie putts, Sergio does what Sergio does and bogeys the very next hole. The dropped shot at 8 sees him back at -2. Rose sends his second into 8 to six feet, but lets the birdie putt drift to the right. He remains at -5.
It’s not clear what Dustin Johnson was up to on 5. He decided to set his drive miles out to the right, where only bunkers and filth exist. Ping! He finds filth. So then he wedges out to the fairway, overcooks it, and sends the ball tumbling into the water. A drop, a wedge, and a putt, and that’s one of the stupidest pars you’ll see all week. But it’s a birdie for Fowler; he’s back to -1. And a birdie for Day, who moves into the -6 group which also contains Dustin. Finally, a double bogey for Tiger on 4, after all that sandy bother. He’s back to +3.
And, naturally, having just put that up, it’s immediately out of date. Matt Jones had sent his second at 13 to a couple of feet, and he’s tapped in for birdie and a share of the lead at -7. Think of it as a lovely example of the immediacy of the internet.
It’s as good a time as any for a leaderboard. Quite the concertina.
-7: Lingmerth (F)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Henley (8*), English (6*), D Johnson (4), Jones (3*)
-5: Coetzee (F), Kuchar (8), Rose (7), Day (4)
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Russell Henley is very close to tickling in a birdie putt from the back of 17. Not quite. After his fast birdie-birdie start, it’s been all pars, and he’s -6. Finau very nearly makes it four birdies in a row, at 14, but the ball slips by the left of the hole. He’s still -4. Rose makes his birdie at 7, and he’s -5. An eventful Lingmerthesque round by Rose so far: birdie, par, birdie, double bogey, par, birdie, birdie.
Tiger’s good start threatens to unravel at 4. He’s up a bank to the right of the hole, and then lashes his second into deep trouble along the other side, having let go of the club at the top of his swing. He’s in sand, and can only hack out into another bunker. Oh dear. Meanwhile, back-to-back birdies for Matt Jones, at 11 and 12, and he’s -6. Birdie for Paul Casey at 5, adding to one picked up at 2; he’s -4. Rose sets himself up with another excellent birdie chance, creaming a tee shot at 7 straight at the flag, the ball stopping its journey six feet shy. And Harris English chips in from the back of 15. Added to his birdie at 11, he’s moved up to -6 today.
Three birdies in a row for Tony Finau. The 25-year-old was very impressive at the US Open earlier this year, finishing in the top 15. Birdies at 11, 12 and 13 have pushed him up to -4. A wild second at 4 by Fowler, and he can’t get up and down from the filth to the left of the green. A bogey, and he’s back to level par. Justin Rose is a turn away from raking home an eagle putt on 6, having driven the green. Birdie will have to do, and he’s -4. Garcia can’t make his putt on 7; he stays at -3. He really should be up to -5, having missed two short birdie chances in a row, but that would be five birdies on the bounce, and I suppose some of them have to miss.
A brilliant tee shot into 3 by Tiger, working in from the slope on the right to four feet. As good as we’ve seen all day. He rolls in the birdie putt and he’s +1. This is most agreeable viewing after the travails of the US Open and Open. Sergio missed a short one for a fourth birdie in a row at 6. But he’s not letting this lie. On the Daly-bothering par-three 7th, he arrows his tee shot straight at the flag, and leaves himself an uphill 15 footer for bird. “I’m liking Mr Lingmerth more and more,” announces Adam Hirst. “Seems like a really nice fella, and with a scorecard looking like a Jackson Pollock then he’s clearly an interesting player and potentially dangerous one if it all comes together.”
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The 1991 champion John Daly, then. He’s just taken 10 strokes on the par-three 7th. Three balls sliced into the lake, going straight for the flag, which is tucked away on the right. A couple of massive divots out of the drop zone too. He finally opts to aim for the heart of the green. Then lances his club into the briny. A lad pops out of the back of a speedboat to fish it out, holds it above his head in triumph, milks the applause, then whizzes off. Daly was going well, too, after a 73 yesterday. A real chance to make the weekend. He won’t be here now. A septuple bogey!
An up and down from the Spieth Bunker on 18 for Scott Piercy. Par, and he’s putting his name to a two-under 70. He’s -6, one off the lead. It’s quite the crowded leaderboard right now ...
-7: Lingmerth (F)
-6: Spieth (F), Piercy (F), Henley (6*), D Johnson (3)
-5: Coetzee (F), Kuchar (6), English (4*), Day (3)
A lovely fast start to the round by Sergio Garcia. He’s just rolled in a birdie putt across 5, and it’s his third in a row. He’s -3 for his round, and for the tournament. A solid start for Tiger Woods, who plays the 2nd in a fuss-free fashion, exactly the way he always used to traverse the par fives. He’s +2, and inside the cut right now. And here’s to Rickie Fowler, who follows up birdie at 1 with another at 3. He’s -1 after yesterday’s uncharacteristically bog-average 73. His playing partners Day and Dustin settle for pars.
A couple of big putts on 2. Day tickles in a short, straight one for birdie after a magnificent approach. He’s -5. And after a massive snap hook coming down the fairway, Big Dustin is able to scramble for his par. A lob onto the green from miles left of the hole, with an awkward stance that nearly saw him topple back into a bunker. And then two putts. He remains at -6, one off the lead.
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Spotted on the grounds: All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers signal-caller, who plies his trade less than an hour’s drive from Whistling Straits at Lambeau Field, spent the afternoon following the Spieth-McIlroy-Johnson group.
Spotted: Green Bay @packers QB @AaronRodgers12 taking in the action at the #PGAChamp. pic.twitter.com/fTlcrAgBZ3
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 14, 2015
After today’s second-round 67 to soar up the leaderboard one shot off the pace, Spieth was asked about Rodgers’s presence in the gallery.
He’s definitely one of my favorite athletes and I think obviously voted by everybody else as an MVP, one of the best football players there is. I wasn’t aware that he was out there, but I think it’s really cool that he’s a fan of the sport and that he would come down to watch considering they were, they had a game last night.
And with that, I’ll return you in the capable hands of Scott Murray.
Scott Piercy has just sinked a lengthy birdie putt on 16 to pull with a shot of the lead at -6. The Las Vegas native, whose career-best finish at a major was a tie for fifth at the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, follows it up with a textbook tee shot off that 17th tee to set up a makeable putt for birdie and a share of the overall lead with David Lingmerth.
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Dustin Johnson starts his day one stroke off the lead as the 1.20pm group takes the first tee. While his playing partners Jason Day and Rickie Fowler split the fairways and dump their approach shots within 10ft of the pin, Johnson’s second shot from 78 yards winds up lands on the green but far from the hole. Fowler drains his birdie putt, Day two-putts, while Johnson saves par from distance. Elsewhere, social media is aflutter over the delightful vision of Phil Mickelson sliding down a hill on a piece of cardboard to take his shot on the 8th.
The Open champion won’t be here this weekend. His lay-up at 18 found the rough on the other side of the fairway, his third stopped short of the green, and his attempt to chip in for par was never strong enough. Bogey, and he’s +3. Ah well, back-to-back majors don’t come along often, even if his two playing partners offer contradictory evidence. Meanwhile McIlroy takes two putts for his par, and signs for his second 71 of the week. He’s -2 overall, and looks a little disappointed, but this is a decent showing after all that time off for injury. And Spieth doesn’t quite hit his birdie putt, but that’s a wonderful 67, and he’s -6, one off the current lead. What a morning!
And with that, I’ll be handing over to Bryan Graham, who will take you through the early twists and turns of the Dustin Johnson rollercoaster. See you soon!
The crazy David Lingmerth par run couldn’t last. It just couldn’t. Three in a row? Not likely! He birdies the hellishly difficult 18th and signs his name to a 70. A weirder round you’ll do well to witness: eight birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey. Just the five pars. A two-under 70, to go with yesterday’s 67, and he’s the sole leader right now at -7. He’s a shot ahead of Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and Russell Henley, who has opened with birdies at 10 and 11.
-7: Lingmerth (F)
-6: Spieth (17*), Henley (2*), D Johnson
Zach Johnson might be safe from the cut at +2. He might not. Currently, no. Later, maybe. But to be sure, he needs something down 9. He’s in thick filth down the right. Not a good start. Whether the galleries will miss him is a moot point, because he’s just taken what feels like 20 minutes to decide whether to lay up or not. He lays up. Spieth, from the middle of the fairway, loops one straight at the flag. He’ll have that, uphill from 15 feet, for a birdie and a superlative 66. McIlroy follows him in, though he’ll have a 30-footer for his birdie, which would give him a 70.
Iwata’s chip into 18 was simply magnificent! A smooth lift over the bunker at the front-right of the green, landing on the downslope, and only missing the hole on the left by inches. Such soft hands. That could easily have gone wrong. But while all that was going on, news of another rare event: a David Lingmerth par! He’s made that at 16, and like London buses, another one came along right after. He remains at -6 in a tie with Spieth, who has along with McIlroy (-2) parred 8.
The magic number of 62 survives. But only just! Hiroshi Iwata, nine under for his round going down 18 and 30 yards from the hole in two shots, is inches away from chipping in to break a record that’s stood for 42 years! But par will have to do, and he’s signing his name at the bottom of a 63! He’s the 25th player to manage it. And the second Japanese player, after Isao Aoki, who achieved the feat going round Muirfield in the 1980 Open. History not quite made, then, but history matched is good enough. A stunning round by Iwata, who played the back nine in 29 shots. He played the back nine of Whistling Straits, a Pete and Alice Dye course, in 29 shots. He’s -4 overall, a couple of the lead right now, but that seems kind of incidental. 63!!!
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Hiroshi Iwata is on the verge of equalling the major-championship single-round record of 63! The last we heard of the 34-year-old Japanese journeyman - this is his first appearance in a major Stateside, though he’s played in the Open on three occasions - he was six under for his round through 13. He’s since birdied 15, 16 and 17, and is nine under for his round. Nine under! A par down the Dyeabolical 18th, and he’ll become the 25th golfer to match a score first made in the majors by Johnny Miller at Oakmont in the US Open in 1973. The last man to do it: Jason Dufner at Oak Hill in the 2013 PGA. A par down the 18th here is a hell of an ask, though. God speed, Hiroshi!
McIlroy sends his tee shot at 7 up a bank to the left of the green. He’s forced to perch in a very awkward position over the ball, up a steep bank, but his ankle holds, and his core strength ain’t too shabby either. His body completely still as he punches one down towards the hole, five feet past. That’s a marvellous result from where he was. But he can’t make the saver. Shame, after that chip, but the tee shot cost him. He drops back to -2. Spieth meanwhile finds the front of the big green, and then nearly holes a 40-foot birdie snaker. So close. He’s such a wonderful putter, especially from distance. He remains in a tie for the lead at -6.
Henrik Stenson had been quietly putting together the round of the day. Birdies at 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 2, 5 and 6 whizzed him up the leaderboard to -4. He was eight under for his round standing on the 7th tee, with the faint whiff of a 63 or even that holy grail, the major-championship 62, within reach. It would have only taken a couple of birdies. Only. But he finally soils his card with a three-putt bogey at the par-three hole. He’s still on course to match Coetzee’s 65, mind.
Rory very nearly drives the green at the short par-four 6th. Much good it seems to have done him: he’s furthest away after everyone plays their second, racing a chip ten feet past the flag while Spieth and Johnson chip close from rough at the front-right. But he knocks it into the cup for birdie! He’s -3. Johnson misses his birdie putt. But Spieth doesn’t. And now he’s got himself a share of the lead, because Lingmerth’s utterly preposterous round continues with bogey at 15!
-6: Lingmerth (15), Spieth (15*), D Johnson
-5: Coetzee (F), Horschel (15*)
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Mickelson continues to dice with the cut. He played the back nine in a rollercoaster 37 strokes - two birdies, a bogey and a double - and he’s been similarly up and down since the turn. Bogey at 1, eagle at 2, and now bogey at 4, and he’s +1. His playing partner Jason Dufner was in trouble after going out in 39, but he’s since birdied 2 to remain just above water at +1 too. Meanwhile last weekend’s hero, the new WGC-Bridgestone champion Shane Lowry, gave it a good go today after yesterday’s dismal 78. He was four under for his round with two holes to play, but has just bogeyed 8 and drops to +3. Even if he makes birdie at 9, it’s unlikely to be enough. Ah well, a couple of days off, and a chance to properly celebrate his breakthrough triumph?
Spieth can’t make his birdie putt anyway. Par, and he remains at -5. McIlroy takes his two putts for a par and stays at -2. And it’s a par for Zach Johnson too, though he needs something to happen soon at +2, or he’ll be sweating on the cut. Currently, it’s not going to be enough.
-7: Lingmerth (14)
-6: D Johnson
-5: Coetzee (F), Spieth (14*), Horschel (13)
Scrub that: Lingmerth’s lunatic round continues apace! He’s played 14 holes now, and parred only three of them. This is his seventh birdie, at 14, and now he’s the sole leader again! So the lead’s out of reach for Spieth right now. Meanwhile George Coetzee can only bogey the hellish final hole, and he has to settle for a seven-under-par 65. After yesterday’s 74, that puts him at -5.
Spieth, McIlroy and Johnson all lay up with their second shots at the long, kinked par-five 5th. Spieth gets the closest with his subsequent approach, his ball biting eight feet from the flag. McIlroy, who had looked in prime position after a perfectly placed long iron took out all the water, can only send it to 12 feet. Johnson doesn’t get any spin and is putting from the fringe at the back. Spieth has a putt for a share of the lead.
David Lingmerth, still with the antics. Here’s his run since hole 7. Double bogey, bogey, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie, birdie. The latest one there at 13, and it takes him back into a share of the lead with George Coetzee and Dustin Johnson at -6. But trouble in the sand at 17 for YE Yang, who double bogeys and drops back to -3.
-6: Coetzee (17), Lingmerth (13), D Johnson
-5: Spieth (13*), Horschel (12)
Henrik Stenson played the back nine in 31 strokes. Another birdie at 2, and he’s six under for his round, and -2 overall. This is a fine display after yesterday’s awful 76. Hiroshi Iwata of Japan is also six under for his round, having reached the turn in 34, eagling 11, and following up with birdes at 12 and 13. He’s -1 after yesterday’s 77. But it might be heartbreak for Iwata’s compatriot Koumei Oda, who was six under for his round until a bogey at 4, and could only par his way in from there. A brilliant 67, but perhaps not enough after yesterday’s 79. He’s +2, and currently just the wrong side of the projected cut.
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Trouble for Rory at 4, who whistles his second onto the hard green and watches in horror as the ball bounds off down the hill to the left. It’s not OB, or wet, but he’ll have quite a pitch coming back up, shortsided as he is. However, one delicate lob later, scooped up the steep bank and landing softly onto the green, and he scrambles his par. Pars too for Spieth and Johnson. Marcel Siem, meanwhile, birdies 1 to move to -4.
George Coetzee ties for the lead! Having crashed his approach at 16 to three feet and converted for eagle, he now birdies 17 after sending his tee shot to eight feet. He moves to -6 alongside Dustin Johnson! A birdie down the difficult 18th, and he’ll be signing for a 63, the first man to make that score in a major since Jason Dufner managed it in this tournament in 2013. Meanwhile birdie for Horschel at 11. And another bogey for Piercy at 9; the erstwhile co-leader drops back to -4.
-6: Coetzee (17), D Johnson
-5: Yang (16), Spieth (12*), Lingmerth (12), Horschel (11)
Rory’s tee shot at 3 wasn’t too shabby either. Straight at the flag, albeit 15 feet short. He so nearly knocks in the birdie putt, but it dies off to the left with the very last turn. He stays at -2. A near miss for Zach from similar range; he stays at +2. But Spieth rams his birdie putt straight into the cup, and he’s suddenly a shot off the lead at -5! In other news at the top of the leaderboard, Piercy bogeys 8 to fall out of the joint leadership; Horschel birdies 10, his fourth of the day, to move to -4; Lingmerth’s topsy turvy round continues with bogey at 11 and birdie at 12; and in the hottest news of all, Coetzee eagles 16. The big-hitting South African is seven under for his round today!
-6: D Johnson
-5: Coetzee (16), Yang (15), Spieth (12*), Lingmerth (12), Piercy (8)
-4: Horschel (10), Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones
A sense there that Rory, having doubled 18, took a policy decision to just go for it, and see what happens here on in. Perhaps he was listening to local expert Betsy Bie, who sent in this beneficial advice a couple of minutes before he loosened his shoulders and went for it down 2: “Rory needs to R-E-L-A-X (as Aaron Rodgers put it so eloquently last year during our Packer season). He’s wound too tight! Be more of a dude like Dustin! He’s chill.” Speak of the devil, the big man’s just been pictured ambling into the clubhouse with not a care in the world. He could only look more laid back if he was twirling a cane. Providing the wind doesn’t get up too much, expect the big man to post another low score today. This charge up the leaderboard by Spieth - who has just caressed his tee shot at 3 to eight feet - might not count for so much if he does.
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Anything Jordan can do ...! Rory blasts his drive down the centre of 2, then creams his second greenside, just off the front to the right. He chips up onto the putting surface from 25 feet, the ball rolling into the cup, with a gentle right-to-left curl. That was inevitable, clearly going in from the moment it left the clubface. One of those. An eagle, and the double at 18 has been wiped out in a stroke! He’s back to -2. Spieth and Johnson, who sent their tee shots into sand, have to settle for pars. Spieth is still in a monster tie for fifth at -4, two off the lead. Rory is back in it, though, at -2. Poor Zach is still just below the projected cut line at +2, though there’s a long way to go before anything’s decided there.
Justin Thomas had been burning up the front nine with birdes at 1, 2 and 4, but he’s driven into the drink at 5 and that results in a double-bogey. He’s back to -3. Meanwhile Lingmerth arrests his decline with birdie at 10 to move back into a share of second place. Just the three pars in the first ten holes for the Swede. Mickelsonesque. (He’s still +1, by the way.)
-6: Piercy (7), D Johnson
-5: Yang (13), Lingmerth (10)
-4: ☞ ☞ ☞Spieth (10*)☜☜☜, Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones
Outrageously bad luck for Zach Johnson on 1. He’s got a bad lie in a poorly raked bunker down the side of the fairway. He can only hack out. His third bounds 30 feet past the hole. And then he rolls a brilliant putt, with a gentle right-to-left curl, to within one millimetre of the cup. If the wind was going the other way, it’d surely be blown in. But it stays out. Zach takes an age to reach the ball, in the hope that it’ll topple in. He hovers over it for the maximum time allowed, then after some pantomime hovering, taps in the shortest shot. He’s back to +2. The crowd join in with a caring AAAHHHH. Par for Rory. And another birdie for Spieth, who wedges to ten feet then strokes confidently into the centre of the cup. That’s three birdies in four holes, and he’s only a couple of strokes off the lead at -4!
Lingmerth is falling to pieces. That double at the par-three 7th has messed with his noggin. Another bogey, this time at 9, and suddenly, having been three under for his round through 6, he’s carding 37 at the turn. He’s back to -4. “Thank goodness for the HBH, seeing as there’s no live golf on Sky until 7 o’clock,” writes Simon McMahon. “You wouldn’t catch the BBC putting up with nonsense like that.”
... IT’S ALL CHANGE AT THE TOP! Lingmerth follows up that double bogey at 7 by dropping another shot at 8! He’s back to -5, in second spot alongside 2009 champ YE Yang, who has just birdied 11 and 12, and Justin Thomas, who cards yet another birdie at 4. Meanwhile joining Dustin Johnson at the top of the tree: it’s Scott Piercy, with birdie at 5!
-6: Piercy (5), D Johnson
-5: Thomas (13*), Yang (12), Lingmerth (8)
-4: Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones
-3: Coetzee (13), ☞ ☞ ☞Spieth (9*)☜☜☜, Horschel (7), Siem (7*), Steele, Bjorn, Morrison, Rose
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Johnson caresses a stunning approach over the flag to 15 feet, the ball spinning back to six. He’ll have a great chance to save his par from there. Next up is Rory. His ball’s sitting atop a sponge of long grass, and he throws the open face of the club straight under it. A fluff which doesn’t even reach the green. He’s still facing a mammoth up and down for bogey. But then, the shot of the day by Spieth! He’s on the downslope in the bunker to the front right of the green. The flag’s close to that side. He splashes out carefully, the ball dropping onto the apron, then springing forward and curling round into the cup! A crazy birdie on the hardest hole on the course! And a shot of delicate brilliance. Also, consider the timing, seconds after Rory’s fluffed chip. Rory can’t get up and down from the side, his second chip a clumsy clunk, the bogey putt from ten feet never going in. A three-shot swing between the world numbers one and two in a matter of seconds. Johnson can’t escape with a bogey. He’s +1. McIlroy is level par. And the young genius Spieth is -3, which is just three off the lead. But the nature of that lead, amidst all that bedlam, has changed. Because ...
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Trouble for Spieth down 18. A wood from the middle of the fairway, 230 yards out. He plonks his ball into the bunker to the right of the green. He’s not got much green to work with from there. Then Rory pulls his long iron into utter nonsense to the left, miles from the flag. They’ll both be doing extremely well to get up and down from there. Zach Johnson meanwhile has to lay up, but could be in the best nick of the three nonetheless. They don’t call this hole Dyeabolical for nothing.
Mickelson has picked up another birdie, this time at 16. He’s clawing them back after that appalling 6-5-3-5 start. He’s back to +1, and has his head above water with the weekend in mind. His playing partner Padraig Harrington is making a good fist of saving himself, too. A 76 yesterday, but he’s just carded three birdies in a row, at 14, 15 and 16, to join Lefty at +1. Meanwhile Sean O’Hair has just birdied 13. It’s his fifth of the day, following birds at 1, 5, 7 and 10, offset by just the one dropped shot at 9. He’s -1.
Justin Thomas played the back nine in 34 strokes this morning. He’s now started the front nine in perfect fashion, with birdies at 1 and 2. He’s -4 for his round and for the tournament, and one of the hottest properties out there this morning. Kevin Chappell is four strokes to the good today through 12 holes; he’s -3. George Coetzee is five under for his round and -3 overall through 11. Billy Horschel has birdied 6 to move to -3, for both round and championship. And perhaps most startlingly of all, Henrik Stenson is five under for his round having birdied 10, 11, 15, 16 and now 17. After yesterday’s miserable 76, he’s -1.
Zach Johnson trundles his long birdie putt up 17 to a couple of feet. A decent par after a distinctly average tee shot. Spieth’s birdie putt, coming back up the hill from the best part of ten feet, dies off to the right. Finally it’s Rory, who sets his off on the right line, but doesn’t hit it. Birdie opportunities spurned there. But McIlroy and Spieth are both still -2, and that’s only four off the lead. Because David Lingmerth hoicks one out of bounds from the tee at the par-three 7th, and the resulting double bogey drops him back to -6.
-6: Lingmerth (7), D Johnson
-5: Piercy (4)
-4: Grillo (10), Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones
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Rory creams a lovely 6-iron into 17, his ball rolling towards the cup from the right, the ball ending up eight feet past the hole. Spieth skelps a 7-iron into the green, and very nearly earns himself a couple of billiards points by kissing Rory’s ball. Almost a carbon copy of a shot. Spieth is six inches outside, so will give Rory a read. Or put the pressure on if he sinks is birdie effort. It’s six and half a dozen. Zach’s tee shot barely reaches the front of the green. But he’s on. A suggestion that McIlroy and Spieth are slowly beginning to get into their groove. It’d be nice if they encouraged each other to indulge in some birdie mayhem, the sort of heady nonsense Tiger and Phil used to get up to. Please, lads?
Spieth’s second into the par-five 16th whistles straight through the green and into thick stuff at the back. No matter, because he sends a chip scuttling straight towards the cup from 50 feet away. For a second, it looks like going in for an outrageous eagle, but it dies just before the cup, and birdie will suffice. McIlroy sent his second right at the flag, and was rather unfortunate to take a hot bounce, 30 feet past the hole. He lags up and taps in for birdie. Johnson, never quite in control at any point down the hole, settles for par, though he very nearly drains a 30-footer himself. McIlroy and Spieth move to -2 while Zach remains at level par.
Kevin Chappell has featured, if not quite threatened, in the majors on a couple of occasions. Top-ten finishes at the US Open in 2011 and 2012, plus a tie for 13th at Valhalla in this championship last year. The 29-year-old Californian appears in the mood to try again this week. Only a one-over 73 yesterday, but having bogeyed 15, he’s just gone eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie, and he’s -3 overall.
It’s been a miserable morning for Phil Mickelson. He started out with a double bogey at 10, then dropped another at 13. A birdie at 14 could be the start of a grand recovery, which is very much a requirement as he’s below the current projected cut line at +2. He’s been all over the shop this week. Up and downs from sand at every other hole yesterday evening. “Ridiculous golf but highly entertaining stuff,” writes David Brown. Yep. And arguably unsustainable now he’s 45 years old. That 66 at Muirfield to win the Open in 2013 - one of the greatest rounds of all time, in any tournament, in anyone’s book - may stand as his valedictory achievement in the majors.
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Spieth’s effort, straight across the green, is always heading right. “I pulled it,” he admits to his caddy as he trudges off the green. He remains at -1, as does Rory, who clacks a fairly lame, unconvincing effort from eight feet short and right. Finally it’s Zach, who registers a bounce-back birdie having gone to school on Spieth’s putt. He’s back to level par. Grillo meanwhile bogeys 11 to drop back to -3.
Donald has ruined much of his good early work with a double at 15. He’s back to -1. Billy Horschel is out briskly with birdies at 2 and 3; he’s -2. Cameron Smith has birdied 2, 3 and 5 to move to -1. Jordan, Zach and Rory pepper the flagstick at 15. They’ll all have good birdie chances, Spieth the furthest away at 12 feet.
... Lingmerth appears to be on another of his increasingly famous birdie blitzes! First the opening day at St Andrews. Then yesterday. And now this! After birdies at 1 and 3, he’s plotted his way carefully down the snaking par-five 5th for a third bird of the day. He’s now opened up a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson, who will be going out in more testing conditions this afternoon. Meanwhile the brilliant young Grillo birdies 10, and he’s suddenly in a tie for fourth on his PGA (and major-championship) debut!
-8: Lingmerth (5)
-6: D Johnson
-5: Piercy (1)
-4: Grillo (10), Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones
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McIlroy makes a good fist of the chip back onto the green, powering his ball out of the tangled mess it’s in and bumping it to a couple of feet. Par. Spieth can’t make his birdie effort, the ball sliding off to the left, another miss which lends weight to the argument that he’s much more impressive from distance with the flat stick than close in. Par. Meanwhile Johnson nearly drains a monster from the front of the green, so close to a 60-foot birdie. And of course then misses the tiddler coming back; he’s +1 again. But never mind all that. Because ...
The rage of Rory. He finds the rough down the left of 14, and sends a hot one whistling through the green into the thick stuff at the back. He’ll do well to get up and down from that, with a tangled lie and not much green to work with. He bangs his wedge back into the bag. Wheech! Frown! His mood’s not helped by Spieth’s serene progress down the hole; he’ll have a look at birdie from ten feet.
Scott Piercy was the last man out yesterday, and his 68 was worth waiting for. He’s started today in similar form, with birdie at 1. He’s now in sole ownership of third place at -5. Meanwhile another birdie for Luke Donald! It’s three in a row, the latest coming at 13. He’s -3 overall. And the major-championship debut of young Argentinian Emiliano Grillo continues to go well. Having shot 70 yesterday, he started out with bogey at 1, but didn’t let it affect him: birdie at 5, and now another at 9, and he’s out in 35 strokes, -3 for the tournament and in a tie for 11th.
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Spieth punches a chip of some genius out from the thick stuff, and up onto the green to 18 inches or so. He taps in for a wonderful par escape. Just like yesterday, he’s holding on with his brilliant short game, rather than making the charge up the leaderboard most expected. Plenty of time to get things moving. McIlroy’s putt from the fringe at the back-right looks good for a while, but breaks left at the last; he’ll have a tricky four footer coming back. And finally Zach. A fast downhill birdie effort from 20 feet or so. It dies left, and that’s a par.
Zach splits the middle of 13. Rory and Jordan have both flayed their drives into the rough on the bank down the left. McIlroy can bump his ball onto the green in the links style, the ball scampering into the fringe at the back. That’s OK from there. Poor Spieth, though, has a hell of a tangled lie, and can only trade that one for another front-right of the green. He was hoping to see his ball bound into a bunker, but no such luck. Johnson lifts an easy approach into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a putt for four in a row from 20 feet.
... Lingmerth sent his tee shot at 3 straight over the flag, and rattled in the eight-foot birdie putt coming back. The birdie gives him sole leadership of this tournament! A fourth birdie of the day for Coetzee, at 6; he’s -2 overall. Another birdie for de Jonge, this time at 16, and he’s -3. YE Yang follows up bogey at 4 with birdie at 5; he’s -3. Luke Donald has birdied 12 and 13 to move to -2. And Koumei Oda has reached the turn in 32 strokes. At +3, he’s still got a bit to do to avoid the projected cut, but a couple more birdies should see him good. What a response to shooting 79 yesterday!
-7: Lingmerth (3)
-6: D Johnson
-4: Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones, Piercy
-3: de Jonge (7*), Yang (5), Bae (3), Siem (1), Steele, Bjorn, Morrison, Rose
Spieth can only flash the ball straight past the flag and up against the collar on the left-hand side of the green. He’s facing a 25-footer with huge right-to-left break over a bank for his par. Good line, but he doesn’t hit it. He’ll drop back to -1. Rory’s putt from the fringe at the front is always breaking left, but the pace is decent and that’s another par. Finally the man of the moment: Zach Johnson strokes his birdie putt into the left-hand side of the cup. A third birdie in a row! And suddenly, at level par, he’s only one shot behind his playing partners - and six behind his namesake Dustin. But seven off the lead, because ...
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Par for the co-leader Lingmerth at 2. He remains at -6 alongside Dustin, who goes out this afternoon. Lingmerth’s playing partner Sangmoon Bae sinks a 30-foot eagle putt, and he’s suddenly -3. Up on 12, a stroke of luck for Spieth, who pushes his 9-iron dangerously close to the OB by the cliffs on the right. His ball stays in the bunker. Rory finds the front right of the par-three green, though he was flirting with trouble down that side too. Zach Johnson, on the other hand, is on fire: he lands his tee shot pretty much pin high, on the bank to the left of the green, his ball kicking onto the putting surface and resting eight feet from the flag. Three birdies in a row? He’s got a chance. This is a blistering start by the Open champion.
Rory can only land his ball onto the fringe from up the bank. He teases a little chip to a couple of feet, the ball never looking like dropping for birdie. So that’s a par. He stays at -1. Spieth races a chip out from the rough to the side of the green and clatters his ball into the flagstick. It’s going at some pace, though, and races 20 feet past the flag. But it’s a straight putt coming back, and it’s slotted away without fuss. He’s -2. Johnson rolls his 15-footer straight into the cup. Never missing. No messing. That’s a birdie-birdie start. He’s +1, and inside the cut line already. A fast start by the two American double-major winners. Rory still needs to find a little something. Meanwhile George Coetzee of South Africa is off to a flyer: birdies at 1, 2 and 5, and he’s -1 overall. His compatriot Brendon de Jonge has started well, with birdies at 12 and 14; he’s -2 for his round, and for the championship. YE Yang drops a shot at 4; he’s -2 again.
Spieth sends his second way left, onto the side of a large tufty hill running down the hole. Rory follows him. Spieth’s ball bounds down off the slope and nearly onto the green, but snags in thick rough near the fairway. Rory’s ball stays up on the bank, in slightly less tangled grass. It’s really difficult to know if someone got a lucky break there, or not. Johnson lays up from the rough on the right, then wedges to 15 feet. He’s just off the green, but the flag’s near the left-hand edge, so he’ll at least have a look at birdie. Will Rory or Jordan get a look at one? Much depends on their lies. Chips coming up.
But Zach’s big problem yesterday was his driving. It repeatedly got him in all manner of trouble, and once again he’s flaying it into deep bother, this time down the right of the par-five 11th. This hole is a big birdie opportunity, possibly eagle, and he’ll not be reaching in two from there. Rory’s big boomer drifts into the first cut down the left, but he’ll be OK from there. And finally Spieth, who yesterday, and rather magnificently, exclaimed “Holy snap hooks!” while winging a tee shot into nonsense. Very possibly the nicest and sweetest tantrum in the history of professional sport. Today he screams something which to the untutored British ear sounds a bit like a more earthy “Jesus!” but in fact on second hearing was almost certainly “Be good!” The ball obeyed. He’s right by Rory. Spieth is brilliant at finding fault with his tee shots milliseconds after making contact, only for the ball to nestle just by the hole, or in the middle of the fairway. High standards, huh. He’s not putting up with nonsense.
The best wedge into 10: Zach Johnson’s. He’s got the benefit of being a little shorter from the tee than the other two lads, and so can get a little bit more spin on the ball. More control. He’s not super-close - 12 feet from the hole - but the first approaches of the day by the world numbers one and two are distinctly average by comparison. They have to make to with two-putt pars from 20 feet, and remain at -1. But Johnson sinks his birdie putt, and his bid to escape the cut starts perfectly: he’s +2. Though all of this is kind of by the by right now, as here’s the big early news: David Lingmerth sinks a 25-footer on the 1st, and joins Dustin in the lead.
-6: Lingmerth (1), D Johnson
-4: Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones, Piercy
-3: Yang (3), Steele, Bjorn, Morrison, Rose
The morning marquee group is out. Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson start out at 10. McIlroy up first, and he belts a fairway wood down the track. Then it’s Spieth, who does exactly the same. And finally the Champion Golfer of the Year, Zach ‘Not Dustin’ Johnson. He makes it three perfect tee shots out of three. Johnson needs to shoot something low today. A three-over 75 yesterday wasn’t good enough. It certainly wasn’t good enough with the cut in mind: right now that’s sending those at +2 and over back home. Other big names in danger as things stand: Geoff Ogilvy, Danny Willett, Kevin Na, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Kevin Kisner, Keegan Bradley, Camilo Villegas, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Shane Lowry and of course Tiger.
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Here we go, then. Another hot day in Wisconsin, with temperatures up to 90 degrees, humidity rising, and a chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon matches. Which doesn’t sound great, but we were promised a few peals and crackles of the dangerous stuff yesterday, and nothing materialised. So here’s hoping. The early scoring seems to suggest that, like yesterday, there are shots out there to be picked up in the morning. The 2009 winner YE Yang, fresh off his 70 yesterday, has birdied the opening hole: he’s -3 overall. Steve Stricker began with birdies at 10 and 11 before dropping a shot at 12; he’s -2. Justin Thomas eagled 11 to move to -2. The 2012 US Open champ Webb Simpson follows yesterday’s 71 with a birdie at 10; he’s -2. And the hottest property out there right now is Koumei Oda, with birdies at 10, 12 and 13. How he’ll be ruing yesterday’s 79, huh.
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Preamble
David Lingmerth is quickly building something of a reputation as a fast starter. Last month, he played the first nine holes of this year’s Open Championship in 29 strokes. Then yesterday, he played the first nine holes of his PGA bid in 31. This is not normal behaviour. Out in the high winds of the afternoon, the 28-year-old Swede’s eventual 67 was unquestionably the performance of the first day. Dustin Johnson, who leads having shot 66, may demur. But he was out in the benign early conditions, so that’s the way it surely is.
Lingmerth’s in second spot, and going out early today. With stronger breezes again expected in the afternoon, that should be to his advantage. the luck of the draw evening itself out a wee bit. So it’ll be fascinating to see if he can build on that 67, as a challenge didn’t quite materialise after his blistering start at St Andrews. Second time lucky?
Though there are plenty of other stories to obsess over. Is Dustin quarter-way through another doomed enterprise? Can Rory McIlroy build on his solid 71, an instant return to form after injury? Will Jordan Spieth, strangely quiet yesterday yet still nicely placed after a battling 71, click into his usual smooth gear? Could this finally be time for Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, Thomas Bjorn, Hideki Matsuyama or Paul Casey? Can Tiger Woods and the Open champion Zach Johnson avoid the cut? Will Sergio, etc., and so on, and so forth?
All these questions and more will be answered here from 2pm BST. That’s when our coverage starts, just in time to catch the morning marquee group of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson as they take to the course. It’s the day the tournament starts taking shape. It’s sure to be dramatic and exciting. It, ladies and gentlemen, is on!
The leaders after the first round ...
-6: D Johnson
-5: Lingmerth
-4: Henley, Kuchar, English, Holmes, Day, Lee, Jones, Piercy
-3: Steele, Bjorn, Morrison, Rose
-2: Matsuyama, Howell III, Streb, Casey, Kaymer, Lahiri, Grillo, Yang, Siem
From the first tee ...
6.45am CDT (12.45pm BST): George McNeill, Charles Frost, Emiliano Grillo
6.55am CDT (12.55pm BST): Chris Wood, Brett Jones, Sean O’Hair
7.05am CDT (1.05pm BST):George Coetzee, Ben Martin, Soren Kjeldsen
7.15am CDT (1.15pm BST): Rich Beem, Shaun Micheel, Y.E. Yang
7.25am CDT (1.25pm BST): Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Steven Bowditch, Daniel Berger
7.35am CDT (1.35pm BST): Camilo Villegas, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Pablo Larrazabal
7.45am CDT (1.45pm BST): Cameron Smith, Shawn Stefani, Hiroshi Iwata
7.55am CDT (1.55pm BST): Kevin Streelman, Sang-Moon Bae, David Lingmerth
8.05am CDT (2.05pm BST): Troy Merritt, Alexander Levy, Russell Knox
8.15am CDT (2.15pm BST): Tim Clark, Billy Horschel, Miguel Angel Jimenez
8.25am CDT (2.25pm BST): Eddie Pepperell, Sean Dougherty, Kevin Na
8.35am CDT (2.35pm BST): Marc Leishman, Ben Polland, Kevin Kisner
8.45am CDT (2.45pm BST): Scott Piercy, Alan Morin, Andy Sullivan
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12pm CDT (6pm BST): Pat Perez, Brian Gaffney, David Hearn
12.10pm CDT (6.10pm BST): Hideki Matsuyama, Johan Kok, Brendan Steele
12.20pm CDT (6.20pm BST): Matt Dobyns, Colin Montgomerie, John Daly
12.30pm CDT (6.30pm BST): Victor Dubuisson, Matt Kuchar, Charl Schwartzel
12.40pm CDT (6.40pm BST): Sergio Garcia, Bill Haas, Louis Oosthuizen
12.50pm CDT (6.50pm BST): Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker, Geoff Ogilvy
1pm CDT (7pm BST): Bubba Watson, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk
1.10pm CDT (7.10pm BST): Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els
1.20pm CDT (7.20pm BST): Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler
1.30pm CDT (7.30pm BST): Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer, Keegan Bradley
1.40pm CDT (7.40pm BST): Gary Woodland, Francesco Molinari, Marc Warren
1.50pm CDT (7.50pm BST): Brent Synder, Tyrrell Hatton, Brendon Todd
2pm CDT (8pm BST): Jeff Olson, Fabian Gomez, Martin Laird
... and from the 10th tee ...
6.45am CDT (12.45pm BST): Bob Sowards, Koumei Oda, Alex Cejka
6.55am CDT (12.55pm BST): Ryan Kennedy, Kevin Chappell, Brendon de Jonge
7.05am CDT (1.05pm BST): Davis Love III, Darren Clarke, Steve Stricker
7.15am CDT (1.15pm BST): Jimmy Walker, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
7.25am CDT (1.25pm BST): Webb Simpson, Bernd Wiesberger, Shane Lowry
7.35am CDT (1.35pm BST): Nick Watney, Ian Poulter, Joost Luiten
7.45am CDT (1.45pm BST): Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Patrick Reed
7.55am CDT (1.55pm BST): Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Brooks Koepka
8.05am CDT (2.05pm BST): Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson
8.15am CDT (2.15pm BST): Jason Dufner, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington
8.25am CDT (2.25pm BST): Cameron Tringale, Danny Willett, John Senden
8.35am CDT (2.35pm BST): Jason Bohn, Marcel Siem, Omar Uresti
8.45am CDT (2.45pm BST): Richard Ramsay, Dan Venezio, Nick Taylor
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12pm CDT (6pm BST): Ryan Helminen, Rory Sabbatini, Chesson Hadley
12.10pm CDT (6.10pm BST): David Howell, Grant Sturgeon, Boo Weekley
12.20pm CDT (6.20pm BST): Charles Howell III, Austin Peters, Thomas Bjorn
12.30pm CDT (6.30pm BST): Byeong Hun An, Russell Henley, Robert Streb
12.40pm CDT (6.40pm BST): James Morrison, Ryan Palmer, Charley Hoffman
12.50pm CDT (6.50pm BST): Stephen Gallacher, Ryan Moore, Thongchai Jaidee
1pm CDT (7pm BST): Vijay Singh, David Toms, Mark Brooks
1.10pm CDT (7.10pm BST): James Hahn, Jamie Donaldson, Harris English
1.20pm CDT (7.20pm BST): Ross Fisher, JB Holmes, Mikko Ilonen
1.30pm CDT (7.30pm BST): Tony Finau, Branden Grace, Danny Lee
1.40pm CDT (7.40pm BST): Steven Young, Morgan Hoffmann, Anirban Lahiri
1.50pm CDT (7.50pm BST): Brian Cairns, Matt Every, Matt Jones
2pm CDT (8pm BST): Adam Rainaud, Brian Harman, JJ Henry
Updated
