He still stayed the weekend.
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“I’m very lucky with this golf course because it’s kind of all out in front of you”.
While McIlroy will have to watch the weekend on television, one who will be spending less time doing commentary is Rich Beem.
“When the first guy comes back and he’s ready for a cocktail, you have one”, Walker said.
Just like that, a stale year came to life.
South Korean K.J. Choi, who is playing his first major of 2016, was three shots behind Walker, while Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, fresh off winning the British Open in a thrilling final-round duel with American great Phil Mickelson, is two shots back.
Yet because he hasn’t won this year – he has two runner-up finishes and ranks 14th in the world – his confident attitude gets questioned. Emiliano Grillo, just two shots back, is the ideal example. Stenson is trying to join Ben Hogan in 1953 as the only players to win back-to-back majors at age 40. Danny Willett was tied 61st and Rory McIlroy failed to make the cut. The world number two misfired badly with a sorry seven-over-par 77 and he’s now got nearly no chance.
He wasn’t alone in his misery.
“I’ve won a few times”.
Walker’s year has been so mediocre that he has finished within five shots of the victor only once this year, at Torrey Pines.
“I feel like I’m striking my irons well”, Walker chimed in. “It’s just ebbs and flows of golf”.
McIlroy, a four-time Major victor, said he knew his immediate challenge in New Jersey would be “to play a good round and get into the weekend – that’s the first objective”.
Kaymer had the best score in the afternoon, when the blend of poa annua and bent grass on the Baltusrol greens became a little more hard to navigate.
Baltusrol still allowed for good scoring. So I walk up there and I realize it’s a foot and I was just like, okay, I guess the rest of the field has been hitting it inside a foot all day.
The world No.64 on Thursday endured two bogeys on the par-four third and par-three fourth holes before making par efforts on the next five holes.
Grillo, who began his round at the 10th, made his move in warm sunshine that dried out the Tillinghast layout after a rainy start to the day.
“I was pretty excited”, he said.
There’s a chance that those playing this morning could play in decidedly wet weather that really hampers their progress and then the thunder arrives and the afternoon starters don’t even start until tomorrow, when the course is soft, receptive and ideal for scoring.
Jordan Spieth only regretted one hole, the par-4 seventh, when he lost his ball so far to the right he had to chip back into thick rough and wound up three-putting for a double bogey. That was his lone mistake.
Stenson eagled the par-5 18th and added birdies on Nos. He made par on both.
Consume enough PGA Championship media coverage and you’ll likely hear an “expert” or two reference Baltusrol Golf Club as a ball-striker’s course. “It just shows you how bad I was around the greens”.
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CBS Sports will be with you throughout the day posting the latest scores, highlights and shot-by-shot analysis in our leaderboard live blog. “Like good shooters, just keep shooting”. I played that for a good ten years, something like that.
