“It’s fantastic to be in the lead“, said Jones, who is making just his eighth appearance in a major.
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“Well, I didn’t know if I was playing with Spieth or who – and I’m playing with Spieth“, Day said. “Thirty seconds later they blew the horn, so my name was mud walking up the 18th”. He made the cut at the Masters. Isao Aoki, the Hall of Fame golfer from Japan whom Iwata described as a “legend”, also shot 63 in a major – the third round of the 1980 British Open. He still had hope at the PGA Championship, though he was 4 over with five holes to play, two shots from the projected cut.
The leaderboard was as clouded as the sky over Whistling Straits.
The second round was delayed when a strong storm packing gusts that approached 50 miles per hour moved in late Friday. It was the 27th time a player shot a 63 in a major.
Dustin Johnson, with three bogies in his last four holes, dropped back to 5-under through 14 holes. He topped that Saturday with his 6-under 30 on the back nine.
The round will be completed beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday and the third round in the final major championship of the year will follow. “But I’m going to have fun with it, and I’m pretty relaxed on the golf course”.
Saturday’s conditions at Whistling Straits led to outstanding scores, as gentles breezes off Lake Michigan, combined with greens that Phil Mickelson described as “pristine, beautiful, large and receptive”, produced a festival of birdies. Day had played 14 holes, Jones was through 12 and Rose had one hole remaining.
This is the same man that battled through extreme vertigo at the US Open in June, collapsing on the course it was so bad at one stage. Now it looks like he gets yet another chance. He said he would discuss the plan with his team and decide in the next few days about whether to play next week in Greensboro, North Carolina. The only history I’ll be thinking of when we step on the first tee is you can hoist the Wanamaker trophy tomorrow and make it happen. “It’s only the first round, we’ve still got a lot of golf to play”. I made a couple of putts today. 8 and 9, birdied No. 10 and bogeyed the par-5 11th after hitting his tee shot into a bunker.
“It is what it is but hopefully it will help me out”, said Johnson, the 36-hole leader at the last two majors.
“I hit a great drive”, Day said, “Hit kind of an average five-iron in there and didn t expect to have so much sand”.
Jordan Spieth sure is leaving his mark in the majors.
McIlroy was keeping pace with Spieth until a big turnaround on the 18th hole at the halfway point of their round.
Starting on the ninth he produced six straight threes on his card for four birdies and an eagle and moved up to 16-under.
Iwata said courses on this side of the Pacific were considerably more challenging because of the long par 4s.
“I thought that if I could get to 10 (under), if I could get three more, then I would still have a chance”.
Day snuck past fellow Australian Matt Jones on the back nine with four birdies and an eagle that erased a costly double-bogey on the 15th.
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Spieth doesn’t yet have the intimidation factor of Tiger Woods in his prime, but his game and attitude are perfectly constructed to win majors.
