Streb carded eight birdies and one bogey en route to the 63. Afternoon starter Hideki Matsuyama quickly joined his compatriot on three-under with a stunning eagle-two at the par-four second hole where he spun his approach shot into the cup.
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Thunderstorms suspended play at 2:14 p.m. EDT at the course in Springfield, N.J., before the leaders could tee off and stopping action on a day where the earlier starters had found such favorable conditions that Phil Mickelson predicted a player might break the 18-hole scoring record of 63 in a major. “Everything is under water, regardless of whether the lightning stopped”.
No matter where anyone was at Baltusrol, there was no shortage of entertainment.
Three birdies over his second nine gave him his second successive 67 and the inside track to a second successive major title.
Spieth, who narrowly missed a birdie putt on his first hole, has 18 feet remaining for birdie on No. 2. From the fairway, he made bogey and was headed home to figure out what was wrong with his putting. He birdied the par-3 ninth to tie the record and Walker with matching 9-under-par 131 scores, also tying a 36-hole record at the PGA.
Mickelson himself sliced his tee shot out-of-bounds at the par-four first, his ball landing on the adjacent Shunpike Road and bouncing onto another street.
“It’s going to be a new experience, and it will be fun”, Walker said. “You still have to go perform. Doesn’t matter what tournament it is”.
Up: Emiliano Grillo. Proving that his T-12 at the Open Championship was no fluke, the 23-year-old Argentine is two back after shooting 66-67.
Day talked in advance of the final round about the challenge of the weather: “The plus side was that I didn’t actually have to go out”.
The wind has certainly picked up in the last couple hours at the PGA Championship, so the players making a move early could be back in the hunt by the end of the day.
Just like Walker and Streb, he has never even contended in a major.
He said: “I got to thank all the GAA jerseys”. “I’m going to go out and enjoy it”. Open victor Henrik Stenson was a shot further back.
But none of those victories happened after March and Walker hasn’t contended in the last seven major championships. “It was a solid day and glad to get up there in the mix”.
In addition to Streb’s Friday feat, Thomas Bjorn shot 63 at Baltusrol in the third round of the 2005 PGA and Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf each opened on 63 at Baltusrol in the 1980 US Open. “I’d have to look that up”.
No need to. Someone pointed out that Nicolas Colsaerts piped two over the fence and made 8.
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Francesco Molinari knows how to close out a round of golf. Six groups didn’t tee off on Saturday and Jordan Spieth – who sits at 3-under – finished just one hole before the rain came.
