It took McIlroy until the 4th hole of his second round to make a birdie in the tournament, and though he added three more in his second round they were offset by bogeys.
Advertisement
Looking at Saturday’s back nine scores, there are a lot of birdies to be had.
“I’m having a hard time right now managing my expectations, because I know how well I’m playing and I’m so result oriented that I’m not playing very relaxed, free golf like I did at the British, like I did in the preparation here”, Mickelson said of a week where he has recorded seven birdies, but five bogeys and a triple bogey.
Major winners Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel also made a move Saturday.
The leader or co-leader after each of the first three rounds, Walker made nine pars on the front nine and was at 11-under for the tournament. At the British Open in Troon two weeks ago, observers pointed out that golfers who were not on the same side of the draw as champion Henrik Stenson and runnerup Phil Mickelson really had no chance because of wind and rain. It also could mean that the leaders might not be in or near the final groups.
“We all have periods where we have mental blocks on the greens”, Mickelson said.
Then, the rain kept coming until the 13th fairway and other parts at the end of the lower course were so saturated that play had to be halted.
The PGA will attempt to resume play on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. ET, but the forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms overnight and throughout the day on Sunday.
In a major championship season of endless theater, the PGA Championship lived up to its end of the bargain Friday.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, victor of the British Open earlier this month, is alone in fifth place at six-under 134.
Marc Leishman was putting on the 18th green Saturday when the double horn blew at 2:14 p.m.
The pair are being pursued by world No 1 Jason Day, whose remarkable birdie blitz around the turn on Friday propelled him into the mix.
When play was suspended at 2:15 p.m., only 37 players had finished their third round, with Kevin Kisner and Padraig Harrington pacing the field with 65s.
The fourth round began at 8:40 a.m. and there will be no re-pairings because of that.
American Phil Mickelson was the victor then and two of his compatriots lead the way this time around, with Walker and Streb – scheduled for a 7:40am tee time – on nine under.
“It’s a major championship, and we want it to be ran and perform as a major championship”, he said.
Rory McIlroy has not won a major in two years.
And Rose was celebrating his 36th birthday by playing the first 12 holes of his third round in one under par, after making the cut on the mark of two over on Friday.
The Bengaluru golfer underwent a tough year as far as his performance at the majors is concerned.
Advertisement
“I was able to fight back and be patient, start to make a birdie here or there”, the Open runner-up said after shooting a 70 for one-over 141, 10 strokes behind leaders Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb.
