Windsor Star

Walker holds on to share of lead at PGA Championsh­ip

Rain softens up Baltusrol Golf Club; Streb cards 63 to take share of lead

- JON MCCARTHY jmccarthy@postmedia.com

SPRINGFIEL­D, N.J. It rained and birdies poured during the second round at Baltusrol Golf Club on Friday.

Taking advantage of soft conditions after an early morning weather delay, Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb tied the 36-hole PGA Championsh­ip scoring record of 131. Streb became the 30th player in major history to card a 63 and all but four players in the top 20 shot 67 or better.

First round leader Walker — who found his game at the RBC Canadian Open a week ago — looked on his way to shooting back-to-back 65s before an unlikely bogey at the easiest hole on the golf course, the par-5 18th. He settled for a fourunder 66 and heads to the weekend at nine under par looking for his first major win.

Without a victory this year, Walker has been working with coach Butch Harmon trying to implement some things from his strong wedge game into his longer shots. He moved slightly closer to the ball at address and worked on keeping his body quiet throughout his swing. The results spoke for themselves and the long-hitter has driven the ball beautifull­y this week at a course that puts a premium off the tee.

“I’ve always been kind of a big mover of the ball and sometimes now it doesn’t move as much,” he said of the change in his swing. “So aiming points are a little different, but it’s felt great. I’ve been excited to hit the golf ball.”

Streb birdied his last hole to shoot 30 on the tougher front nine after beginning his day at on the 10th. It’s the second major in a row a player has shot 63, after Henrik Stenson performed the feat on Sunday at Royal Troon to win the British Open. No player has ever shot 62 in a major.

“I was pretty excited about it,” Streb said of his birdie on his final hole. “I was waiting on it to break, waiting on it to break and it finally turned there at the end. It was a great round. Happy to be part of that 63 club.”

On a good day for scoring the cream quickly rose to the top of the leaderboar­d. Major champions Stenson, Jason Day, Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Zach Johnson are all inside the top 15. Day showed why he is the best player in the world making the biggest move and sits in third place, tied with 23-yearold Emiliano Grillo, just two back of the leaders.

The world No. 1 made a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole to fall back to even par for the championsh­ip before going bananas and birdieing seven of his next eight holes to shoot the low round of the day, a five-under 65. After his round Day described the pep talk he gave himself after the double bogey.

“A few swear words inside my head. Like, what are you doing? I played that hole so bad it was frustratin­g for me. Why are you doing that? Why are you giving shots back to the field when you don’t need to do that?”

Day had the least prep time of any player in the field, not stepping on the course until Wednesday and playing just one practice round because he and his family were under the weather. “I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I sweated it out over the last couple of days. ... No excuses, guys have won on worse. Tiger at the U.S. Open with a broken leg. I’ve got a cold.”

Baltusrol has been touted as a straightfo­rward test of golf that demands great length and accuracy off the tee. Although the classic parkland layout is not the most inspiring venue for a major championsh­ip, the players like it and describe it glowingly as “fair”. Good shots are rewarded and any mess they make is likely their own fault. These types of courses often result in a certain pedigree of champion. Jack Nicklaus won two U.S. Opens at Baltusrol and Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championsh­ip here in 2005.

British Open champ Stenson is one shot back of Day and three shots off the lead after shooting back-to-back 67s. His game has carried over beautifull­y from Scotland and he could be tough to beat on the weekend. Stenson was asked if he plans to approach these two rounds differentl­y than the weekend at Royal Troon.

Two-time major champion Kaymer, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka are at five-under par. Kaymer often plays his best golf on difficult courses and in difficult conditions so the softening course might not be to his advantage. Reed teed off in the morning when conditions were most difficult and was the first to post 65.

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 ?? IMAGES STUART FRANKLIN/GETTY ?? American Jimmy Walker hits a tee shot during second-round action at the PGA Championsh­ip at Baltusrol Golf Club on Friday. Walker is tied for the lead with Robert Streb at 9-under 131 at the halfway point.
IMAGES STUART FRANKLIN/GETTY American Jimmy Walker hits a tee shot during second-round action at the PGA Championsh­ip at Baltusrol Golf Club on Friday. Walker is tied for the lead with Robert Streb at 9-under 131 at the halfway point.

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