The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Jimmy Walker lines up a putt on the 16th hole on his way to a second round 67 and the halfway lead at the US PGA at Baltusrol in New Jersey yesterday.
Open champion three behind leader Walker after second 67
Open champion Henrik Stenson recovered from a poor start in the second round of the US PGA Championship to remain on course to win two major titles in the space of three weeks.
Stenson carded a second consecutive 67 at Baltusrol to finish the day sixunder-par and three behind leader Jimmy Walker.
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo posted a 67 to reach seven under with Robert Streb and Jason Day threatening to join the leader out on the course.
Stenson finished one ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer and America’s Patrick Reed, whose 65 equalled the lowest score of the week.
Two-time major winner Jordan Spieth was two shots further back alongside Japan’s Yuta Ikeda, who matched Spieth’s 67 despite being in the first group out at 7am which played to a pin position cut on the wrong side of the green on their opening hole.
Walker birdied 12, 13 and 14 to reach 10 under, but a three putt bogey at the last saw him reach halfway at nine under..
Streb, who started on the back nine, birdied six and seven to reach eight under while world No 1 Day was seven under after 16 holes.
Stenson, who had also started on the 10th, had three-putted the 12th and 13th and did well to save par on the next after failing to reach the fairway with a mis-hit drive.
However, the 40-year-old Swede responded in superb fashion by hitting his 257-yard approach to the 18th to three feet to set up an eagle, before picking up birdies on the first, third and eighth.
“It felt pretty good the last 12 or 13 holes,” Stenson said. “I got off to a bit of a wobbly start and stood over a six-feet putt on the 14th to avoid going three over, so I’m quite happy that went in and I turned it on from 18.
“It’s easy to get greedy when things are going your way, but I’m very pleased. That could easily have gone the wrong way but I was hanging in there and got the good stuff coming in.”
Stenson only had a week to drink “Champagne, Champagne and Champagne” out of the Claret Jug due to a condensed schedule to accommodate golf’s return to the Olympics.
But he insisted he felt “pretty fresh” at the start of the week and believes he will feel the benefit of having ended his major drought if he gets into contention.
“Maybe I’ll run out of steam at some point, but up until then, I’ll just keep trying my best,” he said. “I expect to be tired at some point, whether it be after this week or after the Olympics. I know I’m going to sleep for a week after the Ryder Cup.
“But it’s not something that I’m concerned about. I’m just going to try and manage my time on the practice range and make sure I get plenty of rest and sleep.
“I had a second and two thirds at the Open before this year, so I didn’t feel like I had anything to lose there, and I certainly don’t have anything to lose here. Confidence-wise, of course, it’s not going to be a bad thing, getting that win. Hopefully makes it easier on Sunday when you know you’ve got one in the bank already.”
Kaymer already has two major titles to his name after winning the 2010 US PGA and 2014 US Open and could secure a fourth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance with a good finish this week.
“For sure I would make the Ryder Cup team, which would be huge.
“I really would love to be part of that,” said Kaymer, who also recovered from dropping two shots in his first three holes either side of the rain delay thanks to three birdies in the last four.
“I started not the way I wanted but I knew I didn’t need to worry too much.
“It was just a matter of time that I create birdie chances, and they came.
“I couldn’t make all of them but in the end it was very important for me to finish the way I did, to still shoot under par in those conditions because the golf course was definitely a little bit harder to play today.”
England’s Andrew Johnston, who has become a cult figure better known by his nickname ‘Beef’, was one under par after a 69 and looking forward to more interaction with his enthusiastic fans.
“It’s going to be noisy,” the 27-year-old Londoner said. “I can’t wait. Every hole, man, I get so many nice comments.
“Even after the fifth hole today, when I three-putted it, they are like, ‘Don’t worry, Beef, come on, bounce back, you’ve got this one’. And it’s just nice, man. It’s a nice atmosphere.”
Rory McIlroy was battling to avoid a second early exit in three majors after an opening 74, the world No 4 ending his birdie drought by picking up shots on the fourth and sixth before a bogey on the ninth.
A birdie at the 11th got him back to two over but a bogey at 13 left him a shot outside the projected cut.
Scotland’s Russell Knox carded a second 70 to be level par and Masters champion Danny Willett added a 70 to finish the day at one over.