Walker on top after long day
AKRON, Ohio — The sun finally came out, and Jimmy Walker saw a glimpse of what he hopes are brighter days ahead.
In a year marked by coping with Lyme disease and bouts of fatigue, Walker endured rain delays of nearly five hours Friday but posted a 5-underpar 65 for a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Bridgestone Invitational.
The timing couldn’t be better for Walker, who goes to Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., next week with hopes of repeating as the winner of the PGA Championship.
“It hadn’t been a lot of fun this year,” Walker said. “But it’s nice to see some putts go in and make some solid swings and keep rounds going, make par putts — just the stuff I haven’t been doing.”
He was at 7-under 133 in this World Golf Championship, two shots ahead of Thomas Pieters, who had a 70.
Walker didn’t have a lot going last year until he finished well in the Canadian Open, then went wire-to-wire the next week to win the PGA Championship. So maybe there’s another spark he can find at Firestone Country Club.
“There’s still a lot of golf on a hard course,” he said, “but I know it’s there.”
He also has a slew of players not far behind him. Rory McIlroy put together a steady round of 69 and was three shots back and tied for third with Zach Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama, who each shot 67.
The large group in sixth at 3-under 137 included Jordan Spieth, going after his third straight victory.
Spieth missed a short par putt on the 15th and was slipping behind when he faced an awkward lie from the edge of a bunker. Stumbling out of the sand backward, he nearly holed the shot and made birdie. He stuffed his approach to three feet from the 18th hole and made a birdie to salvage a 70.
Jason Day, winless in nearly 15 months, also got back into the picture despite some mild back pain. He opened with three straight birdies and shot 30 on the front nine to get back near the leaders, though two bogeys on the back nine slowed him and he shot 66. He was in the group at 137.
“The front side definitely felt like 2015, 2016,” Day said, alluding to his best stretch of golf and a rise to No. 1 in the world. “I was just pouring in everything. I know that it’s still in there. I’ve just got to keep practicing hard. I know it will eventually happen.”
Day felt he was slowed by the last — and longest — of the rain delays. He returned to three-putt the 10th for a bogey and never got back any momentum.
It was like that for everyone who slogged through a 10-hour day. The second round was delayed 45 minutes at the start, then another 45 minutes when a small band of storms rolled through. A delay of some 3 1/2 hours followed, making it feel like two separate rounds and one long day.