Oklahoma: Where wind is pain
The Oklahoma wind came sweeping through Southern Hills and then swiftly left town in time for Will Zalatoris, Bubba Watson and, yes, even Tiger Woods, to bring a sleepy PGA Championship to life.
Zalatoris hit the ball on the button whether he was in the fairway or the rough, running off three straight birdies in gentler afternoon conditions for a fiveunder 65 and a one-shot lead over Mito Pereira of Chile.
Pereira missed a seven-foot putt on his final hole and had to settle for 64. About an hour later, Watson missed a birdie putt from just inside 25 feet on the 18th hole and still delivered the 18th round of 63 in PGA Championship history.
Woods wasn’t spectacular, yet no less compelling. Outside the cut line with seven holes to play, he made a pair of 15-foot par putts and two birdies on his battered right leg for a 69 to make the cut in his second straight major.
He’s still 12 shots behind Zalatoris, the 25-year-old from Dallas who is built like a one-iron and could probably hit one flush with his eyes closed. Zalatoris, a premier ball-striker, was quick to acknowledge that timing was everything.
“We lucked out with the draw, for sure,” he said. “I played the last eight holes with not much wind. But take it when you can.”
Of the 22 players under par going into the weekend, only five had to endure the worst of Oklahoma’s notorious wind.
Justin Thomas concentrated on every shot, even short putts, in gusts that topped 50km/h in the morning and he was rightly proud of another 67 that put him atop the leaderboard. And then he could only watch from the couch of his rental home as the trees stopped swaying and the birdies kept dropping.
Now it’s 36 more holes of more wild weather and an even playing field.
Zalatoris was at nine-under and will be in the final group with Pereira. Neither has won on the PGA Tour.
Thomas was at six-under, with Watson another shot behind.
Rory McIlroy was on the good side of the draw and failed to take advantage. He didn’t make a birdie until the 13th hole. That was his only one in a round of 71, though three par saves at the end kept him within five of the lead.
“There’s a long way to go, a lot of golf left,” McIlroy said. “We’re going to see a completely different golf course the next
two days because of the wind direction. It’s going to play completely differently. And that makes it very interesting.”
Jordan Spieth, playing alongside McIlroy and Woods, finally got back to even par for the tournament until driving into the water on the 18th for a bogey and a 69. He was 10 shots behind in his bid for the career Grand Slam.
Kiwi Ryan Fox made the cut at even par, sitting in a tie for 23rd, while world No 2 Jon Rahm is at two-over.
The weekend will not include Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who stumbled badly down the stretch and finished with a double bogey for a 75 to miss the cut — four-over par — by two.
Woods looked to be headed home after his double bogey on the par-three 11th, but saved par from a bunker on 12, birdied the par-five 13th, saved par with another 15-footer on the 14th and hit his best shot on the 16th to four feet.
“I had to go grind and go to work, and I did,” Woods said. “Hopefully, I can get a hot weekend and you never know.”