Super soaker
Day’s lead grows in rain; List is four shots behind
POTOMAC, Md. — Jason Day shook his head vigorously after making an 11-footer for birdie on his ninth hole Friday at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm — not out of disgust, but to whip the excess water off his cap. For the rest of the second round, Day shed the hat entirely.
Whatever it took to get through a wet blanket of a day in the Wells Fargo Championship.
Day expected a grind and got one, shooting a 3-under-par 67 in steady rain to expand his lead to three strokes. Going for his first victory in four years and what would be the 13th win of his PGA Tour career, the 34-yearold Australian was at 10-under 130 through 36 holes — and relishing the chance to relax and watch the rest of the field try to stay dry.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s nice to be back in the mix, nice to be leading. It’s still two more days left, so I can’t get too far ahead of myself,” said Day, who won the PGA Championship in 2015 and rose to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking later that year.
The rain didn’t stop for long in the afternoon as the scoring average ballooned to 72.6, three shots higher than Thursday. More rain, unseasonable cold and stronger wind were expected Saturday, followed by even colder temperatures Sunday.
Day got a tip from playing partner Max Homa, who was his closest pursuer after a 66. Homa told Day he flinched because water dripped from the bill of his cap onto his putter, causing him to ram his birdie attempt six feet by the hole on the par-4 18th. Homa tossed the hat to caddie Joe Greiner before making the comebacker.
Day played his second nine holes hatless, a rare sight on the PGA Tour.
“I mean, not many times you see this hair,” Day said, “but hopefully this weather can kind of go away and we can have hats on for the weekend.”
Baylor School graduate Luke List, coming off back-to-back missed cuts at the Masters and the RBC Heritage, was tied for third with three others at 6 under after shooting a 66 highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 14th. He followed that with one of his two bogeys in the round, but on the 16th he made a birdie — one of four on his card Friday.
Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger made it two former Red Raiders standouts in the top 20 as his 71 had him tied for 18th at 2 under. Unable to reach the weekend was Baylor alum Keith Mitchell; the cut was at par and his 74 left him at 3 over.
Day and Homa were grouped with Rickie Fowler, all past Wells Fargo champions at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tournament is making a one-time appearance at TPC Potomac because its usual venue is hosting the Presidents Cup in September.
The course is just fine by PGA Tour standards, but the weather couldn’t be much worse for early May in the Mid-Atlantic. Shots from the first cut of rough sent water splashing off the club face, and dollar billsized divots landed in the fairway with a loud thud.
Nobody spent much time fussing over the ball in the group of Day, Homa and Fowler (72), who was eight shots back. Day didn’t bother to take down the gallery ropes before hitting a flop shot from well left of the 17th green, and Homa efficiently took relief from an embedded lie without waiting for a rules official.
Day, who has battled recurrent back trouble during his career, was pleased his retooled swing held up even when he felt out of rhythm.
“When you have conditions like this, it’s really hard to commit to a shot because you’re going in there and you’re doing it kind of a lot quicker than your normal preshot routine,” Day said. “You have to force yourself to hit the shot and trust that.”
Homa opened with an eagle and made five more birdies in a round he wasn’t sure he’d finish.
“I told Joe this morning I thought we might get to 8. The greens have held up really well,” Homa said. “We did just play 18 full holes in the rain, so it’s hard to say we got hooked up, but maybe, who knows. I’m just happy to be done.”
Denny McCarthy, from nearby Rockville, was the only player in the afternoon to challenge the top of the leaderboard. He had six straight one-putt greens around the turn, four of them to save par, and shot a 69 to join List, James Hahn (68) and Kurt Kitayama (67) at 6 under. Keegan Bradley had the low round of the day, a 65 that left him five shots back and tied for seventh with Brian Harman (66) and Chad Ramey (66).
Matthew Wolff, who surprised with a 65 on Thursday, fell back with a 73 and was tied for 18th.
Rory McIlroy, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7 and a three-time winner of this event, shot a 73 and made the cut on the number.
A day after he told a rules official he “can’t wait to leave this tour,” 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia was 5 under at the turn but bogeyed two of his final three holes for a 71. The 42-year-old Spaniard was eight shots back and declined to speak to reporters for the second straight day.
Morgan Hoffmann, making a long-shot bid to keep his tour card after two years away from golf because of muscular dystrophy, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 80. He has one start remaining on a major medical extension and needs a tie for second to earn full status for the rest of the season.
Duke, Toms share lead
DULUTH, Ga. — David Toms ran off three straight birdies after a rain delay and closed with a short birdie when he judged the wind right, giving him a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Ken Duke after one round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic.
Duke was first off at No. 1 at TPC Sugarloaf and dropped only one shot. Equally important was finishing with pars in a strong wind after the rain stoppage.
Steve Flesch had a 67 and was alone in third. Steve Stricker, playing for the second straight event after being out six months while recovering from an illness that caused him to lose 25 pounds, shot a 68 and was tied with Paul Broadhurst, Robert Karlsson and Mark Walker. Stricker tied for second last weekend at the Insperity Invitational.
Toms chose to take a cart, allowable on the 50-and-older circuit though rare for him, mainly because the other two players in his group were in carts and he feared a long walk back to the clubhouse knowing a rain delay was inevitable.
He realized they were in for a long slog — Sugarloaf, which formerly hosted a PGA Tour event, is more than a nine-mile walk from the first tee to the 18th green — when it got so wet that carts were no longer allowed in the fairway. He made three straight birdies after the delay and felt solid the rest of the way, picking up three more birdies on the front nine before the wind got stronger.
“You were just hanging on for dear life,” he said. “I was fortunate to make a couple of long par putts that kept the round going.”
Duke had five birdies on the front nine, making his lone bogey on the 221-yard eighth hole when he missed the green.
Players could lift, clean and place their golf balls in the fairway because of the weather.
“Ball in hand, the wind didn’t pick up until later in the round, greens are absolutely perfect here at TPC Sugarloaf,” Duke said. “You get ball in hand for a lot of these players out here, they’ll shoot a good score.”