SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — The Latest from the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits (all times local):
3:25 p.m.
Australians are finding their way to the top of the leaderboard at the PGA Championship.
Jason Day rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 6 to improve to 3 under for the day and 7 under for the tournament.
That puts him in a tie for the lead with another from Down Under, Matt Jones, who is also 3 under early in his round.
They’re even with Sweden’s David Lingmerth, who shot 2-under 70 and is in the clubhouse with the lead.
Low scores populated the leaderboard earlier, including Hiroshi Iwata’s major-record-tying 63.
Unable to take advantage so far is Day 1 leader Dustin Johnson, who has opened with six straight pars and remains 6 under.
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3:07 p.m.
Tiger Woods got off to an encouraging start in the second round of the PGA. Just as quickly, he gave all the ground back.
Woods made two birdies to briefly get to 1 over — the current projected cut line — but ended up hitting out of one bunker and into another on the fourth hole en route to a double bogey.
He’s at 3 over. If he doesn’t make the cut, his 2015 season will be finished.
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2:34 p.m.
A Perfect 10.
John Daly recorded a 10 on the par-3 seventh hole today at the PGA Championship. And, as always, he made some memories along the way.
After dunking three balls into Lake Michigan, Daly decided his golf club needed to take a swim, too, so he hurled it into the water.
One lucky young man was riding in a boat nearby. The driver steered the boat up to where the club landed so the boy could fish it out.
Quite a souvenir.
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Watch it happen: http://bit.ly/1fcbN9M . … http://bit.ly/1IOE3tZ
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2:06 p.m.
He’s not scoring all that well, but Phil Mickelson (even par through two rounds) isn’t too down about it. Mickelson is taking the quick way to the fairway at Whistling Straits — by sliding down a hill.
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Watch it happen: http://bit.ly/1IOyxr2
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1:53 p.m.
With his ball resting awkwardly in the back of a greenside bunker, Jordan Spieth would have been happy to get up and down for a par.
How ‘bout a birdie?
Spieth took a steep backswing, made perfect contact with the ball and watched it bounce on the 18th green and drop in the hole. It gave him momentum as he made the turn in the second round of the PGA Championship, and was the highlight of a 5-under 67 that put him one shot behind the leaders.
We were thinking about playing 10 feet out to the right, just given my backswing,” Spieth said. “I was not looking to make that. I would have taken four and walked off a happy, happy guy.”
On a hot, calm day made for scoring, Spieth got back in the mix. But he said he expects to be three or four shots back once the day is over — assuming the weather stays how it is. He shot 71 on Thursday afternoon, when the wind was whipping around Whistling Straits.
David Lingmerth of Sweden holds the clubhouse lead at 7 under, though there are a number of players, including Dustin Johnson, just starting their rounds.
“We’ve got some work to do this weekend,” Spieth said. “I’m going to have to shoot a couple more rounds like today.”
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1:17 p.m.
David Lingmerth rebounded from a bad stretch of golf to head to the locker room with the lead at the PGA Championship.
He shot 2-under 70 to finish the second round at 7-under 137 on a sweltering day at Whistling Straits. That puts him one shot ahead of Jordan Spieth, who just completed a round of 5-under 67, Russell Henley, who is out on the course, and Dustin Johnson, who tees off this afternoon.
Lingmerth got to 8 under after six holes but played the next three holes at 4 over par. His back nine was better, and when he dropped a 35-footer in on No. 18, he had his eighth birdie of the round and was back in the lead.
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12:56 p.m.
Hiroshi Iwata is in some very exclusive company.
The 34-year-old veteran of the Japan Golf Tour just shot 63 at the PGA Championship, matching the lowest single-round score in a major.
He shot 29 on the back nine, starting with an eagle on No. 11, then five birdies over the final seven holes. He is now at 4-under 140 for the tournament, two shots off the lead.
Iwata’s was the 27th round of 63 in major history. The last came from Jason Dufner at the PGA at Oak Hill in 2013.
Johnny Miller was the first to go that low. He shot 63 at the U.S. Open in 1973, and remains the only player to shoot that number in the final round to win a major.
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12:45 p.m.
Forget the Wannamaker Trophy. What George Coetzee could really use is the money.
OK, only sort of.
After shooting a 7-under 65 at the PGA Championship on Friday, Coetzee joked that he could use a little spending cash to pay off some debt he incurred in the money games against his South African buddies during the practice rounds earlier this week.
The foursome usually includes Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace. To hear Coetzee tell it, he’s not doing so well in those games.
“I’ve actually got to make some money to pay some bets this weekend,’” he said.
Joking aside, he said it’s great to play golf with the likes of Schwartzel and Oosthuizen, who each have a major.
“Makes me feel like I also deserve to be among them,’” Coetzee said.
His round, the best of the tournament so far, put him at 5-under 139 — one shot off the lead.
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12:30 p.m.
Guess who’s got a share of the lead at the PGA Championship.
Jordan Spieth.
Spieth knocked in a 5-foot putt for his sixth birdie of the second round to get to 6 under par with three holes to play. He’s tied with Dustin Johnson and David Lingmerth.
Spieth is trying to become the first player to win all three American majors in the same season. It looks as if he’ll be a factor come the weekend.
Also getting in the mix is Henrik Stenson, who is 7 under for his round with two holes to play. That brought him to 3 under for the tournament.
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Noon
Talk about dramatic improvement: George Coetzee fired a 7-under 65 in scorching sunshine — nine strokes better than his opening-round 74 — to pull into third at the PGA.
It was the low round of the championship so far.
The 29-year-old South African played his college golf at the University of San Diego, so he knows all about heat. He made birdie at the first hole, an eagle at No. 16 and stumbled only twice with bogeys at Nos. 9 and 18.
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11:22 a.m.
Just like the weather, the battle between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth for king of the hill is starting to sizzle.
McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked golfer, made up for the short-game woes that produced a double-bogey 6 at his ninth hole of the day with a spectacular chip-in for eagle at par-5 second. The wedge shot came from 40 feet off the green, took two hops and then rolled into the cup to put him at 2 under.
Spieth, ranked No. 2, made birdie there as well with a tap-in to go to 4 under.
Both are now closing in on leader Dustin Johnson, who is at 6 under.
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10:42 a.m.
Rory McIlroy may be ranked No. 1, but he just took a backseat to Jordan Spieth, his latest challenger for the throne.
The Northern Irishman had trouble with both his wedge and putter and wound up with a double-bogey 6 at the last hole of their front nine. Spieth made birdie there and was at 2-under 34 for his front nine, and in the mix for the lead as the tournament nears the midway point.
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10:25 a.m.
David Lingmerth finally found some trouble at Whistling Straits. Scott Piercy — he’s still cruising along.
Lingmerth hit his tee shot onto the beaches of Lake Michigan on No. 7 en route to a double bogey. He followed with a bogey on No. 8, and suddenly a two-shot lead has turned into a one-shot deficit.
Lingmerth is at 5 under in the second round of the PGA Championship. That’s one shot behind Dustin Johnson, who plays this afternoon, and Piercy. Piercy has two birdies over his first five holes and now shares the lead with Johnson at 6 under par.
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10:13 a.m.
Early in the second round, Henrik Stenson and George Coetzee have found the formula for Whistling Straits.
Both have gone 5 under par to open their second rounds of the PGA Championship.
Stenson has made five birdies over his first eight holes to get to 1 under for the tournament — in a tie for 32nd place.
Coetzee, the South African, is now at 3 under with seven holes to play. That’s good for a tie for 12th. He has two victories on the European Tour this year.
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9:48 a.m.
Turns out, David Lingmerth plays pretty well in good weather, too.
Lingmerth took to the calm and muggy Whistling Straits on Friday morning and picked up where he left off the day before.
The 28-year-old Swede made three birdies over his first five holes to get to 8 under in the PGA Championship. That’s two shots in front of first-round leader Dustin Johnson, who tees off later.
Lingmerth shot 67 in the blustery wind Thursday afternoon. He was one of only two players to break 70 in an afternoon round.
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9:22 a.m.
Alex Cejka was supposed to be on the tee box first thing this morning. Instead, he withdrew, citing an ankle injury.
Cejka shot a 76 on Thursday, and would’ve had to work hard to make the cut.
His absence means the other players in his original threesome, Bob Sowards and Koumei Oda, are going it alone — the first group off the 10th tee box at the PGA Championship.
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8:55 a.m.
There’s a new leader at the PGA Championship.
David Lingmerth birdied two of his first three holes and is now at 7 under. That’s one shot ahead of Dustin Johnson, who doesn’t start his second round until this afternoon.
Also getting back into contention is British Open champion Zach Johnson. He has opened his day with three straight birdies to draw back to even par.
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8:29 a.m.
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are on the course to start their second round at the PGA Championship on Friday.
Both players opened with routine pars and are 1 under for the tournament. They are five shots behind Dustin Johnson and David Lingmerth, who began his round with a birdie to get to 6 under. Johnson tees off later in the day.
Seven players are at 4 under. All play in the afternoon, except Scott Piercy. He joined Lingmerth as the only other player to break 70 in an afternoon round Thursday at Whistling Straits.
