Please use the following links:
McIlroy Seizes Two-Stroke Lead
Tiger Misses Cut after Struggling to 74
Major Near-Missers Day, Fowler Set to Test Rory
McIlroy Seizes Two-Stroke Lead
LOUISVILLE, August 9, 2014 (AFP) - Rory McIlroy charged to the lead Friday at the PGA Championship but Australian Jason Day and Americans Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler moved within striking distance for the weekend trophy fight.
McIlroy, seeking his fourth major title and second in a row after capturing the British Open three weeks ago, fired a four-under-par 67 to seize a one-shot lead over Day and Furyk in the year's final major, standing on nine-under 133 after 36 holes.
"Really happy with the day's work -- another great chance to win a major this weekend," McIlroy said.
The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland, who started on the back nine, birdied two of his last three holes, closing with a 16-foot birdie at the ninth after sinking one from half that length at the par-five seventh.
"I can't wait until tomorrow to get back on the course and do the same thing all over again," McIlroy said.
"I'm just going to try and keep the pedal down and get as many ahead as possible."
Heavy rain soaked the course in the morning, softening the 7,458-yard layout for afternoon starters like Day, the 2011 Masters runner-up and 2011 and 2013 US Open runner-up.
The 26-year-old Aussie fired the day's low round of 65, starting with three birdies and an eagle in the first eight holes and closing with back-to-back birdies, just as Furyk did to match him.
"We got a little lucky on the draw, teeing off in the afternoon. We didn't get as much rain," Day said. "The guys in the morning, it was pouring pretty hard."
- Woods misses cut by five -
Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion who has not won a major since the 2008 US Open, was nagged by back problems and fired his second 74 in a row to finish on 148, missing the cut by five strokes in a share of 117th.
"I tried as hard as I could," Woods said. "That's about all I've got. Unfortunately just didn't play well."
Woods, who pulled out of the final round last week in Akron with a back injury, said he was ready to play when he arrived Wednesday at Valhalla but his back began bothering him on the driving range Friday.
"It was sore," Woods said. "It went out on me on the range. Just had to play through it."
Fowler, a runner-up at the British and US Opens, had seven birdies and three bogeys in the first 11 holes then closed with a birdie for a 66 to join countryman Ryan Palmer in third on 135.
"Feeling pretty good with the game, played quite well," Fowler said. "Excited to get things going tomorrow."
Palmer teed off in a heavy downpour that caused a 45-minute delay, but not before being forced to hit two shots into the water-logged first hole.
"You could barely see the fairway," Palmer said. "We were questioning why we have to hit a second shot into a green that's already half in standing water. They said, that's just golf."
Five-time major winner Mickelson was another stroke adrift after a 67 that ended with an eight-foot eagle putt.
"It was a long day, but for me it was a good day," Mickelson said. "To shoot four-under puts me in good position for the weekend.
"Obviously Rory is playing great golf. There's a lot of guys right there. Out of that group somebody is going to get hot. I think that I have a hot round in me, too."
Britain's Lee Westwood, eight times a top-three major finisher but never a winner, shared the first-round lead but stumbled to a 72 to join a pack on 137 that also included South African Louis Oosthuizen, Sweden's Henrik Stenson, Canada's Graham DeLaet American Steve Stricker, France's Victor Dubuisson and Dutchman Joost Luiten.
- Rory likes his game plan -
McIlroy said that if he kept to his routine he would be difficult to overtake.
"I expect to stick to my game plan. I expect to execute my shots. I can't control what other people do," McIlroy said.
"But do I expect to control the things I know I can do? Yes. And I know that if I do those well, there's a good chance that I will win."
McIlroy, whose other major wins include the 2012 PGA Championship and 2011 US Open, won his first World Golf Championships title last Sunday in Akron, Ohio.
He could become the first man since Padraig Harrington at the 2008 British Open and PGA to win back-to-back major titles and could join Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only male golfers in the last quarter-century with wins the week before they won a major.
"It would be huge," McIlroy said. "But there's a lot of golf left to play."
Tiger Misses Cut after Struggling to 74
LOUISVILLE, August 9, 2014 (AFP) - Tiger Woods battled through back pain and struggled to fire a three-over-par 74 Friday at the PGA Championship, missing the cut and leaving his future competitive plans uncertain.
The 14-time major champion, chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, refused to listen to his injury-wracked body as the soreness he thought behind him returned on the practice range.
"It was sore. It went out on me on the range. Just had to play through it," Woods said.
"It was telling me on the range probably wasn't a good idea, but I'm not exactly a non-stubborn person."
The former world number one, who has not won a major since taking the 2008 US Open while playing on a broken leg, managed to birdie two of the last four holes but finished on six-over 148 after 36 holes, five strokes beyond the cut line in a share of 117th place.
"That was tough. It was a long day," Woods said. "I tried as hard as I could. That's about all I've got. Unfortunately just didn't play well."
Woods withdrew from the final round at a World Golf Championships event last Sunday after straining his back, then waited until arriving Wednesday before confirming he would play.
Woods, nagged by various knee and leg troubles over the past few years, stressed the latest injury is in a different location than that of a March 31 operation to ease a pinched nerve -- one that sidelined him nearly four months -- and said he had no regrets at playing this week.
"When I fell out of that bunker last week, it's the same feeling, the same pain and same spasms," Woods said.
"Certainly very frustrating any time you have to sit out because of surgery and to deal with the things I've had to deal with this year. It's no fun."
Woods, who turns 39 in December, is now behind the major win pace of Nicklaus, who won one at age 38, two at 40 and his last at age 46 at the 1986 Masters.
No player since the Masters debuted in 1934 has won more than three majors past his 39th birthday, something Woods now must do in order to catch Nicklaus.
Asked if felt old, Woods said, "I felt old a long time ago. It's darn near 20 years out here."
Woods was unsure when he might play again. While a candidate for the Ryder Cup if healthy, there seemed no assurance Woods might be so in time for US captain Tom Watson to make him a captain's selection on September 2.
- Tiger set to hit the gym -
Having also failed to qualify for the season-ending US PGA playoffs, Woods faced a long layoff and said that muscle work is a must during the break.
"I need to get stronger," Woods said. "I need to get my glutes strong again, my abs and my core back to where I used to have them. They are just not quite there yet.
"Obviously by playing, you can't burn the candle at both ends. I need to get stronger physically and be back to where I was. I need to get back in that gym and get stronger."
Woods said the spasms disrupt his swing timing, leaving little hope of producing the amazing shotmaking skills that captivated the world and dominated the game for nearly a decade.
"I couldn't make a back swing. I can't get the club back," Woods said.
"It throws everything off. I can't get anywhere near the positions that I'm accustomed to getting to or any of it. I can't do it. I've got to rely on timing, hands and hopefully I can time it just right."
Woods was especially frustrated as he watched rivals prosper in prime scoring conditions on a wet course while he struggled.
"It's very frustrating because the golf course is gettable," Woods said. "It was as soft as it could be today."
Major Near-Missers Day, Fowler Set to Test Rory
LOUISVILLE, August 9, 2014 (AFP) - Jason Day and Rickie Fowler have learned from several major near-misses and will challenge top-ranked leader Rory McIlroy this weekend in hopes of a breakthrough victory at the PGA Championship.
Three-time major winner McIlroy, coming off a British Open triumph last month and a World Golf Championships victory last week, stands on nine-under par 133 after 36 holes at Valhalla in the year's final major tournament.
"Rory is obviously on top of his game right now," Fowler said. "He has been driving the ball very well. When he does that it kind of alleviates any stress from anywhere else and he's able to go full throttle and not really let up."
Australia's Day fired Friday's low round, a six-under 65, to stand one stroke off McIlroy's pace with Fowler another shot adrift after a 66, setting up what could be a showdown of young stars for the Wanamaker Trophy.
Day has five top-four finishes in majors including runner-up showings at the 2011 Masters and US Open and 2013 US Open, but has yet to hoist a major trophy.
"I've been close a lot of times. I just have to keep knocking on the door and hopefully it will fall my way one day -- or just knock the door down and take it," Day said.
Day, a year older than McIlroy and Fowler at 26, has learned a key lesson from past failures.
"Just not to be scared about winning," Day said. "It's hard to win. Some people can handle it. Others can't. It's OK to feel uncomfortable and sometimes you feel like you want to run away. Sometimes you feel a little bit better where you can go on and fight.
"I've just got to go out there and just embrace being uncomfortable again, really play my game and not really think about anyone else."
McIlroy, who played alongside Fowler in the final group at Hoylake on his way to lifting the Claret Jug, ran out to a big lead and held on down the stretch. Day will play alongside him Saturday and try to make sure that does not happen again.
"I'm clearly not the favorite with how Rory is playing," Day said. "He has been playing great. He looks confident. He's hitting the ball longer and straighter than pretty much everyone in the field.
"It's going to be tough to beat him. But then again, there are a lot of great golfers behind us that are in form. Obviously McIlroy, with how he's playing, he could run away with things again, so I'm going to hopefully try and keep pace."
- Fowler sees Rory rivalry -
Fowler, a runner-up at the British and US Opens who shared fifth at the Masters, could be the first player since Tiger Woods in 2005 to post top-five finishes in all four majors in a single year.
"Rory has been playing very well and it has been fun to play with him a bit," Fowler said. "He's the best player in the world right now. I would say a lot of that is his confidence with the way he is driving the ball.
"So we will see if him and I can go put out some good rounds. Maybe he and I can be in the final group on Sunday. Never know.
"The Open definitely wasn't the last final group in a major that him and I will be a part of. Maybe we will get another one for Sunday."
Fowler says his game has grown even if he has not managed to win a major yet.
"I'm very pleased with where my game is at and with the three finishes I've had in the majors this year," he said. "It feels like I have gotten better at each one and I have felt more and more comfortable every time."
And he looks forward to a long rivalry and friendship with McIlroy.
"I look forward to growing the friendship and also the rivalry between us," Fowler said. "It's going to be fun to be able to do stuff together but also try to beat up on each other at the same time."
Scores from Friday's second round of the 96th PGA Championship at par-71 Valhalla Golf Club:
133 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66-67
134 - Jason Day (AUS) 69-65, Jim Furyk (USA) 66-68
135 - Ryan Palmer (USA) 65-70, Rickie Fowler (USA) 69-66, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 67-68
136 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 69-67, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 68-68
137 - Steve Stricker (USA) 69-68, Graham DeLaet (CAN) 69-68, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 66-71, Joost Luiten (NED) 68-69, Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 69-68, Lee Westwood (ENG) 65-72, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70-67
138 - Nick Watney (USA) 69-69
139 - Bill Haas (USA) 71-68, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 71-68, Matt Jones (AUS) 68-71, Chris Wood (ENG) 66-73, Richard Sterne (RSA) 70-69, Billy Horschel (USA) 71-68, Kevin Chappell (USA) 65-74, Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 69-70, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 66-73
140 - Alexander Levy (FRA) 69-71, Cameron Tringale (USA) 69-71, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 69-71, JB Holmes (USA) 68-72, Robert Karlsson (SWE) 71-69, Ernie Els (RSA) 70-70, Adam Scott (AUS) 71-69, Jimmy Walker (USA) 69-71, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 72-68, Brendon de Jonge (RSA) 70-70, Brian Harman (USA) 71-69, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 69-71
141 - Scott Brown (USA) 71-70, Jonas Blixt (SWE) 71-70, Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 71-70, Danny Willett (ENG) 68-73, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP) 71-70, Hunter Mahan (USA) 70-71, Jerry Kelly (USA) 67-74, Kenny Perry (USA) 72-69, Ryan Moore (USA) 73-68, Patrick Reed (USA) 70-71, Ian Poulter (ENG) 68-73, Brandt Snedeker (USA) 73-68, Freddie Jacobson (SWE) 72-69, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 71-70, Kevin Stadler (USA) 71-70, Brendan Steele (USA) 71-70
142 - Shane Lowry (IRL) 68-74, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 70-72, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 71-71, Daniel Summerhays (USA) 70-72, Bubba Watson (USA) 70-72, Luke Donald (ENG) 70-72, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 71-71, Zach Johnson (USA) 70-72, Jason Bohn (USA) 71-71, Koumei Oda (JPN) 74-68, Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 70-72, Brooks Koepka (USA) 71-71, Justin Rose (ENG) 70-72, Marc Leishman (AUS) 71-71, Marc Warren (SCO) 71-71, Pat Perez (USA) 71-71
143 - Shawn Stefani (USA) 68-75, Branden Grace (RSA) 73-70, Chris Stroud (USA) 70-73, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 71-72, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 73-70, Brendon Todd (USA) 70-73
Missed the cut
144 - Charley Hoffman (USA) 70-74, Erik Compton (USA) 71-73, Gary Woodland (USA) 72-72, Scott Piercy (USA) 73-71, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 73-71, Martin Kaymer (GER) 70-74, Tim Clark (RSA) 70-74, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 73-71, Russ Henley (USA) 69-75, Ryan Helminen (USA) 73-71
145 - Anirban Lahiri (IND) 72-73, Davis Love (USA) 72-73, Tom Watson (USA) 72-73, Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 68-77, Johan Kok (USA) 78-67, Ben Martin (USA) 74-71, Russell Knox (SCO) 75-70, Brian Stuard (USA) 71-74, Matt Every (USA) 73-72, Kevin Streelman (USA) 69-76
146 - Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 72-74, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 75-71, Stuart Deane (USA) 75-71, David Hearn (CAN) 74-72, Chris Kirk (USA) 74-72, Hideto Tanihara (JPN) 74-72, Yang Yong-Eun (KOR) 75-71, Keegan Bradley (USA) 74-72, Paul Casey (ENG) 74-72, Kevin Na (USA) 74-72, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 74-72, Roberto Castro (USA) 73-73, Jamie Broce (USA) 74-72, Ross Fisher (ENG) 73-73, Harris English (USA) 74-72
147 - Eric Williamson (USA) 74-73, Webb Simpson (USA) 73-74, Chesson Hadley (USA) 74-73, Charles Howell (USA) 73-74, George Coetzee (RSA) 73-74, Stewart Cink (USA) 72-75, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 70-77
148 - Darren Clarke (NIR) 79-69, Jordan Spieth (USA) 71-77, Tiger Woods (USA) 74-74, George McNeill (USA) 73-75, Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 79-69, John Daly (USA) 76-72, Kim Hyung-Sung (KOR) 73-75
149 - Scott Stallings (USA) 71-78, John Senden (AUS) 75-74, Rod Perry (USA) 74-75, Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 72-77
150 - Bob Sowards (USA) 75-75, Will MacKenzie (USA) 76-74, Steve Schneiter (USA) 72-78, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 75-75
151 - Shaun Micheel (USA) 72-79, Michael Block (USA) 77-74, John Huh (USA) 78-73, KJ Choi (KOR) 72-79, Jason Kokrak (USA) 78-73
152 - Brian Norman (USA) 78-74
153 - Rich Beem (USA) 74-79, Rob Corcoran (USA) 76-77
157 - Matteo Manassero (ITA) 80-77, Jim McGovern (USA) 83-74, David McNabb (USA) 77-80, Mark Brooks (USA) 78-79
158 - David Tentis (USA) 79-79, David Hronek (USA) 81-77, Jerry Smith (USA) 80-78
161 - Frank Esposito (USA) 83-78, Aaron Krueger (USA) 84-77
163 - Dustin Volk (USA) 81-82
168 - Matt Pesta (USA) 79-89
WD - Ben Crane (USA), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Boo Weekley (USA), Angel Cabrera (ARG)