SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Hiroshi Iwata tied a major championship record with a 63. Jordan Spieth put himself into the mix for another major. John Daly again made news for all the wrong reasons. The second round of the PGA Championship had just about everything Friday.
Except a conclusion.
Jason Day ran off three straight birdies and was tied for the lead with Matt Jones at 9 under when a vicious thunderstorm packing 40-mph wind caused the second round to be suspended until Saturday morning.
Tiger Woods was 4 over, two shots away from the projected cut, with five holes left.
The leaderboard was as clouded as the sky over Whistling Straits.
Seven players had at least a share of the lead at some point Friday, when a strong breeze in the morning gave way to steamy sunshine and virtually no wind until the storms moved in. Justin Rose, who last week said he was hitting the ball better than anyone in the world from tee-to-green, was one shot behind at 8 under.
David Lingmerth of Sweden made only four pars in his wild round of 70 and was the clubhouse leader at 7-under 137. One shot behind was a group that included Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion who is very much in the picture to join Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan as the only players to win three majors in one year.
Iwata, the 34-year-old from Japan, looked like his first appearance in the PGA Championship would be a short one. He was 3 over for the tournament heading to the back nine when he reeled off five birdies and an eagle to complete a 63.
It was the 27th time a player had shot 63 in a major — 13 of those in the PGA Championship and most recently Jason Dufner at Oak Hill two years ago.
Even with a record-tying score, Itawa still has plenty of work ahead of him to do that. He was at 4-under 140 and losing ground as one player after another took aim at Whistling Straits in good scoring conditions.
Day was through 14 holes, while Jones, his fellow Australian, was through 12 holes and on the front nine. Rose thought he was in the clear when he made it through 17 holes, only for the horn to sound and stop play.
Dustin Johnson, the 18-hole leader, took a brief lead at 8 under until he ran into trouble on the par-5 11th with a wicked lie in the bunker that led to bogey. He added two more bogeys and was four shots out of the lead at 5 under.
Thumbnail photo via Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media via USA TODAY Sports Images
