Jason Day, Matt Jones share lead at suspended PGA Championship
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Ultimately, it was the weather Friday that claimed a decisive victory at the PGA Championship.
Heavy wind, rain and lightning rolled into Whistling Straits late, leading to suspension of play at 5:28 p.m. CT. Fifty-seven players had yet to complete their rounds. Play will resume at 7 a.m. CT Saturday.
On the course, it will be a host of non-major winners battling atop the leaderboard.
Although they hadn't finished their rounds, Jason Day, coming off consecutive top-10 finishes in the last two majors, and fellow Australian Matt Jones lead the field at 9-under.
Dustin Johnson is lurking too. The 31-year-old, who led at the start of the day, played 14 holes in 1-over par before play was suspended. He was four shots behind the leaders.
"I'm just going to go get as much rest as I can," Johnson said, "because it's going to be a really long day tomorrow."
The day started with Jordan Spieth returning to the form that saw him chasing a Grand Slam less than a month ago. At 1 under heading into his round, the World No. 2 caught fire toward the end of his front nine. A birdie on 16 (his sixth hole of the day) and a holed bunker shot on the difficult 18th got him to 3 under for the tournament. Four more birdies coming in got him to 6 under and, at the time, into a share of the lead.
His playing partner, Rory McIlroy, was less successful, repeating his 71 from the first round to leave him seven shots back.
"He got a tough break on 18. I got a good break and you switch those around and it's a different story," Spieth said of McIlroy. "But I'm in a good position. We got some work to do this weekend. I'm going to have to shoot a couple more rounds like today."
David Lingmerth also made a move Friday. His up-and-down round featured a double, four bogeys and eight birdies. He finished at 7 under and led the morning wave.
Hiroshi Iwata, who has two wins on the Japan Tour, flirted with a record 62 before settling for a 63, which featured a 29 on the back nine.
As the afternoon wave rolled through it was Day who vaulted to the front. With nine top-10 finishes in majors, Day birdied his second, fifth and sixth holes, and then added three more on the back nine. He was 9-under through 14 holes when play was suspended.
"With all the lightning that is in the area … It's a mess out there," Day said. " I was kind of glad that we're in. It's a good idea to come back tomorrow."
Jones, who claimed his only PGA Tour victory in a playoff over Matt Kuchar at the Shell Houston Open last year, got through 12 holes before play was called. His best finish in a major is a tie for 30th at last month's British Open.