Will Zalatoris has four finals in the top 10 of seven big starts – 9 W Zalatoris (USA); -8 M Pereira (Chi); -6 J. Thomas (USA); -5 B Watson (USA); -4 R McIlroy (NI), A Ancer (Mex) Selected others: -3 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -2 T Hatton (Eng), C Smith (Aus); +1 R MacIntyre (Sco), T Fleetwood (Eng), J Rose (Eng); +3 T Woods (USA); Missed cut: +6 S Scheffler (USA), D. Johnson (USA)
American Will Zalatoris took the lead with one stroke of the lead at the weekend of the US PGA Championship, after the leader for one night Rory McIlroy lost on the second day.
McIlroy started the day with one shot from the field, but the Northern Irishman finished five behind Zalatoris, who reached nine under the Southern Hills.
He scored a five under 65 without gods in conditions favorable to the late wave in Oklahoma, although McIlroy shot 71.
Chilean Mito Pereira, in his second big start, is second in eight less.
Australian Cameron Smith, who won the players’ championship in March, punched his colleague Aaron Wise in the head with a wayward blow to the latter.
Wise, who was on the next seventh hole, who was down for “about 20 seconds”, needed treatment, but managed to finish his round, albeit with a head that was “a little sore”.
“I went down at seven, and then the next thing you know sounds a little in my head,” Wise said.
His partner in the game, Joel Damen, added: “It was a shot, but the ball flew another 40 or 50 yards down the fairway. In the end, it turned out to be uneven. It could be heard. All the spectators heard him. It was strong. “
On a stormy morning in Tulsa, the result was in first place, but world number nine Justin Thomas set an early goal for the club of six less with a second in a row 67.
However, former world number one Dustin Johnson and current resident and Masters champion Scotty Scheffler missed the cut after they both fell to six above face value – Scheffler after missing two shots on his last hole.
Spaniard John Ram is heading for the weekend with two above par after one under 69, as does reigning Open champion Collin Morikawa, who endured a difficult morning and faced a nervous wait after finishing four over where half was done. relegation with the top 70 and draws in the last two rounds.
Among those late starters who took advantage of the weakening wind was Bubba Watson, who missed a shot in the latter to become only the second player after Brandon Grace in Open 2017 to shoot 62 in C major. However, his brilliant 63, which includes nine birds and two carts, leaves him five less.
“It was good, but I wish it was Sunday to take the lead, coming out of nowhere to win or take the top five – but I’ll take it every day of the week,” said the 43-year-old two-time interim Masters champion. .
Tiger Woods, who looked in pain at the end of his first round as he continued his return from a career-threatening car crash that left him unable to walk for three months, struggled hard and came in three after 71.
“You can’t win the tournament if you miss the section,” said the 15-time big winner. “I won tournaments, not big championships, but I won reduced number tournaments.
“There’s a reason you fight hard and you can give yourself a chance over the weekend. You just never know when you’re going to get hot.”
Thomas takes a step before Zalatoris attacks
Justin Thomas won his only specialty at the 2017 US PGA Championship
McIlroy’s last races were characterized by slow starts, which played him out of the dispute, but the 33-year-old set the goal on the first day in Tulsa.
However, it started slowly on Friday, although he was enjoying the best conditions. He had two expensive carts on his front nine, as those below him began to gain some momentum as the wind dropped. His lone bird came in 12th when the four-time grand champion finished with one over 71, leaving him four fewer for the tournament.
“Overall, a lot of guys went down in the afternoon and I’d like to be one of them, but if that’s bad, get away, I’m still in a good position,” McIlroy said.
“These three nominal saves were key for me to stay just a little closer to leadership. These nominal saves at 16, 17 and 18 were very important.”
Thomas started the second day after McIlroy and erased that deficit with two birds in his first four holes after starting on the 10th, in a confident round of the 2017 champion.
Gods of pair-three 14th checked his momentum, but a series of eight pairs followed and he confidently finished with a bird on the long heel before entering another on the last hole to score his second 67.
“I really liked it, it reveals a lot of my game and I feel comfortable in it,” Thomas said of the conditions.
“I feel like I’m playing well. We’re halfway there, so it’s still a long way from home, but I’m very happy with where everything is and the state of mind I’m in.”
Six under looked like it would be hard to beat for a long time, but when the wind dropped, there were results and Zalatoris and Pereira were among those who took advantage.
Zalatoris already have four top 10 grand finals and he had to fight to keep his defect-free round intact before a series of three birds after the turn he withdrew from the field, although Pereira, who started 10th , leveled a draw as he opened six birds in his last nine holes.
Texas-based Zalatoris ran out of driving on the 17th and his route to the green seems to have been disrupted by branches, but the world’s 25-year-old No. 30 took a superb approach up to eight feet and tried to hit the birds to return. in a solo lead role that he will hold on to.
“When I got out of position, I missed the right places,” Zalatoris said. “I made a bunch of six- to eight-foot nominal saves that supported the round – I was surprised when I looked at the scorecard that I didn’t have any taligans there.”
Chilean Pereira missed the relegation of the US Open in 2019 in his only previous big start, but the 27-year-old will reach the final pair on Saturday after an impressive 6 under 64 years.
English couple in dispute
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick was one of the few to go in the right direction on Friday morning, moving to three fewer for the tournament before releasing his first shot of the day on his 13th hole.
The 27-year-old footballer, whose best grand final was seventh overall at the Masters in 2016, returned with a bird to seventh – his 16th – and fought for two bucks to sign for a total of 69 and three more. a little.
“I feel like this is the best I’ve played in my career this year,” he said.
“I have a lot more time and it showed a lot in the first two days, the guys I played with, the clubs I hit holes in – I hope that’s a sign that things are changing a little bit for me.”
Compatriot Tyrell Hatton drove four consecutive birds on his way to two under 68, but finished his round with waves at 16 and 18.
He said it is difficult to install on slower pavements, as the greens were not cut before the start of the second round due to the forecast for strong winds.
“You know, they’re everywhere. It’s so hard to make holes. So you can hit a great shot and they just don’t look like they’re coming in, which is hard to accept when we’re playing in a big league, “Hatton said.
They miss the big names
The two-time grand champion Johnson has signed for the second time in a row 73 and will head home, although he finished with two birds.
Scheffler, just after his triumph at the Masters last month, is facing another early departure after struggling to make ends meet at Tulsa and also finished the day at six o’clock.
He was in the number two group in the world Ram and third in the Morikawa rankings, but followed 71 on Thursday with five over 75 on Friday, which fell apart on his back nine.
Scheffler started on the 10th and after carding nine pairs in a row, posted four taps on both sides of a bird down the stretch before making four shots right from the back of the green on the ninth while playing his last nine holes in five overs 40
World number five Patrick Cantlay had a miserable start in two rounds with just two birds, while bowing with a total of 11 over.
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