American Will Zalatoris, taking advantage of the dying wind, took control of the PGA Championship after a fatal second round at world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was eliminated, but not to Tiger Woods, who was able to qualify for the weekend rounds despite his sore leg, Friday, in Tulsa.
Therefore, it was an unexpected leader who reigned in the Southern Hills at the end of the second day that was pretty rich in twists, where the world no. 9 that Justin Thomas held the reins of classification for a long time, before having to settle for 3rd place, three shots to the head.
Zalatoris, 25 years old and 30th in the world, is seeking a second title on the circuit. He didn’t make a bogey and birdy five, including three in a row on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, then the latter on the 17th flag to settle at -9.
I was lucky to leave late. No more wind after the 11th hole. I took advantage of this with some great shotscommented Zalatoris, who finished 2nd in the Masters Tournament last year.
On his heels was a surprising Chilean, Mito Pereira, almost unknown from afar from his 100th spot in the world rankings, who accompanied him to the lead for a good part of the afternoon. For his second appearance in a major tournament, the 27-year-old had seven birdies, barely covered by a bogey, that put him a stroke behind the leader.
Justin Thomas trailed in 3rd position after delivering a solid mark, when Éole was a bit violent with peaks at 65 km/h. He made four birdies and he only made one bogey to come back, like the day before, a card of 67 and a total of -6.
The conditions are clearly very difficult. I remained very patient, I tried to stay in my bubble and execute every shot as best I could. I feel like I did a great jobwas pleased with the winner of the event in 2017.
In 4th place, four lengths behind Zalatoris, was Bubba Watson, author of the best card of the day (63) and a spectacular jump of 52 ranks.
The American was ahead of Rory McIlroy, leader the previous day, less spirited in this second course, but who knows how to limit the break after two bogeys to nine in front, half cleared by a birdie afterwards.
Five shots from the top, he could still claim the victory, becoming the Northern Irishman’s first in a major tournament since 2014.
Tiger Woods clung to his goal to play this weekend, with the threshold set at +4. However, this is exactly the sum he had after a difficult first day, in which he suffered his right leg, which was nearly amputated 15 months ago after his car accident near Los Angeles.
Tiger appeared to be heading for elimination after a double bogey on the 11th hole, which brought him to +5, but he roared with two birdies on the 13th and 16th flags to get off the rut and see the weekend .
Woods climbed to 53rd, 12th long from the lead, and his hopes of a 16th major title were vague. But his resistance and his perseverance, seen five weeks ago at the Masters Tournament, where he finished 47th for his big return to the greens, pays homage.
And unlike him, the other leaders did not survive the second round.
Thus, the world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, new winner of the Masters Tournament and consequently the favorite of the tournament, did not exceed the threshold, he weighed in a total of +6. Same points and same penalties for Dustin Johnson and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
Collin Morikawa, winner of the tournament in 2020, remains narrow in the race (+4), as does Japanese Hideki Matsuyama.
Canadian Adam Hadwin, author of a round of 71, climbed just above the threshold to +4. His compatriots Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, both at +9, will not play this weekend.
Source: Radio-Canada
