PGA Championship:
Tiger Woods at 3 under, five behind Matt Kuchar
Day 3 at the PGA Championship is underway, and wonder of wonders, they started on time. It will be a long day of golf, as half the field will finish Round 2, and the ones who make the cut will then head back out for Round 3.
Matt Kuchar, chasing his first major title, leads at 8 under par, one shot better than Nick Watney. Tiger Woods begins his day at 1 under, and he has 12 holes to play in Round 2 before he begins Round 3.
TNT begins its broadcast day at 11 a.m. ET. CBS picks it up at 2 p.m. ET. PGA.com also will have live coverage.
11:44: In the group at 5 under is Brendon de Jonge, who is 7 under on his round through 16. He has the round of the tournament going ...
11:40: Stat check ... Tiger is 146th in driving accuracy. That has to improve.
11:36: Gregory Bourdy of France is in the big group at 5 under. We'll say it again ... We love this leaderboard!
11:34: Camilo Villegas missed his birdie try at 17 and settles for par. He's 4 under.
Defening champion Y.E. Yang finishes off his 76 and is 4 over for the tournament. He's an afterthought this year ... but that win from last year won't be forgotten.
Vijay Singh closes out his 66 and is at 5 under for the tournament.
11:33: Tiger Woods hits a beauty at No. 18 ... he taps in for par and finishes off his second-round 70. He's 3 under for the tournament and 5 back overall. Crazier things have happened.
11:30: Hey now ... Camilo Villegas is looking good (settle down, ladies), with a solid tee shot on 17. He's at 4 under and can join the group at 5 under with a birdie.
11:24: Y.E. Yang hits driver off the fairway at No. 18 and finds Seven Mile Creek. The defending champ is going to miss the cut. Tiger Woods bends it out of the bunker and onto the green at 18 -- against the advice of the guys in the booth at TNT. He will have a difficult two-putt to save par.
11:23: Stewart Cink shoots 68 in Round 2 and finishes at 1 over for the tournament ... he will keep playing. Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia won't.
11:16: Tiger Woods misses the fairway again at 18, and that could be trouble. He's in the bunker and he'll have a difficult shot to the green. Bridie is unlikely ... looks like he'll have to scramble again to save par.
11:11: Ryan Palmer is in the clubhouse, joining the big group at 5 under.
11:09: Tiger Woods nails his birdie putt at the par3 17th, and he is now at 3 under for the tournament. Five back right now. We thought he would miss the cut this week. Now he's in contention. And he's firing fits pumps.
11:06: From USA TODAY's Steve DiMeglio ...
Jim Furyk, who finishes with a second round 68 and is in a tie for third at -6, has a game plan to kill time right now. "It's going to be a long day. I'll get a bite to eat, I want to hit a few pitch shots right now to work on something. Get a bite to eat, go over to the trailers and work with one of our guys over there just to stay loose, but more than that I'll just be on my rear end with my feet kicked up, maybe watching some TV."
11:04: From PGATour.com ...
Big moves today: Brendon de Jonge (-5 today) & Chris Wood (-4) up 62 spots. Shane Lowry (+7) dropped 98 spots. Stephen Ames (+5) down 77.
11:00: TNT is on the air, and man are those some beautiful sights. Just in time to watch Vijay Singh knock it on the green at No. 17.
Ryan Palmer is making a move, too ... he gets to 5 under for the tournament.
Tiger Woods knocks it to within 12 feet for birdie at No. 17.
10:57: Tiger Woods makes par at No. 16 to stay at 2 under. Vijay Singh makes birdie to get to 5 under for the tournament, 6 under on his round, threatening to equal, or better, J.B. Holmes' and Jason Dufner's 66, the low round of the tournament. We'll say it again, we didn't see that one coming.
10:50: J.B. Holmes joins Jim Furyk at 6 under, T3. Holmes fired a second-round 66.
10:49: Tiger Woods is 185 yard out with a buried lie for his third shot. He'll have to get up and down to save par.
10:46: On 16, Tiger Woods knocks his ball out of the rough on the right and into the rough on the left. It's a par-5, so he can make par ... but he's going to need birdies. He's six back remember. He's hit five of 13 fairways and six of 15 greens in Round 2.
10:44: Projected cut +1. Among those missing that number -- Kim, Weir, Rose, Donald, Ogilvy, O'Hair, Ishikawa.
10:40: Tiger Woods fouls up another tee shot, at No. 16 ... he berates himself, but we did not hear any profanity. But clubs are flying ... Tiger's and Y.E. Yang's. Yanger was wild, too.
10:40: Some more details on Round 3 ...
The third round -- barring the slight chance of thunderstorms hitting us -- will start approximately at 12:45 p.m. ET. Players will go off in threesomes in off of both the first and 10th tees. Leaders are scheduled to tee off approximately at 2:45 p.m. ET. If no storms hit Whistling Straits, the third round will be finished today.
10:37: Bubba Watson is in the clubhouse at 5 under, 1 under on his round. He's in the hunt.
10:34: Tiger putts it up snug for a tap-in par at 15. Playing partner Y.E. Yang is at 1 over for the tournament, right on the cut line. Vijay Singh lets a big chance get away, but he makes par and stays at 4 under.
10:32: Jim Furyk is in the clubhouse at 6 under par after a fine 4-under 68 in Round 2. Furyk is going to be a factor for sure.
10:29: Vijay Singh sticks it close from 184 yards at No. 15, and he has a great chance to get to 5 under for the tournament. Tiger Woods from the rough is on the green, but it will be a long birdie try.
10:27: Look out. J.B. Holmes is now at 6 under for the tournament. He's 6 under on his round through 17 holes.
10:23: Taking a look down the leaderboard, there's Steve Elkington at 3 under for the tournament. Vijay Singh is trying to take us back to 2004 ... Elkington is trying to take us back to 1995 (when he won his PGA title).
Tiger Woods misses the fairway at No. 15.
10:21: Vijay Singh just missed his birdie try at 14, and he stays at 4 under for the tournament, 5 under on his round.
10:19: Tiger Woods raps in a 20-footer for birdie at 14, and he moves to 2 under. He's going to need another one or two of those before the round ends.
10:17: Jim Furyk is now through 17 and stays at 6 under, two back and alone in third.
10:15: OK, so much for all that we just postulated. Tiger Woods knocked it on the green at 14 and will have a look at birdie.
I guess we are just like the talking heads on TV.
1o:14: Tiger Woods has some issues in the fairway bunker at No. 14 ... he doesn't have a clean look because of some little stones in the bunker. He's waiting for a rules official. There is a local rule that says you can move stones out of the bunker they will affect your contact with the ball.
10:14: From PGA Tour.com ...
Geoff Ogilvy put together a string of birdies (4 straight) then triple bogeyed the 17th to fall in danger of missing the cut. Projected @ +1
10:08: There is a chance of storms for this afternoon ... so, when they make the cut, they will stay in groups of three and go off both tees for Round 3 later today.
19:04: Tiger Woods makes par at the short par-4 13th (playing about 393). He has a bogey and a birdie on his card in Round 2. He's scrambling to save pars. He's NOT making a move.
10:03: That leaderboard is drawing one heck of a crowd. Most of the guys, save Jim Furyk who is alone in third, are aiming to continue the theme of first-time major winners.
10:01: J.B. Holmes continues his climb up the leaderboard. The big-hitting Kentuckian is at 5 under on his round and 5 under for the tournament.
9:57: Blogger Stephanie Wei weighs in on John Daly's withdrawal.
9:57: Jim Furyk makes par at 16 and stays at 6 under for the tournament, 4 under on his round.
9:55: Leader Matt Kuchar won't be out for a good long while yet, but it is gratifying to see him on top of the leaderboard. Despite the twists and turns of his career, Kuchar has kept on smiling. Now we'd like to see him keep on making birdies.
9:54: Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh both find the fairway at the par-4 13th.
9:52: The projected cut is at 1 over right now ...
9:49: Tiger can't sink the 25-footer for birdie at No. 12. He will stay +2 on the par-3s this week, and he stays 1 under for the tournament. Vijay Singh also in in with par, and he stays at 4 under.
9:46: John Daly was forced to withdraw and won't finish the second round.
9:43: Tiger Woods is safely on the green on the par-3 12th (playing 143 yards for Round 2). He needs to start making a move with conditions so benign.
9:41: Bubba Watson hanging in there. He's at 5 under overall through 14 holes, 1 under on his round.
9:38: Apparently, the income the PGA Championship will bring to Wisconsin isn't quite enough for Wisconsin. Here's a Tweet from AP golf writer Doug Ferguson, who apparently was ticketed on his way to the course this morning:
Any state that sets up a speed trap during 40-mile stretch of interstate doesn't deserve to have major events.
9:37: Par for Tiger Woods at No. 11. He stays at 1 under. Vijay Singh stays at 4 under.
9:33: J.B. Holmes is climbing the leaderboard. He's 4 under on his round (through 13) and now 4 under for the tournament.
9:22: Tiger Woods, TNT reports, was out again early this morning, under the lights, working under the watchful eyes of Sean Foley (and Steve Williams). He hasn't hired Foley yet, but they are spending a lot of time together.
Vijay Singh is 5 under in his last 6 holes and 4 under for the tournament. Holy cow ... didn't see that one coming. He's partying like it's 2004.
9:20: Well, against our own advice (see below), we went to sleep on Jim Furyk. He birdies 14 and is now at 6 under, 4 under on his round.
9:16: Well, hello Jim Furyk. The veteran is now at 5 under for the tournament, 3 under on his round. Don't sleep on Jimmy. Nine guys are at 5 under.
9:11: Vijay Singh is on the move. Another birdie, this one at No. 10, takes him to 4 under in Round 2 and 3 under for the tournament. Singh, remember, won the PGA at Whistling Straits in 2004. He has struggled with injuries and putting inconsistencies this year ...
Tiger Woods finally makes a birdie, at 10, and gets back to 1 under. The cut might move to 1 over by the end of the round.
9:07: The conditions look pretty good right now at Whistling Straits. They might just get a full day of golf in today. And there might be some good scores out there. Stay tuned.
9:03: The guys at the top of the leaderboard are all in the clubhouse ... Jason Day (through 15) and Bubba Watson (through 12) are both at 5 under overall.
Tiger Woods is through nine. He's 1 over on his second round, even par for the tournament. He might want to be careful here. The cut is 2 over ... if he misses the cut, those "Whither golf" stories will be coming fast and furious.
9:00: So Tiger Woods bogeys No. 7 to start the day, then makes par at No. 8. He's even par for the tournament.
11:44: In the group at 5 under is Brendon de Jonge, who is 7 under on his round through 16. He has the round of the tournament going ...
11:40: Stat check ... Tiger is 146th in driving accuracy. That has to improve.
11:36: Gregory Bourdy of France is in the big group at 5 under. We'll say it again ... We love this leaderboard!
11:34: Camilo Villegas missed his birdie try at 17 and settles for par. He's 4 under.
Defening champion Y.E. Yang finishes off his 76 and is 4 over for the tournament. He's an afterthought this year ... but that win from last year won't be forgotten.
Vijay Singh closes out his 66 and is at 5 under for the tournament.
11:33: Tiger Woods hits a beauty at No. 18 ... he taps in for par and finishes off his second-round 70. He's 3 under for the tournament and 5 back overall. Crazier things have happened.
11:30: Hey now ... Camilo Villegas is looking good (settle down, ladies), with a solid tee shot on 17. He's at 4 under and can join the group at 5 under with a birdie.
11:24: Y.E. Yang hits driver off the fairway at No. 18 and finds Seven Mile Creek. The defending champ is going to miss the cut. Tiger Woods bends it out of the bunker and onto the green at 18 -- against the advice of the guys in the booth at TNT. He will have a difficult two-putt to save par.
11:23: Stewart Cink shoots 68 in Round 2 and finishes at 1 over for the tournament ... he will keep playing. Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia won't.
11:16: Tiger Woods misses the fairway again at 18, and that could be trouble. He's in the bunker and he'll have a difficult shot to the green. Bridie is unlikely ... looks like he'll have to scramble again to save par.
11:11: Ryan Palmer is in the clubhouse, joining the big group at 5 under.
11:09: Tiger Woods nails his birdie putt at the par3 17th, and he is now at 3 under for the tournament. Five back right now. We thought he would miss the cut this week. Now he's in contention. And he's firing fits pumps.
11:06: From USA TODAY's Steve DiMeglio ...
Jim Furyk, who finishes with a second round 68 and is in a tie for third at -6, has a game plan to kill time right now. "It's going to be a long day. I'll get a bite to eat, I want to hit a few pitch shots right now to work on something. Get a bite to eat, go over to the trailers and work with one of our guys over there just to stay loose, but more than that I'll just be on my rear end with my feet kicked up, maybe watching some TV."
11:04: From PGATour.com ...
Big moves today: Brendon de Jonge (-5 today) & Chris Wood (-4) up 62 spots. Shane Lowry (+7) dropped 98 spots. Stephen Ames (+5) down 77.
11:00: TNT is on the air, and man are those some beautiful sights. Just in time to watch Vijay Singh knock it on the green at No. 17.
Ryan Palmer is making a move, too ... he gets to 5 under for the tournament.
Tiger Woods knocks it to within 12 feet for birdie at No. 17.
10:57: Tiger Woods makes par at No. 16 to stay at 2 under. Vijay Singh makes birdie to get to 5 under for the tournament, 6 under on his round, threatening to equal, or better, J.B. Holmes' and Jason Dufner's 66, the low round of the tournament. We'll say it again, we didn't see that one coming.
10:50: J.B. Holmes joins Jim Furyk at 6 under, T3. Holmes fired a second-round 66.
10:49: Tiger Woods is 185 yard out with a buried lie for his third shot. He'll have to get up and down to save par.
10:46: On 16, Tiger Woods knocks his ball out of the rough on the right and into the rough on the left. It's a par-5, so he can make par ... but he's going to need birdies. He's six back remember. He's hit five of 13 fairways and six of 15 greens in Round 2.
10:44: Projected cut +1. Among those missing that number -- Kim, Weir, Rose, Donald, Ogilvy, O'Hair, Ishikawa.
10:40: Tiger Woods fouls up another tee shot, at No. 16 ... he berates himself, but we did not hear any profanity. But clubs are flying ... Tiger's and Y.E. Yang's. Yanger was wild, too.
10:40: Some more details on Round 3 ...
The third round -- barring the slight chance of thunderstorms hitting us -- will start approximately at 12:45 p.m. ET. Players will go off in threesomes in off of both the first and 10th tees. Leaders are scheduled to tee off approximately at 2:45 p.m. ET. If no storms hit Whistling Straits, the third round will be finished today.
10:37: Bubba Watson is in the clubhouse at 5 under, 1 under on his round. He's in the hunt.
10:34: Tiger putts it up snug for a tap-in par at 15. Playing partner Y.E. Yang is at 1 over for the tournament, right on the cut line. Vijay Singh lets a big chance get away, but he makes par and stays at 4 under.
10:32: Jim Furyk is in the clubhouse at 6 under par after a fine 4-under 68 in Round 2. Furyk is going to be a factor for sure.
10:29: Vijay Singh sticks it close from 184 yards at No. 15, and he has a great chance to get to 5 under for the tournament. Tiger Woods from the rough is on the green, but it will be a long birdie try.
10:27: Look out. J.B. Holmes is now at 6 under for the tournament. He's 6 under on his round through 17 holes.
10:23: Taking a look down the leaderboard, there's Steve Elkington at 3 under for the tournament. Vijay Singh is trying to take us back to 2004 ... Elkington is trying to take us back to 1995 (when he won his PGA title).
Tiger Woods misses the fairway at No. 15.
10:21: Vijay Singh just missed his birdie try at 14, and he stays at 4 under for the tournament, 5 under on his round.
10:19: Tiger Woods raps in a 20-footer for birdie at 14, and he moves to 2 under. He's going to need another one or two of those before the round ends.
10:17: Jim Furyk is now through 17 and stays at 6 under, two back and alone in third.
10:15: OK, so much for all that we just postulated. Tiger Woods knocked it on the green at 14 and will have a look at birdie.
I guess we are just like the talking heads on TV.
1o:14: Tiger Woods has some issues in the fairway bunker at No. 14 ... he doesn't have a clean look because of some little stones in the bunker. He's waiting for a rules official. There is a local rule that says you can move stones out of the bunker they will affect your contact with the ball.
10:14: From PGA Tour.com ...
Geoff Ogilvy put together a string of birdies (4 straight) then triple bogeyed the 17th to fall in danger of missing the cut. Projected @ +1
10:08: There is a chance of storms for this afternoon ... so, when they make the cut, they will stay in groups of three and go off both tees for Round 3 later today.
19:04: Tiger Woods makes par at the short par-4 13th (playing about 393). He has a bogey and a birdie on his card in Round 2. He's scrambling to save pars. He's NOT making a move.
10:03: That leaderboard is drawing one heck of a crowd. Most of the guys, save Jim Furyk who is alone in third, are aiming to continue the theme of first-time major winners.
10:01: J.B. Holmes continues his climb up the leaderboard. The big-hitting Kentuckian is at 5 under on his round and 5 under for the tournament.
9:57: Blogger Stephanie Wei weighs in on John Daly's withdrawal.
9:57: Jim Furyk makes par at 16 and stays at 6 under for the tournament, 4 under on his round.
9:55: Leader Matt Kuchar won't be out for a good long while yet, but it is gratifying to see him on top of the leaderboard. Despite the twists and turns of his career, Kuchar has kept on smiling. Now we'd like to see him keep on making birdies.
9:54: Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh both find the fairway at the par-4 13th.
9:52: The projected cut is at 1 over right now ...
9:49: Tiger can't sink the 25-footer for birdie at No. 12. He will stay +2 on the par-3s this week, and he stays 1 under for the tournament. Vijay Singh also in in with par, and he stays at 4 under.
9:46: John Daly was forced to withdraw and won't finish the second round.
9:43: Tiger Woods is safely on the green on the par-3 12th (playing 143 yards for Round 2). He needs to start making a move with conditions so benign.
9:41: Bubba Watson hanging in there. He's at 5 under overall through 14 holes, 1 under on his round.
9:38: Apparently, the income the PGA Championship will bring to Wisconsin isn't quite enough for Wisconsin. Here's a Tweet from AP golf writer Doug Ferguson, who apparently was ticketed on his way to the course this morning:
Any state that sets up a speed trap during 40-mile stretch of interstate doesn't deserve to have major events.
9:37: Par for Tiger Woods at No. 11. He stays at 1 under. Vijay Singh stays at 4 under.
9:33: J.B. Holmes is climbing the leaderboard. He's 4 under on his round (through 13) and now 4 under for the tournament.
9:22: Tiger Woods, TNT reports, was out again early this morning, under the lights, working under the watchful eyes of Sean Foley (and Steve Williams). He hasn't hired Foley yet, but they are spending a lot of time together.
Vijay Singh is 5 under in his last 6 holes and 4 under for the tournament. Holy cow ... didn't see that one coming. He's partying like it's 2004.
9:20: Well, against our own advice (see below), we went to sleep on Jim Furyk. He birdies 14 and is now at 6 under, 4 under on his round.
9:16: Well, hello Jim Furyk. The veteran is now at 5 under for the tournament, 3 under on his round. Don't sleep on Jimmy. Nine guys are at 5 under.
9:11: Vijay Singh is on the move. Another birdie, this one at No. 10, takes him to 4 under in Round 2 and 3 under for the tournament. Singh, remember, won the PGA at Whistling Straits in 2004. He has struggled with injuries and putting inconsistencies this year ...
Tiger Woods finally makes a birdie, at 10, and gets back to 1 under. The cut might move to 1 over by the end of the round.
9:07: The conditions look pretty good right now at Whistling Straits. They might just get a full day of golf in today. And there might be some good scores out there. Stay tuned.
9:03: The guys at the top of the leaderboard are all in the clubhouse ... Jason Day (through 15) and Bubba Watson (through 12) are both at 5 under overall.
Tiger Woods is through nine. He's 1 over on his second round, even par for the tournament. He might want to be careful here. The cut is 2 over ... if he misses the cut, those "Whither golf" stories will be coming fast and furious.
9:00: So Tiger Woods bogeys No. 7 to start the day, then makes par at No. 8. He's even par for the tournament.
Half of the field, including Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson, returned to Whistling Straits early Saturday to finish their second rounds and maybe restore some order to the year's final major. Thick fog delayed the start of play the first two days of the PGA, wreaking havoc on tee times and further muddling what was already a wide-open championship. Only one player in the top 10 has won a major, and one guy's best finish is a win on the Nationwide Tour.
The lone constant has been Matt Kuchar, who took the lead with a birdie on his first hole of the day and was still there some 10 hours later, when play was halted because of darkness. His 69 in the second round left him at 8 under with a one-stroke lead over Nick Watney.
"I'm not sure when I'm going to tee off or when they are going to finish the second round even," Watney said. "So it's a bit strange when usually the cut is being made around this time."
The lone constant has been Matt Kuchar, who took the lead with a birdie on his first hole of the day and was still there some 10 hours later, when play was halted because of darkness. His 69 in the second round left him at 8 under with a one-stroke lead over Nick Watney.
"I'm not sure when I'm going to tee off or when they are going to finish the second round even," Watney said. "So it's a bit strange when usually the cut is being made around this time."
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