Woods misses cut as Matt Jones surges

The 2015 PGA Championship fourth round is Sunday at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. That is how it seemed on a benign day Saturday when all of a sudden, nerves took over, and so did Jordan Spieth.

By then, he trailed by five and was happy to get up and down for par from 50 feet in the fringe on No. 18 to keep the deficit from getting any bigger.

Day and Spieth will tee off at 2:45. “I was playing dizzy”, Day recalled of his experience at Chambers Bay. “When is he going to slow down?'” Spieth said. But that all changed on the ninth hole.

Yet the rustiness from nearly two month out of the game he had referenced following his second consecutive 71 on Friday, continued to affect his progress and four bogeys followed at the sixth, eighth, 12th and 15th holes. Tony Finau and Matt Jones – the outright leader by shots after the conclusion of round two – are among them on ten-under. “I got a chance to win a major championship”.

“It’s just all been trending in the right direction”, he said Saturday morning after finishing his second round.

“I hit a lot of great drives out there and I’m very pleased with how I’m putting – every time I get on the green I get excited”, Day said.

Johnson knew he was in trouble at the British Open, though.

The 27-year-old has long been touted a major champion in waiting and here he is on the cusp again, so when asked what he would do different he was resolute. Then on seventh I hit one of my best shots of the second round. To be four under through five and not having birdied the first and third hole, to birdie four as well was a bonus.

Another American who had a hard day was the former PGA champion John Daly, who showed his frustration by throwing his club into the water on the 10th hole before ending the day 11-over-par. It’s good to have the lead, so that’s a plus. “So it should be an exciting round tomorrow”.

Spieth stormed home with six birdies in the final eight holes to move into second place at 13-under 203 and earn a spot in the final pairing with Day on Sunday.

The return from an ankle injury by McIlroy to defend his PGA Championship crown this week and Spieth’s bid to win a third grand slam title this year had marked out the season’s final major as extra special, and both remain in contention.

“Just to try to get my name on the Wanamaker Trophy, that’s about it. That’s the only history I’ll be thinking of when we step on the first tee is you can hoist that trophy tomorrow and make it happen”, Spieth said. His scoring average in the majors this year was 73.8.

“You can never count out Jordan right now with how he’s playing”, Day said. His third straight birdie putt was even easier, thanks to a flawless approach shot into No. 13. “I’m going to go and work the irons tonight but I feel really confident in my ability to stay patient with myself”.