PGA Championship 2013 Leaderboard: Latest Scores from Day 2 at Oak Hill

Who will hold the PGA Championship lead entering the weekend?

Jim Furyk and Adam Scott each held a share of the lead after the first round on Thursday evening. Both  golfers shot five-under on the day, which was one stroke better than Lee Westwood and David Hearn. Leading—or at least staying in the hunt—after the second round is rather important.

Last year at Kiawah Island, Rory McIlroy was just two strokes back of a trio of golfers after Friday’s round had concluded. Two years ago at Atlanta Athletic Club, Keegan Bradley was the leader after two rounds and managed to win the championship—albeit he was a shot back after three rounds.

It’s vital that golfers who still have hopes of winning the final major of the season stay within a few strokes of the lead entering the weekend. But will it be Furyk and Scott still atop the leaderboard this time on Saturday?

Below is the leaderboard for the PGA Championship—which continually updates—as well as players to watch at Oak Hill on Friday.

  

Golfers to Watch on Friday

Justin Rose, -2

The reigning U.S. Open champion didn't play poorly on Thursday, but he would've enjoyed getting to skip the first and last hole. The 1st and 18th holes were notably bad for Justin Rose, and produced the lone bogeys on his scorecard. Through Day 1 at Oak Hill, he’s two-under par.

Rose made four birdies during his first round, and they all came within a six-hole stretch from the par-five 4th to the par-four 9th. It was noteworthy that he made a birdie on the par-three 6th considering he rarely has been successful on the shorter holes throughout the year.

Rose is the best on the PGA Tour at making birdie or better on par fives, but only makes birdie or better on par threes 9.38 percent of the time, which ranks 175th. If he can play well on both distances on Friday—as well as the par fours—he could close in on the co-leaders.

Keegan Bradley, -1

Bradley will enter Friday in decent shape, having shot one-under on Thursday. Bradley struggled to get off to a strong start, though, as he bogeyed the opening hole. He got back to even par with a birdie on the par-three 15th, but quickly fell back to over par for the day as he bogeyed the par-four 16th.

He played much better on Oak Hill's front nine, and birdied three of the first five holes after reaching the turn. He made bogey at the par-three 3rd, though, and the 2011 PGA Champion then posted pars on his remaining four holes. He’s still in a good position entering the second round of the championship.

Making birdie on both of the par fives on Friday could shoot Bradley right up the leaderboard. He’s second on the PGA Tour this season in making birdie or better on the longer holes. He birdied one of the two par fives in the first round—making par on the other. Bradley needs to use them to his advantage.

Jason Dufner, -2

Jason Dufner got off to a good start on Thursday, as he finished his round at two-under and three shots back of the co-leaders. But you wouldn’t be able to tell that by the way he started his day at Oak Hill. He bogeyed the 10th hole to quickly get over par, but rebounded a few holes later on the par-five 13th.

Dufner got under par for the round with a birdie on the 16th, but crumbled on the final two holes before  the turn. He stepped onto the first tee at one over, but luckily had a ton of success on the front nine. He played the final nine holes perfectly, shooting par or better on all nine.

Dufner will be playing the front nine at Oak Hill first on Friday, and if he continues in the same vein he should soar toward the top of the leaderboard. He needs to focus on playing consistently on the back nine. If he can do that, he’ll put himself in good shape entering the weekend.

 

All statistics in this article were obtained via PGATour.com unless otherwise noted.