PGA Championship 2015 Leaderboard: Live Updates, Storylines to Watch on Saturday
With two rounds nearly in the books at the 2015 PGA Championship, golf fans are getting a much better idea of who has a real shot at winning the last major tournament of the 2015 season.
Rain showers forced PGA Tour officials to postpone the conclusion of the round until Saturday morning. PGA Tour Media announced play will commence at 7 a.m. CT.
Here's a look at the current leaderboard. Both Jason Day and Matt Jones are tied at nine under:
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A dozen golfers are all within four shots of Day and Jones. Among that 12, seven have still yet to complete their second rounds. There's bound to be plenty of movement in the standings, and that will be before the third round even gets underway.
Looking ahead to Saturday, these are three of the biggest stories to follow during the action.
Top Storylines
What Does Jordan Spieth Have for an Encore?
Spieth's pursuit of the Grand Slam may be over for 2015, but he's still chasing an interesting bit of history. According to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press (via PGA.com), no golfer has ever won the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same season.
In addition, Spieth and his American counterparts will attempt a U.S. sweep of the four major tournaments for the first time since 1982.
After Friday, there's a good chance the 22-year-old could kill two birds with one stone.
Spieth surged up the leaderboard in the second round, finishing with a five-under 67. He climbed 17 spots, working himself into a tie for seventh at six under for the tournament. Few things are likely more terrifying on the course than watching Spieth work his way into contention.
Nobody will question whether the Masters and U.S. Open champion is capable of carrying his strong play into Saturday. ESPN Stats & Info provided some perspective for just how good Spieth has been in this year's biggest events:
Even the most talented golfer needs to rely on a little bit of luck, though. Will Spieth find the right combination of luck and skill to remain at or near the top of the leaderboard after three rounds.
Recent history would certainly have you believe so.
Will the Reigning Champion Become a Factor at All?
Even the most optimistic observer had to admit Rory McIlroy's chances of repeating as tournament champion were pretty slim. Before Thursday, he hadn't played a competitive round of golf since rupturing an ankle ligament in early July.
Through two rounds, McIlroy has met or potentially even exceeded expectations. Back-to-back one-under 71s isn't the worst way to start the PGA Championship. He's also leading the tournament in humblebrags, per GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard:
In truth, the difference between McIlroy and Spieth, one of his playing partners Thursday and Friday, wasn't all that big, per Golf Channel researcher Justin Ray:
If McIlroy can iron out a few of the smaller issues in his game at Whistling Straits, then he could at the very least start banging on the door of the top 10 through the weekend. Imagine how much better he'll look should he start making his easier putts.
Can Jason Day Get Any Closer to Ending His Major Hex?
Day is one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour to have never won a major tournament. He has finished in at least a tie for second on three occasions and boasts nine top 10s in six years.
"It's very difficult to try and close on a Sunday at a major championship," he said Sunday, per Golf Digest's Joel Beall. "But the more times that I keep putting myself there, the more opportunities that I give myself, sooner or later, it's going to happen."
Like Day posited, you've got to believe his luck is going to turn around at some point.
His performance on Saturday will be particularly interesting because he was riding a bit of a hot streak before he had to enter the clubhouse after the day, birdieing 11, 12 and 13. There's no question the postponement undoubtedly stunted Day's momentum.
A poor finish to his second round won't automatically torpedo his chances of capturing that elusive first major, but he has a golden opportunity to open some breathing room on the competition over his final four holes.
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