Kiwi Ryan Fox and superstar Tiger Woods have survived the US PGA Championship cut at Tulsa, Oklahoma, as American Will Zalatoris seized the lead and veteran Bubba Watson turned back the clock.
In-form Fox, 35, lies nine shots off the pace, after carding his second straight even-par 70 round Southern Hills Country Club, shaking off a double-bogey on the par-three 14th hole and bogey on the next hole.
Playing the back nine first, he ducked under par with a four on the par-five 13th, before giving away three shots on the next two holes, as his weekend participation hung in the balance.
But Fox birdied the par-four 16th to steady his round and added two more on the front nine, before dropping one on his final hole of the day - the par-four ninth - leaving him tied for 23rd at halfway.
Woods, 46, made the cut at a Major for the second time in two tries, since nearly losing his right leg 15 months ago.
His one-under-par 69, featuring four birdies, moved him to three over for the tournament, tied for 53rd, with the top 70 and ties advancing to the weekend.
Woods was one-under through 10 holes, before suffering a double-bogey at the par-three 11th. He overshot the green off the tee, and watched his second shot roll off the green and into a bunker.
But he stuck his approach shot at the 13th about eight feet from the pin to set up a birdie. Then, at the 16th, his approach nestled up to four feet.
That birdie gave him some cushion, and he parred the final two holes. Woods was well aware what the cut line would be, while he was on the course.
"Almost whip-hooked it in there on 11, made double and next thing you know, I'm outside the cut line," Woods told ESPN. "I had to grind it and go to work, and I did."
In February 2021, Woods was badly injured in a single-car accident, suffering fractures in his right leg that caused him to briefly consider amputation. A year ago at this time, he was in a wheelchair.
He returned to competitive golf last month at the Masters, made the cut and finished in 47th place.
This week, the 15-time Major winner shot a four-over 74 in his first round and admitted that he experienced pain in his surgically repaired leg. During Friday's round, his limp was less pronounced.
"The mission is to go ahead and win this thing somehow," Woods said. "I know sometimes [my leg] doesn't exactly feel well, but hey, that's just the way it is.
"That's life. That's sports."
He enters the weekend 12 shots off the pace set by Zalatoris.
Woods won the PGA Championship the last time it was held at Southern Hills in 2007.
More to come
Zalatoris shot a five-under-par 65 to move to nine under and take a one-shot lead. He will play in Saturday's final pairing with Chile's Mito Pereira, who posted a 64 and shot up to eight under.
Earlier on Friday, American Justin Thomas posted his second straight round of 67 to move to six under and grab the midday lead. His score stood up for third place by day's end, while Watson, 43, leapt into fourth place at five under by shooting the round of the day - a seven-under 63 with nine birdies.
First-round leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland carded a one-over 71 to slip into a tie for fifth at four under, with Davis Riley (68) and Mexico's Abraham Ancer (69).
Zalatoris opened the event with a 66 and went off in the afternoon wave that enjoyed far better scoring conditions, with the wind dying down after 4pm local time. He went bogey-free and rang up three of his five birdies at holes 11-13.
That run began when he landed his tee shot at the par-three 11th just five feet from the cup.
Best known for finishing second at the 2021 Masters in his tournament debut, Zalatoris has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but flashed his talent with four top-10 finishes in seven Major starts.
"I've kind of had an attitude with the Majors, especially since the Masters, where I wanted to enjoy the experience as much as I could," Zalatoris said. "Looking back from 20 years from now, I don't want to regret my attitude or anything like that."
At the seven previous Majors hosted at Southern Hills, all seven champions held at least a share of the lead after two rounds.
Pereira, who earned his PGA Tour card less than a year ago, tied his career-low round of 64. After starting on the back nine, he went four under on the front, with three of those birdies rolling in from 11 feet or farther.
He said he felt lucky to get the early-late draw - early tee time Thursday, late tee time Friday - that proved to offer much milder weather.
"Sometimes you get the bad draw, sometimes you get the good one," Pereira said. "But today, for sure, the wind in the back nine, there was almost none."
Thomas walked in his fourth and final birdie of the round with a celebratory sidestep at the par-four ninth, pushing him into sole possession of the lead for the first time, although it didn't last for long.
Thomas hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and got a 23 1/2-foot birdie putt to fall at No.5. He won the PGA Championship in 2017, his only Major title to date.
Stewart Cink (68), who turns 49 on Saturday, and England's Matt Fitzpatrick (69) are tied for eighth at 3 under.
Notable players to miss the cut include world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (six over), Dustin Johnson (six over), Sergio Garcia of Spain (seven over), Patrick Cantlay (11 over) and Daniel Berger (13 over).
Scheffler's five-over 75 on Friday came as a bit of a shock, after he won four tournaments - including the Masters - to start his season. Scheffler opened with nine straight pars, before piling up four bogeys and a birdie across his next seven holes.
At the ninth, a poor chip on his third shot led to a three-putt for a double bogey six, dooming him to miss his first cut since October.
Reuters/Newshub
