Haven (Wisconsin), Aug 15 (IANS): Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri was two-under 50 after 13 holes when a storm halted the second round of play at the $10,000,000 97th Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Championship here.
World No.53 Lahiri on Friday held on to his overnight position of joint 15th with a total of four-under 120 as total at the close of play as Australians -- Jason Day and Matt Jones -- shared the top spot on nine-under.
Lahiri, current Asian Tour leader, started the round from the 10th hole and got birdies on the 11th, 16th and third against a bogey on the par-three 17th at the par-72 Whistling Straits course.
Day got a five-under 51 after 14 holes while Jones had a five-under 43 after 12 holes of the second round of the fourth and final Major of the year.
However, the star of the day was Hiroshi Iwata, a 34-year-old from Japan who had every reason to think his first appearance in the PGA Championship would be a short one.
He got a 77 in the opening round and still was three-over when he reached the back nine. Iwata reeled off five birdies and an eagle, and he saved par on the 18th for a nine-under 63 on Friday.
It was the 27th time that a player shot 63 in a Major, 13 of those in the PGA Championship and most recently Jason Dufner at Oak Hill two years ago.
"When I came here, I was thinking just to make my game better and better and on Sunday, I can be in the top 10," Iwata told pga.com through a translator.
Even with a record-tying score, he still has plenty of work ahead of him to do that. Iwata was at four-under 140.
Overnight leader Dustin Johnson was through till 14 holes and was four shots out of the lead. Reigning Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth was three strokes behind the leaders.
The 22-year-old American sensation is looking to become only the third golfer after Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000) to win three Majors in a year.
World No.1 Rory McIlroy had hopes of being a little closer to the lead. Coming off an ankle injury that has kept him out since the US Open, the Northern Irishman struggled with his short game and had to settle for another round of 71 that put him at two-under 142.
Fourteen-time Major champion and three-time PGA Championship winner Woods was struggling to make the half-way cut.