PGA Championship Leaderboard: DA Points surges, Rory McIlroy fades

Tied at 13th place after the first round, D.A. Points surges on second place to tied Jerry Kelly posting a 4-under par for the day through 16th hole, 5-under par for the in the PGA Championship 2011.

Points started well to shoot birdies on first, fourth, and six holes in the front nine. He also birdied the 12th and 14th holes but he bogeyed the 13th hole to make him in the second place. With the race for the title open, Points has been giving himself the opportunity to be on top of the leaderboard at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, because of wrist injury that he suffered in yesterday’s third hole, the favorite Rory McIlroy faded as he shot for 3-over par for the day. McIlroy had three birdies, three bogeys, and a double bogey that stopped his momentum when he delivered two consecutive birdies prior to the par 3 hole and making a double bogey. The young golfer, US Open Champion, may not miss the cut but we don’t know if he has enough determination to continue the next round.

McIlroy is expected to be on top of the leaderboard in the first round, he knows the importance of getting low scores but whacking the ball sitting on the root of a tree injured himself that eventually affected his performance.

Anders Hansen of Denmark also made a move by fininshing 1-under par for the day. He shot four birdies and three bogeys to complete the second round enough to lift him up to be in the fifth place, 3-under for the tournament.

One of the big names, the Bridgestone Invitational winner Adam Scott added a stroke in his performance by shooting 2-under par for the round through fourth hole. He has to make sure that he has the chance to steal the title entering into the third round. Scott is one of the favorites to win as he showed to the world that he has the arsenal of what it takes to win. He has the most decorated caddie in the world, Stevie Williams.

Surprisingly, he birdied the first hole and eventually he just kept his game alive by staying on par. A bogey free round for Adam Scott which seems impossible in this course.

Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela climbed also as he posted 2-under par for the day. He almost got even better when he was already 4-under but he made some errors in the 15th and 18th holes and made them bogeys.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods currently tied at 129th, 7-over par for the tournament, needs to play a superb round, bogey free round with birdies to make sure he will not miss the cut. He has to be in the top 70 players at the end of the day to keep on playing in the weekend. A difficult task for Woods but we all know that he can dig deeper to make it happen.

Woods sharpness in his approach in the first round did not manifested at all. In the second round, he should think that he can still make moves to survive in this PGA Championship 2011.

Lee Westwood also made the move as he shot for 2-under par for the day. He made six birdies through his aggressiveness yet he produced four bogeys through his miscalculations. Westwood is in a position to make the cut and to have a chance still for the title. He is now 1-under par tied 14th in the PGA leaderboard.

We have to watch the leader Steve Stricker if he can keep up with the pressure below him. He played flawlessly yesterday as he hit the fairways in precision and putted seven birdies. If he can duplicate his performance, he will distance himself from the field and he will have a shot of winning the PGA Championship.

PGA Championship Leaderboard 2011