PGA Championship 2016: Leaderboard breakdown, highlights from Friday

Two Americans lead the field in New Jersey -- just not the two you would expect

By Kyle Porter

& Robby Kalland

Jul 29, 2016 at 7:59 pm ET • 4 min read

Coming into the The Open two weeks ago we had only seen 27 rounds of 63 in major championship history. We now have three this month. Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson did it at Royal Troon during The Open, and Robert Streb made birdie at his final hole at Baltusrol on Friday to do it at the 2016 PGA Championship.

It didn't quite have the flair of Mickelson's 63 at Royal Troon, but Streb still shares the lead with Jimmy Walker after 36 holes of the year's final major. Streb made four birdies on each side to go with one bogey on the back nine (his front nine) for the record-tying number.

What. A. Putt.

Robert Streb shoots 63.

• Ties the major record
• Ties the current lead#QuickHits https://t.co/TXdeB0rfBD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 29, 2016

Streb will play in the final pairing on Saturday afternoon with Walker, who backed up his 65 on Thursday with a 66 on Friday that could have been a lot better if he had not botched the final two holes.

Friday was a much more exciting day at Baltusrol as some of the stars showed out, the scoring was more on point, and the leaderboard started to take shape for an exciting final major weekend of 2016. Let's take a look at our top 10 as well as a few notables who missed the cut.

T1. Jimmy Walker (-9): Walker had a chance to set the 36-hole PGA Championship scoring record over the final two holes, but he finished par-bogey at the only two par 5s on the course. He still holds the lead, but you have to wonder how it would have changed the tournament if he'd done what Rickie Fowler did and gone birdie-eagle at the end or something similar.

T1. Robert Streb (-9): I don't know if Streb can win, but maybe he should pretend like every tournament is a PGA Championship.

Robert Streb doesn't have a top-10 in any of his last 27 PGA Tour starts.

His last top-10? Last year's PGA at Whistling Straits.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) July 29, 2016

T3. Emiliano Grillo (-7): I told you Grillo had staying power. He backed up his 66 on Thursday with a 67 on Friday and will be in the mix all weekend. I wouldn't bet on him to win it because of the experience factor. Just don't tell him that.

T3. Jason Day (-7): Day had a stretch of seven birdies in eight holes and had a legitimate chance at shooting 63 with a double bogey on his card. He's the man to beat going into the weekend even though he doesn't lead. His run on Thursday reminded me of when Bubba Watson went bonkers at the 2014 Masters and went on to win. I expect Day to do the same this week.

5. Henrik Stenson (-6): The only part of Stenson's game better than his shots right now is his press conferences. "I think a 63 on Sunday would work pretty well here, too," Stenson joked after dropping a 67-67 to start the PGA Championship.

T6. Martin Kaymer (-5): I still cannot get over that we are two rounds from Martin Kaymer (!) having three major championships. Why is nobody else talking about this fact? Kaymer made three birdies in his final four holes to save a round that was going in the wrong direction. That's what major winners do.

T6. Patrick Reed (-5): Reed breathed some life into the tournament early on Thursday with a run of seven birdies (to two bogeys). He still does not have a top 10 at a major to his name, but you have to think that streak is getting broken sooner rather than later.

Shots like this are what helped get Patrick Reed to -4, T2👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/NxT6Htmuym
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) July 29, 2016

T6. Brooks Koepka (-5): Koepka is following up his top 10 at last year's PGA Championship with another impressive performance this season. Beware the injured golfer? Beware the injured golfer.

Koepka still sporting a pretty significant splint on his injured right ankle, so clearly not 100% but still contending. -5 through 36.
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) July 29, 2016

T9. Rickie Fowler (-4): Fowler finished birdie-eagle on Friday afternoon to get back in the mix. He's quietly had two really solid 68s and said he played even better on Friday than he did on Thursday. I believe that's what folks in the business like to call "trending." He'll keep trending towards a Sunday afternoon pairing.

T9. Harris English (-4): Normally a lights-out ball-striker, English is putting out of his mind this week. He's inside the top 10 in strokes gained putting after two rounds. If that trend continues over the final two rounds, he'll have a real chance to win the golf tournament.

T9. Jamie Donaldson (-4): Donaldson sort of sneaked into the top 10 at the very end of the day with birdies in two of the last five holes. His best finish at a major championship is T7 at the 2012 PGA Championship. It would be pretty shocking if he won this week.

T9. Hideki Matsuyama (-4): Matsuyama had an eagle, two birdies and two bogeys on his front nine on Friday if you were wondering how steep that roller coaster is. He has been somewhat non-existent in major championships recently so it's good to see him get in the mix. This is also good to see.