By ,
Published November 20, 2014
D.A. Points shot a three-under 67 on Friday to vault up the leaderboard during the second round of the PGA Championship.
Points, this year's winner at Pebble Beach, finished 36 holes at four-under 136, which is the lowest total after two rounds at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Steve Stricker, who matched the major championship scoring record on Thursday with a seven-under 63, hasn't teed off yet on Friday, but his two-stroke lead over fellow Wisconsin native Jerry Kelly remains intact.
Tiger Woods, whose opening-round 77 was his worst score at the PGA Championship and his worst first round in major, just teed off in the afternoon wave.
Rory McIlroy gutted out another round at the PGA Championship on Friday, one day after he strained a tendon in the right wrist. McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion, shot a three-over 73 and is plus-three through two rounds.
"It's still a little uncomfortable out on the course," McIlroy said in a televised interview Friday. "It's probably tougher mentally more than anything else. You sort of try and protect it through the shot.
"It definitely doesn't hurt as much as it did yesterday. It's just one of those things. It was a frustrating day to say the least."
McIlroy, with his wrist and forearm taped heavily, hurt himself on his second shot Thursday on the third hole. He received medical treatment and shot a respectable even-par 70, then said he'd undergo an MRI and decide after that.
The MRI revealed a strained tendon in the wrist, and after a brief warm-up session, McIlroy gave it a go on Friday. He fell down the leaderboard, thanks in large part to a triple-bogey at 17 when he dumped a ball in the water.
Adam Scott, who won last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, is three-under through six holes of his second round and joined Points at four-under par.
Anders Hansen posted a one-under 69 to get in the clubhouse at three-under 137.
Points was cruising on Friday with four birdies and no bogeys through his first 12 holes. He dropped a shot at the 13th, but immediately atoned for the error with a birdie at No. 14.
After a nice par save at the par-three 17th, Points was forced to lay up with his second at the par-four 18th following a drive in a bunker. He hit an average wedge and two-putted for a bogey.
"The 18th hole is a hard hole," Points said on TV. "I didn't want to get too greedy on the wedge shot. If you hit it over the green or do something stupid, it's a big number.
"These first two rounds have been the best I've struck it pretty much all year. On this course, you need to do that."
Jhonattan Vegas carded a two-under 68 and is in the clubhouse at two-under 138.
Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion, who had a 66 on Thursday, followed with an eight-over 78 on Friday. He is now at four-over for the championship, which is the tentative cut line.
"It was just a frustrating day," said Micheel. "I'm more mad, really, at the mistakes that I made. I didn't play a great round of golf, but I made enough mistakes that I cost myself basically four shots today, and those are difficult to swallow. I can handle bad shots, but just the mental mistakes, I mean, those just kill you."
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/points-makes-a-move-at-pga