Matthew Wolff shoots 64 to take Rocket Mortgage Classic lead

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SAN FRANCISCO – Brooks Koepka was getting bent in all sorts of shapes by a trainer between holes out on the course. Jason Day’s playing partners social distanced for COVID-19 reasons AND the wafting smell of Deep Heat coming from his body. He gingerly picked up a tee or two a few times also. But both say there’s nothing wrong and they’re perfectly fine. Day’s troublesome back is a non-factor. Koepka’s buggered left knee and tight hip … non-issue. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Fleetwood flies up leaderboard | Koepka has hip worked on mid-round | Tiger makes cut The fact they sit tied second at the halfway mark of the PGA Championship means we are inclined to have to believe them. Koepka backed up his opening 66 with a 2-under 68 while Day has fashioned rounds of 65-69 to be part of a six-way tie at six under. Only Haotong Li sits above them as he looks to become the first player from China to win a major. Li is eight under. But while Tommy Fleetwood (65), Daniel Berger (67), Justin Rose (68) have tremendous pedigree and are all part of the second place tie it might well be the underlying ailments that could pose Day and Koepka the biggest challenge. Koepka is known not to whine about his issues. He’s battled a left knee problem for a long time now, even undergoing painful stem cell treatments to calm it down. On Friday he said the stiffness was unrelated despite limping on occasions. “It was my hip. Nothing to do with my knee. It’s fine. I woke up this morning, it was tight, and worked out and it got even tighter and then we loosened it up,” Koepka said when explaining treatment he received on three separate occasions, the first being on the 12th tee. “My TFL (tensor fascia latae muscle) is usually pretty tight on the side. It just kind of moved to the front and tightened up the front and kind of the inside and groin. It will be fine. It’s something I’m not worried about. “It was a little tight when I was hitting balls on the range but it’s nothing to be worried about. We’ll loosen it up again and it will be a lot better.” For Day a chronic back issue has been a problem throughout his career. The cold weather in San Francisco is not exactly what helps. But he is being mindful of letting his mind find excuses over the last month and the positive thinking has him coming into TPC Harding Park off three straight top 10s. Prior to that, at the beginning of the return to golf from the COVID-19 shutdown, Day was not in his happy place and the thought of adding a second major for the former world no.1 seemed miles away. “When I first came out, I struggled to walk around a golf course and play golf. It hurt to walk. But now I feel great and I feel fine,” Day claims. “I definitely feel good. Physically, I feel great. I’m always trying to stay disciplined with my exercises and soft tissue work, and then overall, I feel good. “But it has been cool so you’ve got to be careful… you’re always cautious of doing certain things, bending over… but I pretty much lather up in Deep Heat and try and burn the skin off my back, to be honest. And I feel pretty good, so I’ve been fine.” From tee-to-green Day ranks second in the field gaining +7.487 strokes so far this week. Koepka is sixth at +6.485. On approach the duo are by far the best performed players at the halfway point. Day leads Strokes Gained: Approach at +6.751. Koepka is second at +5.601. Should they maintain that pace and improve their short game just a little it will be tough for the others to challenge them. “I’m pretty happy. I felt like I probably could be ten (under) right now. Hit a lot of good putts, just didn’t go in,” Koepka said as he looks to be the first player to win the same major three years running 64 years. “A couple of them, if I just hit them, they’re in. But driving it pretty well. Iron play, I’m pretty pleased with. I like where I’m at.” Fleetwood has other thoughts though. He is second in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and is 11th in Strokes Gained: Putting. If the Englishman finds a few more greens he could be looking at a maiden major. “Every time these weeks come about you just prepare for it to be your week, and today was a great day. Got a weekend of golf left. We’ll see,” he said. Putting has helped Li to his lofty place as he ranks fifth in the field and is also third on approach. The question mark is if he can maintain consistency throughout the weekend as he has been known for erratic days. He may have burned himself out having spent six hours practicing after his round on Friday. “I’ve got no expectation actually, because you know, last few months, stay at home doing nothing. I just want to be out here having fun,” he said. Berger, a winner at the Charles Schwab Challenge a few months ago, is lurking with good numbers across the board. Can he maintain his solid play? “I’ve maintained kind of a level head and played some really solid golf, and I’m in a great position, and with two more good days, I think I’ll have a chance on Sunday,” he said. And then there is Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champ and 2018 FedExCup champion. While off the tee he’s had some issues his ball-striking on approach ranks ninth and he sits in the same position in putting. That could prove a deadly combo over the weekend.

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