Best read with a walking golfer’s dream.

Brooks Koepka continued his clinic at Bethpage Black on Friday, shooting a five-under 65 to open up a seven shot lead through two rounds. He also set a new major-championship 36-hole scoring record. There are big-name pursuers like Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, and Dustin Johnson, but for any of them to win Koepka will have to make a misstep, which he does not seem inclined to do. PGA Championship Leaderboard

Brooks wasted no time on Friday. He birdied his first two holes and stretched his bogey-free streak to 27 holes. On the back nine, he dropped shots on Nos. 10 and 17 but added four birdies to stretch his lead. Koepka will head to the weekend with the largest 36-hole major lead in his career, looking to wrap up his fourth major in his last eight attempts. At this point, Koepka not winning would be a shock. He has missed only four fairways on the week and ranks first in strokes gained off the tee, fourth in approaches, and 19th in putting. Something extraordinary will have to happen to keep Koepka from becoming this generation’s undisputed alpha dog.

Notes

  • One of Koepka’s nearest competitors is Jordan Spieth, whose quest for the career grand slam went under the radar thanks to his suboptimal 2019 play. Spieth has been excellent on the greens for the first time in a long while, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. A Koepka slip-up would open the door for Spieth to walk into rarified air.

  • Last year’s PGA runner-up Adam Scott finds himself in a familiar spot after a Friday-best 64. He has made five putter changes this season, but something clicked today: he swept in putts from everywhere using his old long stick. At a course that rewards powerful and precise ball-striking, Scott should be a factor on the weekend.

  • World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finds himself eight back of Koepka after a second-round 67. DJ has played well but has been held back by his putting, which ranks 64th in strokes gained. In order to catch his lifting buddy, DJ will have to make a few more putts over the weekend.

  • Long-hitting Luke List has put together back-to-back rounds of 68. Much like DJ and Brooks, he has tremendous distance, which is proving to be a differentiating factor at Bethpage Black. List has yet to break through with a win in his career, but a strong weekend would improve on his best major finish to date (T-39).

  • European Tour star Matt Wallace is a name that some American fans might not recognize, but his strong play should come as no surprise. Wallace won three times in 2018 and finished T-2 in last week’s British Masters. He is tied for fourth at Bethpage.

  • Getting into the field thanks to Justin Thomas’ withdrawal, Kelly Kraft has taken advantage, and now finds himself tied for fourth place. Kraft used a second-round 65 to surge into a pairing with Dustin Johnson.

  • For the second straight New York major, Daniel Berger is in the mix after a four-under 66 on Friday. Berger’s play has been spotty over the past year and a half; he has notched only two top 10s (2018 U.S. Open, 2019 Puerto Rico Open).

  • Rory McIlroy followed up a disappointing Thursday with an abysmal double-bogey-double start. Well outside the cut line heading into his back nine, McIlroy finished with a flurry of birdies to make the cut on the number and stick around for the weekend.

  • Tiger missed the cut in his first appearance since his Masters victory. The 15-time major winner struggled off the tee this week, leading to many chip-outs and bogeys.

  • Another notable cut misser was Bryson DeChambeau, who made some pointed comments on golf course setup on Thursday. DeChambeau took exception to the length of the course, which demands more long-iron and hybrid approaches than pros are accustomed to. DeChambeau told Golf Channel, “It’s about precision. So when you start making it really tight, I get the tight part. But when you start lengthening it to the amounts that they’ve been lengthening it to, I just personally think that it’s a mess-up.”

  • Coming into the week Steve Stricker had made the past 27 cuts in major championships. He saw that streak end on Friday as he missed the cut by one shot.

Quick Hooks

Mark Hubbard leads through two rounds on the Web.com Tour. Hubbard already has a win on the season and is looking to solidify his 2020 PGA Tour card. Leaderboard

Helen Alfredssen leads defending champion Laura Davies by one heading into the third round of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles. Live scoring

The only thing better than Jon Rahm suddenly dropping trou in Dustin Johnson’s sightline is the silent, desperate, futile effort of the cameraman to get the whizzing Thumb out of the frame.

Level your club up

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THE LATEST

Brooks runs away, Spieth’s slam chances, Rory’s “character”, and “The Power Hour”

Andy and Brendan are set up in their home base and return for this lively Friday night review of the 2019 PGA Championship at its midpoint. They begin with Brooks Koepka’s dominating performance, even though Koepka thinks he didn’t “hit it good” in the second round. They discuss how and why Koepka’s style works so well at this setup, using some illuminating quotes from Tiger Woods, who watched Broosky carve up Bethpage over 36 holes for a new major scoring record. The chat about playing style and bombers’ success also ties into some quotes from Bryson DeChambeau, who seems less than thrilled with the setup both at Bethpage and at majors in general. Then they get into Rory citing how he showed “character” getting back on the right side of the cut line after an abominable first 27 holes. They also hit on an odd penalty for one player not showing up on time and CBS deciding to call the final four holes this week “The Power Hour.” Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

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