13 things we learned this morning at Quail Hollow

KISNER & MATSUYAMA TIED FOR 36-HOLE LEAD AT 99th PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

At 8-under par, Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama share a two-shot lead after two rounds of the 99th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club. While Kisner’s consistent play resulted in a second consecutive  67 on Friday morning, Matsuyama blended bogey-free golf with seven birdies to record the low round of the Championship, a 64, on Friday afternoon (Francesco Molinari, who is tied for fifth place, later matched Matsuyama’s 64). Twenty-five players were forced to complete their second rounds on Saturday due to Friday’s late afternoon rainstorm.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Leaderboard | Photos | Video

RAIN CAME AND WENT ON FRIDAY

The second round of the 99th PGA Championship was suspended by rain on Friday afternoon for a total one hour and 43 minutes. Play was suspended at 4:43 p.m. and resumed at 6:26 p.m. On Saturday morning, second-round play resumed at Quail Hollow at 7:27 a.m. and wrapped up at 8:51 a.m.  

FOUR WOULD BE MORE

Hideki Matsuyama’s three wins are tied with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson for the most on the PGA TOUR this season. Matsuyama, who has 14 career wins worldwide, won a career-best four times in 2013, with all those victories coming on the Japan Golf Tour.

AN INSIDE JOB 

That Kevin Kisner (67-67, 134) is playing well thus far at Quail Hollow should not be a surprise, especially when considering that his brother-in-law's father, C.P. Street, was a charter member of the club. Kisner’s direct connection to Quail Hollow Club began when his sister married C.P. Street’s son, Eddie Street.

RELATED: Unexpected stars rise in PGA Championship's second round

THE LOW-DOWN ON KISNER 

The 99th PGA Championship is Kevin Kisner’s 12th career major, and on Friday he played his 40th career major-championship round. The three lowest scores of his career in majors have all come in the PGA Championship: 65 (third round, 2016 PGA Championship, Baltusrol), 67 (second round, 2017 PGA Championship, Quail Hollow), 67 (first round, 2017 PGA Championship, Quail Hollow).

DAY AFTER DAY 

Jason Day has owned sole possession or a share of first, second or third place on the PGA Championship leaderboard in 10 of 13 rounds dating to the second round of the 2014 Championship at Valhalla.  

WATCH: Jason Day rockets up leaderboard, goes 5-under in four holes            

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

After 36 holes, Chris Stroud has posted a pair of 68s and is tied for third with Jason Day, just two shots off the pace. A week ago, Stroud was without a spot in the field for the 99th PGA Championship, but that changed when he claimed its final exemption by winning the Barracuda Championship on Sunday in Reno, Nevada.

MORE: Chris Stroud just might be the happiest guy at Quail Hollow

ONLY THE BEST FOR MOLINARI 

Francesco Molinari’s second-round 64 matched Hideki Matsuyama for the low round of the Championship, which is at its half-way point. The 64 is also the best single-round score carded by Molinari in a major championship.

TOUGH SECOND ROUND FOR OLESEN

Thorbjorn Olesen, who shared the leaderboard’s perch with Kevin Kisner after an opening-round 67, struggled in the second round, recording a 78. After 36 holes, Olesen is tied for 43rd place.

THERE WILL CERTAINLY BE A VOID TO PHIL 

With rounds of 79-74, Phil Mickelson missed the cut at a PGA Championship for the first time since 1995. That snaps a string of 21 consecutive PGA Championship cuts made for Mickelson, which is a Championship record. Mickelson’s 23 total cuts made are tied for sixth in Championship history behind only Jack Nicklaus (27), Raymond Floyd (27), Tom Watson (25), Hale Irwin (24) and Arnold Palmer (24).

MORE: Phil Mickelson's struggles at Quail Hollow

INTERNATIONAL DOMINANCE

Through 2007 and the first 89 PGA Championships, 10 internationally-born players hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy: James Barnes (England, 1916, ’19); Jock Hutchison (Scotland, 1920); Tommy Armour (Scotland, 1930); Jim Ferrier (Australia, 1947); Gary Player (South Africa, 1962, ’72); David Graham (Australia, 1979); Wayne Grady (Australia, 1990); Nick Price (South Africa, 1992, ’94); Steve Elkington (Australia, 1995); and Vijay Singh (Fiji, 1998, 2004).

The list has grown to 15 over the past nine Championships: Padraig Harrington (Ireland, 2008); Y.E. Yang (South Korea, 2009); Martin Kaymer (Germany, 2010); Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland, 2012, ’14); and Jason Day (Australia, 2015).

RELATED: Former PGA Champions struggle at Quail Hollow

FIVE PGA CHAMPIONS MAKE THE CUT

Led by Jason Day (-6), five PGA Champions made the cut at Quail Hollow. Those joining Day for the entire weekend will be Rory McIlroy (+2), Keegan Bradley (+2), Vijay Singh (-3) and Jason Dufner (-4).

TEXAS TWO-STEP FOR OMAR

‘Twas a tale of two nines, as PGA Professional Champion Omar Uresti made the turn at +3 on Friday, only to catch fire on the back nine with four clutch birdies on 10, 14, 15 and 18 to make the cut and become the first PGA Club Professional since Brian Gaffney in 2015 (at Whistling Straits) to earn the right to play on the weekend.

MORE: Back nine rally earns Omar Uresti more time at Quail Hollow

It was a memorable day for the Austin, Texas native and University of Texas product, as his mother, Minnie, 79, and father, Lupe, 77, walked Quail Hollow with him. Uresti’s 1-under par 71 put him at +2 after his first 36 holes. He is tied for 29th place.