World number three Jordan Spieth and Britain's Andrew "Beef" Johnston charged up the leaderboard in Friday's rain-hit second round of the PGA Championship while British Open winner Henrik Stenson stumbled back.
More than an inch of morning rain halted play for 41 minutes at Baltusrol due to standing water that had made greens and fairways unplayable.
Groundskeepers, forced to water greens Thursday so they did not burn out, drained huge puddles from several greens and cleared out numerous fairways. That left the saturated 7,428-yard layout susceptible to scoring and some quickly took advantage.
Spieth, a two-time major winner, began with back-to-back birdies and was two-under through six holes while fellow back-nine starter Johnston, the English crowd pleaser with the meaty nickname and hefty tee shot, birdied the par-5 17th and 18th.
That put both men on two-under for the event, still three strokes adrift of 18-hole leader Jimmy Walker, the American on five-under until his afternoon start with his nearest rivals, England's Ross Fisher and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, on four-under and starting later as well.
Sweden's Stenson, who opened with a 67, made bogeys at 12 and 13 to slide back and other big names were having early troubles.
US Open champion Dustin Johnson, who fired a 77 Thursday, was two-over after six while Sergio Garcia was one-over through seven, Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel were level through seven.
Germany's Martin Kaymer, one stroke back when the day began, made bogeys at the second and fourth before a birdie at the fifth left the two-time major winner three-under after the front nine.
Australia's John Senden, in the day's first group, answered a bogey at the third with birdies on the par-3 fourth and seven to stand on three-under with six holes to play.
Also at three-under was American Patrick Reed, a back-nine starter who birdied 11, 14 and 15 to make his move after an opening round 70.
Walker, a 37-year-old who missed the cut in three of his past four majors, fired a five-under par 65 Thursday to seize command.
Walker, off to his best major start by two shots, had only led once before after 18 holes, that in 2011 at the US PGA Houston Open where he settled for a share of 30th. The Texan won the most recent of his five PGA titles at last year's Texas Open.
Fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy fired a birdie-less 74, his first over-par start at a PGA, and British Open runner-up Phil Mickelson, a five-time major champion who won the last PGA at Baltusrol in 2005, rallied for a 71.
Both were set for an afternoon start alongside top-ranked defending champion Jason Day, who battled fatigue and illness to open on 68. - AFP