Wind comes into play at PGA Championship

Reporting from Sheboygan, Wis.

The aesthetics of Whistling Straits — the 900-plus bunkers, the fescue grass — are reminiscent of a British Open course.

One missing ingredient Thursday — the wind — arrived Friday to give the course that extra links feel.

The wind howled and gusted and picked up in intensity later in the day, making some holes more difficult and some a little easier.

Bryce Molder, for instance, began the fifth hole of his second round at even par. For the next 10 holes, he said, he was hitting mostly downwind.

Starting with No. 5, he birdied five of his next six holes and finished his round at five under.

“There are a lot of holes with this particular wind where it’s straight downwind,” Molder said. “So you just feel like you get the ball airborne in the right direction and let the wind do the work.”

For those holes that were into the wind, birdies were nearly impossible from the rough — and sometimes from the fairway.

“It was playing very tough out there,” Adam Scott said. “If you missed the fairway, you didn’t have much chance. Even if you’re in the fairway, you have to hit hybrids or three-woods into par-fours. And you’re laying up on par-fives with a three-wood.”

Going fishing

Graeme McDowell said he is “spent,” has “nothing left in the tank,” is just “going through the motions.” Any phrase you can think of to describe someone who is emotionally drained, the U.S. Open champion probably said after he finished 36 holes at three over, leaving him in jeopardy of missing the cut.

“It’s easy to say you’re not enjoying yourself when you’re not playing well, but I’m not enjoying myself from the first hole on Thursday,” McDowell said. “It’s pretty unusual.”

To help rectify that, McDowell said he will take four weeks off and play sparingly before tuning up for the Ryder Cup. What will he do with his downtime?

“I’ll do a little bit of fishing, have a few beers,” he said. “Take four or five days in the Bahamas.”

Who’s Noh?

Seung-Yul Noh, a 19-year-old pro from South Korea, is playing in his first PGA Championship — and playing quite well (five under after two rounds). Noh is not a familiar face in the U.S. or back home.

“I don’t play much on the PGA Tour, so that’s why I’m not very famous back in Korea,” Noh said through an interpreter. “But after this, maybe I’ll be famous.”

chine@tribune.com