Kohler, United States: Australia’s Matt Jones completed a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead on 11-under 133 as the second round concluded at the 97th PGA Championship.

Jones and fellow Aussie Jason Day were tied at nine under when a fierce thunderstorm packing high winds forced the suspension of play on Friday with 57 players still on the course.

When play resumed, Day was the first man to reach 10 under with a birdie at the 16th. But he bogeyed the par-four 18th at Whistling Straits to post a five-under 67 that gave him sole possession of second place on nine-under 135.

Jones, who teed off on 10 on Friday, moved to 10 under with a birdie at the sixth, and padded his lead with a 50-foot birdie bomb at the eighth.

“I played great,” said the 35-year-old, who is playing in his eighth major. “I putted really well. My speed on the greens has been really good, which is huge for me when I putt.

“The way I’ve got up and down for pars and some of the birdies I’ve made have been great,” added Jones, who was to tee off in the final group of the third round with Day at 3.06pm (12.06am Sunday UAE time).

England’s Justin Rose parred the 18th to complete a five-under-par 67 that put him in third place on 136, one stroke in front Sweden’s David Lingmerth (70), American Tony Finau (66) and India’s Anirban Lahiri (67).

Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth headed a group on six-under 138.

Spieth was looking good as he completed his five-under 67 on Friday that left him just one stroke off Lingmerth’s early clubhouse lead.

But he’ll have work to do over the weekend as he tries to join Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods as the only men to win three major championships in one year.

Woods’s feat of winning the last three majors of 2000 seemed a long time ago as the 14-time major champion missed the cut for his third straight major in a row.

It was another new low for Woods, who has slumped to 278th in the world after injury and struggles with changes to his swing.

He had already missed back-to-back cuts in grand slam events for the first time when he flopped at the US and British Opens.

Woods carded a one-over-par 73 in the second round, but the damage had been done with his three-over 75 in the first and his four-over total of 148 saw him miss the cut by two.