PITTSFORD, New York: The rain let up at soggy Oak Hill.
Adam Scott kept right on rolling.
The co-leader from the opening round shot a 2-under 68 Friday at the PGA Championship, taking advantage of a course softened up even more by morning showers.
Scott could’ve gone lower if not for a long putter that was a bit shaky. The Aussie missed a couple of attempts inside 10 feet and a few more that were just a little farther away.
Of course, there was a 40-footer that dropped in the cup at the second hole, so Scott couldn’t complain too much.
He headed to the weekend contending again in a major championship at 7-under 133 overall.
“I felt like if I was really hot with the putter, I couldn’t have been a lot better,” Scott said. “But the course was playing really long when it was raining. So 68 is a good score.”
The Masters champion was hardly in the clear.
US Open winner Justin Rose, bouncing back from missing the cut at the British Open, shot 6-under 29 over his final nine holes for a 66 that left him just one stroke behind Scott.
Webb Simpson, a former US Open champ, also made a big charge. He was 7 under through his first 15 holes and flirting with the major championship scoring record before a bogey at the seventh — his 16th hole of the round — stemmed the momentum. He had one more birdie shot at the eighth, but missed a 10-footer.
Simpson finished with a 64, tying the course record but one stroke shy from the lowest round ever in a major.
“I was thinking about it coming down the last few holes,” said Simpson, whose 136 total left him three shots off the lead. “I just kept plodding along. Even though I played well, it felt like a 10-hour round out there.”
Jim Furyk was tied with Scott after they both shot 65 in the opening round. The 43-year-old American had an afternoon tee time, starting out two strokes off the lead. The weather was expected to turn sunny — and remain that way through the rest of the weekend.
Tiger Woods had a lot of work to do in his bid to break an 0-for-17 drought in the majors.
The world’s top-ranked player closed his opening round with a double-bogey for a disappointing 71. By the time he teed off in the afternoon, there were 41 players between him and the top spot on the leaderboard.
Others ripped through a course that was very much there for the taking, the birdies falling into the cup at an alarming rate.
Eagles, too.
Jason Duffner holed out from the fairway on the second hole, quickly pushing his score to 4 under.
But Oak Hill still had some bite. Just ask Lee Westwood, who made a double-bogey at the eighth, then a bogey on his final hole for a 73 that knocked him off the board.
Also in contention at midday: Robert Garrigus, Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey and Matt Kuchar. Canadian David Hearn, who opened with a 66, dropped back with a double-bogey at the 11th.
For a while, the final major of the year looked more like a British Open. The early starters had to break out the umbrellas and rain gear for showers that turned heavy at times, though the course drained well and there no stoppage of play.
“I much prefer the weather in the UK,” quipped England’s Luke Donald.
Really, he had no reason to complain. The dreary weather provided another chance to go right at the soft greens, which made the opening round seem more like a regular tour event than a test of major proportions.
“It’s a course you can attack,” said British Open champion Phil Mickelson, whose game wasn’t up to the task.
Lefty shot his second straight 71, leaving him nine strokes behind Scott and flirting with the cut line.
Defending PGA champ Rory McIlroy was headed to the weekend after bouncing back from a tough start. He played his first 10 holes at 5 over, but closed with four birdies for a 71 that left him even for the tournament.
“I’ve just got to try to get off to a fast start tomorrow,” said McIlroy, who won last year by a record eight strokes at Kiawah Island. “I need to shoot something in the mid-60s to give myself a chance on Sunday.”
While Woods came in as the overwhelming favorite, Scott increasingly looks like a player who will add more major titles to the one he finally got in a Masters playoff back in April.
Three weeks ago, he had the Sunday lead on the back nine at Muirfield before fading. In the last major of the year, there were times he looked unstoppable.
I’m playing well in the majors and giving myself a chance,” he said. “I don’t care if they call me the best player as long as I win on Sunday.”