LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Those big, crooked numbers bunched on one side of his scorecard made Mark Hubbard wonder if his luck was running out.
He was thankful to straighten out things on the other side and remain within sight of the leaders at the PGA Championship.
Hubbard’s 3-under 68 on Friday was three strokes off his opening-round score at Valhalla Golf Club, owing to three bogies over a five-hole stretch on the front nine. Six other birdies more than erased those and kept him within three shots of leader Xander Schauffele (-12) on a rainy Friday delayed and dampened by the predawn death of a pedestrian worker, soon followed by the shocking arrest of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler because of an altercation with Louisville police.
“I putted really well today,” said Hubbard, who needed a quick recovery with a morning start following a late Thursday evening finish. “I wasn’t moving quite as well, driving it quite as well as yesterday, so it made it a little tougher.
“Just didn’t quite have my legs under me, but my putter really showed up and kind of kept me in there.”
Hubbard said his agenda wasn’t seriously thrown off by the second-round delay that came after John Mills, a 69-year-old who worked for a vendor at the tournament, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus while crossing the road to Valhalla. Scheffler was arrested a short time later for failing to follow police instructions as he tried to get around traffic and onto the course.
Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion, was released and returned to Valhalla about 45 minutes before teeing off and shooting 5-under 66 to tie for fourth at 9-under with Hubbard and Thomas Detry, with Bryson DeChambeau waiting to complete his final hole on Saturday morning. Hubbard expressed thoughts and prayers for Mills’ family and empathy for Scheffler’s situation.
The Denver native and Texas resident then went out and birdied two of his first three holes and No. 18 on the back nine to jump-start his path toward remaining perfect in making cut in all 13 Tour events he has competed in this season. Even with the bogeys on the second, fifth and sixth holes.
“It’s been kind of soft all week,” Hubbard said of several days of showers at Valhalla. “I think the biggest difference was the rough was a lot more penal today, so I just kind of had to navigate that. I didn’t drive it as well, so I made a few more bogeys because of that.”
Though Hubbard, who turns 34 on May 24, has played through every event this year, he has just two top-fives while every other finish has been 20th or lower. Hubbard did not compete in the Masters or last week’s Wells Fargo Championship.
He gets a little more rest before resuming his quest for a breakthrough win, with the PGA Championship a particularly fitting place after he tied for 51st in 2020 and was 75th last year. Even with Friday’s brief hiccups at Valhalla, Hubbard is encouraged about this being the place where everything falls in line.
“Going into the week I felt like this was the first time my game was in a position where I felt like I could do that, whereas before I just showed up and have been kind of happy to be there,” he said of contending.
“I think that showed just from a mental standpoint and confidence standpoint. I think this is a good major course for me. There’s so many that aren’t.”
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