Mixed fortunes for past champions at USPGA

Martin Kaymer tops the leaderboard of past USPGA Championship winners at Whistling Straits

Fifteen past USPGA Championship winners teed up in the first round of the 2015 championship at Whistling Straits on Thursday, seven of them made the cut this morning, and Germany’s Martin Kaymer led their select mini-leaderboard, finishing two rounds in a share of 15^th place on the course where he won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2010.

A pair of 70s in the first two rounds took Kaymer to four under par at the halfway stage and seven shots behind the halfway lead of Matt Jones. Y.E. Yang (champion of 2009) and Rory McIlroy (2012 and 2014) were two shots behind Kaymer in a tie for 28^th at the time of writing, with Jason Dufner (2013), Phil Mickelson (2005), Vijay Singh (2004 at Whistling Straits) and Keegan Bradley (2011) the remaining past champs still in the field.

“It was a great way for me to finish, with a birdie on 16, par 17, par 18,” said Kaymer, 30, after completing the storm-delayed second round this morning. “But I still think I left two or three shots out there over the last couple days.

“I just need one of those five, six-under rounds to give myself a chance for tomorrow. It's possible, I just need to make a few more putts. Those mid-range putts, I haven't made any, really, this week.”

The eight remaining past winners in this week’s field, who have missed the cut, are led by former world number one Tiger Woods, but he was in good company, with Shaun Micheel, Padraig Harrington, Davis Love III, David Toms, Rich Beem, John Daly and Mark Brooks also going home early.

Martin Kaymer is a Mercedes-Benz golf brand ambassador, and Mercedes-Benz is the Official Car of the 2015 PGA Championship.