What a day’s golf, then! It’s a toss-up between Robert Streb’s ball-on-string 63, as he becomes the latest man to match the record major mark, or Jason Day’s seven birdies in eight holes. Or how about Patrick Reed’s 65, or co-leader Jimmy Walker’s 66, or young Emiliano Grillo’s 67, or... we could be here all day. Suffice to say: you’ll join us again tomorrow, won’t you? See you for Moving Day!  -9: Walker, Streb-7: Grillo, Day-6: Stenson-5: Kaymer, Reed, Koepka-4: Matsuyama, English, Fowler, Donaldson  Rory McIlroy’s dismal tournament ends in appropriate fashion. He duffs two pitches up the bank from the thick stuff to the right of 18, can’t knock in the third from the fringe, and he’ll definitely be going home. He taps in for bogey, a 69, and at +3 he’s off home. That’s two major championship cuts missed this year. He doesn’t look content at all. He’ll be back. Phil Mickelson meanwhile lags up carefully to make sure of his birdie. He’s +1, and will wonder what could have been without that ludicrous triple-bogey at the opening hole. Still, that’s a 70, and he’s here this weekend. And Jason Day flops up to ten feet, can’t make his birdie, but that’s a brilliant 65. He’s right in the mix!  Robert Streb carefully rolls his birdie putt across 9, and he’s signing for a major-championship 63! He joins Jimmy Walker at -9! The 29-year-old from Oklahoma finished in the top ten last year at Whistling Straits. He’s got a share of the lead at the halfway mark this time round! His last four rounds at the PGA: 67-67-68-63!  Day decides to take a lash from the rough down the right of 18 with a fairway wood. He fires his ball between the bunkers to the right of the green. Rory whistles his second, a long iron, there too. Phil however batters his approach straight at the flag, and will have two putts from 25 feet for the birdie he needs to guarantee his weekend participation. Though nothing’s totally clear right now. The cut’s moved out to +2 for the minute, so they could both be saved anyway. Still plenty of golf to be played before we know exactly what’s going on.  Robert Streb’s distance control has been sensational today. His tee shot at the par-three 9th is yet another pin-high approach, and he’ll have two putts from 15 feet for a best-of-week 64. If he knocks in the birdie putt, he joins the 63 Club, two weeks after Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson matched the record major mark at Troon. Meanwhile Jamie Donaldson has made a quiet but very significant move up the leaderboard. Birdies at 14 and 17, and he signs for a 67 that places him handily at -4. Ditto his playing partner Adam Scott, who has birdied 14, 15 and 18 to move to -3. These lads are not out of it, but they’ll need to move, move, move tomorrow.  Day is showing signs of nerves after going so well for so long. He takes an iron for safety off the 18th tee, and slices it into the trees down the right! He gets a lucky bounce out, though will he risk going for the green in two? Streb meanwhile doesn’t hit his birdie putt on 8. It dies off to the left and he stays at -8.  Rory needs two birdies. He missed from three feet on 16, an absurd putt after a stunning tee shot. Now he finds the bunker at the front of 17 in two, seriously underhits the bunker shot, leaving himself a 25 footer to pick up the stroke he desperately needs - and sinks the birdie putt! He’s +2, and in with a shout once again! This is absurd! He celebrates, but there’s something that suggests his heart’s not totally in it. Mickelson meanwhile misses his birdie effort from six feet, failing to commit to the putt, and at +2 he still needs something too. Finally Day leaves his birdie putt high on the left. That’s two pars in a row, the birdie hot streak over. But at -7, he’ll be looking for a little something on the last. Just like Brooks Koepka, who gets up and down from the bunker to birdie and sign for a fine 67. He’s -5.  Day’s third into 17 is arrowed straight at the flag. He’s 15 feet short, but he’ll have a look at yet another birdie. Streb meanwhile clips his second at 8 pin high. He’ll have a 12-footer to join Walker in the lead! Some magnificent golf going on right now, albeit in very kind conditions.  Day hooks big from the 17th tee, towards the Jimmy Walker Hospitality Tent. It’s not quite as wild as the leader before him, but it’s on a tight lie on the dusty ground in front of the boozy do. There will be some discussions regarding a free drop, obstructed backswings, lines of sight, movement of crowds, etc. He drops onto utter filth, but cuts a stunning iron round the Walker Tree and onto the centre of the fairway. A small boy, no more than six, who clearly knows his onions, skips and dances in front of Day, and keeps doing so until he gets the high five he’s after. To Day’s credit, working under extreme pressure at a major championship, he takes time out to keep the young lad happy. Meanwhile back on 7, Robert Streb looks like he’s in a bit of trouble, only on the fringe at the front, 40 feet from the hole and facing a difficult two-putt. But he only needs one! He rattles it in, and is currently -8, one off the lead, and one birdie away from a major-record-tying 63!  Trouble here for Phil Mickelson! He splashes out from the bunker at 16 to five feet, then watches in horror as his par putt horseshoes out. The bogey knocks him down to +2, and with the projected cut at +1, he needs a birdie now. McIlroy should be in the same boat, but he waves his putter round like a divining rod and pushes a dismal birdie tiddler wide right of the hole. It didn’t even shave the side of the cup. That is awful. “Wow!” he mouths, unable to believe what he’s just done. Stuck at +3, he still needs two birdies if he’s going to guarantee his participation this weekend. But to be honest, he looks like he can’t wait for 2016’s major season to be over. Day lags up from 30 feet for his par. A par!  The leader Jimmy Walker leaves his long birdie putt across 18 five feet short, then tugs his par putt to the left. It’s a bogey to finish. A nervous end to his round, understandable given he’s in pole position at a major championship for the first time in his career, but it’s still a 66, and after yesterday’s 65 he’s -9 at the halfway mark. And still two clear of the field.  -9: Walker (F)-7: Grillo (F), Day (15), Streb (15*)-6: Stenson (F)  Robert Streb joins the party at -7. He sends his second at 6 straight at the flag, and rolls in a 15-footer for his sixth birdie of the day. Some exceptional golf being played at Baltusrol, in very agreeable conditions it has to be said: not too much heat, no wind, and a soft, responsive course. But you’ve still got to make the shots. Day finds the middle of the par-three 16th, and looks disgusted with himself for not going close. Mickelson finds the bunker to the right, while Rory, who at +3 needs two birdies in the last three holes to make the cut, slams his to three feet. He’s started this particular quest well!  What’s Walker done here?! His drive at 18 is hooked dangerously close to the water down the left. And indeed he’s got himself wet. He drops and whips a long iron into the heart of the green. He’ll have two putts for another par scramble, but this is a slightly scrappy end by the tournament leader. At the other end of the scale, the ludicrous fare being served up by Jason Day. He slips his latest birdie putt into the cup, and having made seven in the last eight holes - and after a double-bogey at 7, too! - the defending champ has a share of second!  -10: Walker (17)-7: Grillo (F), Day (15)-6: Stenson (F), Streb (14*)  Rickie Fowler has made a late move here. He whips his second at 18 to five feet, and knocks in the eagle putt. He’d birdied 17, too, so suddenly he’s up to -4, and right in this tournament again! Meanwhile Jason Day really is on it. He drives into rough down the left of 15, then sends a perfectly judged second pin high to six feet. He’s got that for seven birdies in eight holes! This is getting daft now. Meanwhile Grillo pars the last to sign for a superb 67. He’d have been signing for a 66 had he hit his last 20-footer. But at -7 he’s got second spot to himself. For the minute. “You’re right of course about 17,” counters Hubert O’Hearn, talking my language, “although I’d bet my bottom dollar the PGA moves the tees up on Sunday to put the green within risk/reward range.” Yes please, that sounds like a plan!  Jason Day is on the mother of all birdie blitzes! Six in seven holes! He’s not happy with his approach to 14, sent over the flag, 30 feet too far. A lot of complaining as he strides towards his putt. But he trundles it down the green, and you know it’s going to drop from a good ten feet away! It gently slides from right to left before completing its journey, right in the middle of the cup. He punches the air in delight! This is astonishing! Meanwhile up on 17, Walker nearly drains his long birdie putt; that would have been super-improbable after finding the booze tent and hitting a tree. Par sounds about right. But this leaderboard is sensational now!  -10: Walker (17)-7: Grillo (17*)-6: Stenson (F), Day (14), Streb (14*)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F)  After those crazy opening seven holes, Hideki Matsuyama has been very quiet. An eagle, two pars, two birdies and two bogeys, then ten pars in a row. But he finishes at 18 with another birdie, for a superb 67 that has him sitting nicely at -4. Koepka pushes a short par putt right on 15, and he’s back to -4. Grillo very nearly makes his long par saver on 8, the ball dying off to the left with its last turn; he’s back to -7. And that could be costly, because the leader Jimmy Walker, in thick rough beneath a tree down the left of 17, lashes straight, long and onto the green. He’s there in regulation. If he can make his two putts, he’ll be carding a very eventful par.  Walker drives into the hospitality tent down the left of 17. He gets a free drop - the boozing punters are disappointed that he’ll not come upstairs and play it off the beer-stained carpet - and will take his second off the dirt in front of the stand. Just before he addresses the ball, it topples backwards, but it’s clear as day that he did nothing to make it move. So no penalty there. He then very nearly hits a stunning recovery into the middle of the fairway, but clips a tree down the same side of the hole. So he’s severely out of position here on the longest hole. He’s not the only one in trouble, though. Grillo is in a tight spot to the left of the 8th green and, shortsided, can only loop his chip over the flag, leaving a 20-foot par putt coming back.  Mickelson splits the fairway at 14, then sends a smooth second to four feet. He simply has to make the birdie putt, but gives it way too much on the left. A par, and a missed opportunity to reach level par for the tournament. Worse news for Rory McIlroy, who took a flyer from sand with his second, and was unable to get up and down from the back. The downhill chip to four feet wasn’t at fault; the drive, sand shot and putt were, though. His putting has been woeful this year, but there’s quite a bit of his game not functioning correctly. Plenty of time to get things right for Augusta, huh. But he’s back down to +3, and as things stand, he’ll need a couple of birdies to make the weekend. Jason Day, however, the world number one and defending champion, is making a serious move. A second clipped from a fairway bunker to four feet, and the putt sunk for a fifth birdie in six holes! He should double bogey more often.  -10: Walker (16)-8: Grillo (16*)-6: Stenson (F), Streb (12*)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F), Koepka (14), Day (13)  Walker punches his ball out of the tight rough at 16 to ten feet, and calmly rolls in the saver. That’s a stunning up and down, when under pressure to maintain his two-shot lead in this tournament. He stays at -10 Koepka meanwhile bounces straight back from bogey at 13 by landing his second at 14 to 12 feet and stroking in the left-to-right slider. He’s back to -5. “One thing I really like about Baltusrol is that it ends with par 3,5,5,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “I can’t think of another championship course with that structure, but the beauty is that theoretically, theoretically, anyone within five shots of the lead could make it up on those last three holes. Let’s hope it happens - a closing stretch for the ages.” Yes please! Only problem is, 17 is so long that eagle is a pipe dream to most of the field. Maybe not Dustin. But you can spot the flaw there.  Walker pulls his tee shot at the par-three 16th between the bunkers on the left. That might be a tight lie. He’ll do well to get up and down from that position. Gregory Bourdy is still at -4, but only after bogey at 1 and another birdie at 2, the latter a fine response to his first dropped stroke of the day. And Robert Streb gets up and down rather brilliantly from very thick rough to the back of 3, saving his par to remain at -6.  Walker drives into the rough on the right of 15, and can only reach the front apron with his second. He’s faced with a big ridge running across the green, so chips instead of putts, to a couple of feet. What a fine scramble. He stays two clear of Grillo, who has just parred 6. Meanwhile back on 12, neither Mickelson nor McIlroy can make their mid-length birdie putts, but Day tucks his away for a fourth birdie in five holes. He’s -4 now, and what a position the world number one would be in now, had he not thinned one out of that bunker at 7.  Jason Day looks in the mood to make a serious move now. His tee shot at 12 lands six feet to the right of the flag. Mickelson and McIlroy aren’t miles away either. Streb curls in a 20-foot left-to-righter on 2, and he’s -6. And Koepka is in a bit of trouble down 13, driving into thick stuff down the right, unable to do much more than hack it further along the same side of the hole and into a bunker. He splashes out to six feet, but can’t make the par saver and slips back to -4.  Mickelson makes his birdie putt at 11, so he’s back to +1. What he’d give to play that opening hole again. Rory pops his away too; he’s +2. Par for Day, who wasn’t miles away from draining a 30-footer for four birdies in a row. He stays at -3. Meanwhile Grillo spurns his chance to level things up with Walker at the top, racing his putt at 5 three feet past the hole. He knocks in the return, but suddenly he’s two behind, because Walker hits a gorgeous second at 14 to three feet, in goes the putt, and he’s now two clear. This is high-quality golf.  -10: Walker (14)-8: Grillo (14*)-6: Stenson (F)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F), Koepka (12), Streb (10*)  You might have noticed the name of Gregory Bourdy, creeping onto the bottom of the leaderboard. The 34-year-old French journeyman has birdied 13, 15 and now 18, reaching the turn in a flawless 33. Up on 5, Grillo slaps his second pin high to eight feet. He’ll have a look at birdie to regain joint ownership of the lead. Meanwhile Mickelson - who scrambled par at 10 after hitting that poor punter - fires his second at 11 straight at the pin, leaving a ten-footer for a birdie that’d take him to where he started. McIlroy should move to +2 after nearly spinning one back into the cup from the fairway. He’ll tap in for his birdie.  Jimmy Walker knocks in another long putt, this time on 13! A 40-footer! It’s back-to-back birdies, and he takes sole leadership of the PGA again! Meanwhile down the leaderboard it’s back-to-back birdies for Jhonattan Vegas as well, at 7 and 8: he’s -3. And three in a row for Jason Day, who strokes in a 15-footer to move to -3. And if that’s not enough to sate your birdie lust, it’s three on the bounce for Brooks Koepka, the latest one at 11! As Danny Boon once said: it’s all happening!  -9: Walker (13)-8: Grillo (13*)-6: Stenson (F)-5: Reed (F), Koepka (11), Streb (9*)-4: Bourdy (9*)  Jamie Donaldson pushes a par tiddler straight right of the hole at 10. It’s a daft one that drops him back to -2. Andy Sullivan misses a short one at 9, his third dropped stroke in four holes. He reaches the turn in 35, -2 overall. Meanwhile a marvellous exchange on Sky. Butch Harmon tells a story about going down to Phil Mickelson’s house and setting him elaborate chipping challenges for cash. “I can’t tell you how much money I lost.” Sky commentator Ewen Murray replied: “I bet you eventually got it back.” No response. END OF COMMUNICATION.  Brooks Koepka reached the turn in 33, and now he’s knocked his second to four feet at 1. In goes the putt, and he’s -4. Birdie for Robert Streb at 18 - he had a good look at eagle from 12 feet, and should have done better - but he’s -5. Up on 12, Walker rakes in a monster to join Grillo in the lead! Meanwhile on 10, Mickelson hits another drive straight left, and clatters some poor bugger upside the head. Rather strangely, all of the victim’s friends find it highly amusing and start to frolic around in glee, literally adding insult to their stricken pal’s injury.  -8: Grillo (12*), Walker (12)-6: Stenson (F)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F), Streb (9*)-4: Koepka (10)  Day knocks in his birdie putt, and he’s bounced back from that double with two birdies in a row. He reaches the turn in 34, back where he started at -2. Mickelson had sent a brilliant tee shot to six feet, but hits a bobbler that slides off to the left. He stays at +2. And Rory can’t get up and down from the bunker on the right. Bogey. He’s out in 33, one under for his round, but at +3 he’s going home this weekend unless he gets a wriggle on.  Thanks to Nick there. So after Jason Day’s Phil Mickelson tribute act down 7 - drive into the trees, escape whistled into sand, thinned bunker shot, missed short putt - he’s responded rather well to double bogey. A birdie at 8, and now a tee shot at 9 to ten feet. A chance to get back to level par for his round. As for Mickelson himself, he birdied 8 too, and with the projected cut now taking in everyone at +2, he’s got his head back above water. Rory’s in good nick too after those birdies at 4 and 6, but he’s just fizzed his tee shot at 9 into the bunker. A bit of work to do there.  McIlroy’s in the sand on eight, doesn’t catch his recovery shot flush and it catches the edge of the green, but rolls back like a cartoon character trying to get up a hill on a sub-standard bike. He looks vexed. His first putt gets to within striking distance but he played for a spot of left-to-right that didn’t materialise. He takes a quick break in the shade - for even the finest sportsmen need to shelter from the yellow sun - before sinking it for par, staying on +2. Meanwhile Andy Sullivan slides a 15-odd footer just past the hole, missing birdie but holds on for par and is -4.  Meanwhile, you’ll all be relieved to learn Scott Murray is back from his break, so will take you home from here. Cheers!  Stonker of an effort from Jimmy Walker, chipping from the scrub just off the green to just shy of the hole. He sticks it home and is now within one shot of the lead. Meanwhile, Day double-bogeys from absolutely nowhere and drops to -2.  -8: Grillo (10*)-7: Walker (9)-6: Stenson (F)  John Daly! He’s still plugging away. He lands in the bunker and plays a nice shot to get out of trouble, but he’s +6 and unless something extraordinary happens he’ll miss the cut.  Grillo hoiks his tee shot into a bunker, and requires a very fancy bit of wedge-work to get the thing anywhere near the flag. He pulls a nice shot out of the bag to get on the green, but he’s still left with a ticklish, to say the least, couple of putts for par but makes them and takes the turn still at -8.  Another birdie for McIroy, who strokes in with little bother at six. He’s still +2, but it’s all looking a little brighter for him. Jason Day goes just past the hole at six, and curses the very gods that it didn’t break left as expected. He saves par to stay at -2.  A stunning long iron into 18 from Emiliano Grillo. It’s whip-cracked straight at the flag. Well, almost. It lands ten feet to the left of the pin, and he’ll have a very good look at eagle from there. The putt’s a terrible misread, though, sent out to the left, never coming back. Still, that’s a birdie, he’s out in 32 strokes, and he’s two clear at the top. Meanwhile Robert Streb is also very much in the New York groove. He lashes another iron to gimme distance, this time at 15. A third birdie in five holes.  -8: Grillo (9*)-6: Stenson (F), Walker (7)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F), Sullivan (5), Streb (6*)  And with that, I’ll hand you over to Nick Miller for a little while. Back soon!  Andy Sullivan is on a roll: he flicks his tee shot at 4 pin high to six feet. He’ll have a little left-to-right downhill tickler for back-to-back birdies. In it goes! And he’s on a roll in a wider sense, having tied for 23rd at the US Open and 12th at the Open. It’s an upward trajectory all right. Well, he’s tied for fourth here at -5. Meanwhile Robert Streb has started strongly, with birdie at 11 and now another at 14, having sent his approach stone dead. He’s -4. And bogey for Ross Fisher at 11, which drops him to -3 and takes him off this ...  -7: Grillo (8*)-6: Stenson (F), Walker (7)-5: Kaymer (F), Reed (F), Sullivan (4)-4: Streb (5*)  Bother for the leader Grillo down 17. He’s always chasing par after a poor drive, and ends up in a tangled lie to the left of the green in three, and shortsided. He flops into the centre of the green, but that’s left him a 20-foot par saver. No bother! He gently strokes it into the cup, one of those that’s always going in from the second it leaves his putter. He stays at -7. Birdie at 3 for Andy Sullivan, who moves to -4. And Billy Hurley III has just knocked in Birdie IV in VI holes at XV. He chips in from the rough and the former Marine is -2!  Mickelson, McIlroy and Day pepper the flag at 4. Well, not quite pepper. A light seasoning. But all three with makeable birdie chances from 15 feet. Day is up first. He’s got a tricky left-to-right curler. He reads the line perfectly, but just doesn’t hit it. Mickelson’s has a slight tilt taking it off to the right. Pair of pars. But McIlroy rolls his fairly straight one into the cup. A proper clatter. Very confident! Where’s this Rory been for the last 18 months? Anyway, he’s back to +3. If he can get something going, well, it’s a big ask, but you never know.
Hole-by-hole report: Robert Streb shot a wonderfully controlled 63, while Jason Day carded seven birdies in eight holes, on a day of low scoring at a placid Baltusrol. Scott Murray was watching.