ST. LOUIS - Sirens blared across Bellerive Country Club on Friday afternoon, putting the second round of the PGA Championship on hold and ending a day of low scoring rarely seen in a major tournament.
Gary Woodland set the 36-hole record - for now, anyway - after a round in which his driver wasn't as reliable, he didn't see many putts drop and he didn't hit the ball quite as well as the day before.
"I can live with that," he said after a 4-under-par 66 that put him at 10-under 130, breaking by one the PGA Championship record and tying the 36-hole score for all majors.
All it was good for was a single-stroke lead over Kevin Kisner (64). Two-time reigning U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (63) was third at 8 under, with top-ranked Dustin Johnson (66), Thomas Pieters (66) and Charl Schwartzel (63) in fourth at 7 under with Rickie Fowler, who had eight holes to play.
There were two rounds of 63, one 64 and six 65s, and that was only half of the 156-man field.
Still to be determined was whether Woodland's score even holds up for the midpoint lead. Storms forced a two-hour suspension, and the PGA of America declared the rest of the day a wash when rain pounded the course. Fowler had just birdied the 10th hole.
Tiger Woods had three birdies through seven holes as he tried to get in range.
"I felt I was headed in the right direction," said Woods, who was at 3 under. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day for a lot of us."
The projected cut line was at par, and former Baylor School and Vanderbilt University standout Luke List (70) was 1 over after three birdies and as many bogeys Friday. He missed the cut last year in his first PGA Championship appearance.
The second round was to resume at 7 a.m. Saturday local time. The greens should be slightly smoother, the course slightly longer, the approach unchanged - see flag, aim at flag.
Perhaps it was easy for Woodland not to be overly impressed. He was playing with Kisner, who shot 29 on the back nine and was in the middle of the ninth fairway - his final hole - needing a birdie to become the first player to shoot 62 in the PGA Championship. He came up short of the green, chipped too strong and a made bogey.
Right in front of them was Koepka, who had a 20-foot birdie putt he wanted to make for no other reason than he likes to make birdies. He missed, and only later did Koepka realize it was for a 62.
"My caddie said something walking off," Koepka said. "I didn't even think of it. I've been so in the zone, you don't know where you are."
Instead, he was the 15th player to shoot 63 in the PGA Championship. Charl Schwartzel made it 16 with his eight-birdie round.
No one from the afternoon draw completed more than 12 holes. The plan was to finish the second round, make the cut, then immediately start the third round in threesomes off both tees.
"I feel like we're in a good spot," Fowler said. "But the nice thing about the delay and going back out tomorrow morning, we'll get fresh greens."
Bellerive really had no defense.
Woodland and Kisner played in the same group, and they offered a great example that Bellerive is accommodating to just about any game. Woodland is among the most powerful players in golf. Kisner is not, relying more on a clean hit with his irons and a great short game.
The course is so soft - not so much from Tuesday's rain, but the extreme heat that requires more water on the turf - that every flag is accessible provided players find the ample fairways.
"Greens are receptive, so my 4-iron stops as quick as his 7-iron," Kisner said. "If they were firm, I don't think I would have a chance with the way the greens are situated and the places they're putting the flags. But being receptive, that's my only hope."
Before Woodland, the PGA Championship's 36-hole record was most recently set two years ago by Robert Streb and Jimmy Walker at Baltusrol Golf Club. When Woodland tied the 36-hole record for all majors, he matched Jordan Spieth at the 2015 Masters, Martin Kaymer at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and Brandt Snedeker (Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012) and Nick Faldo (Muirfield in 1992) at the British Open.
Spieth still has hope in his second try at a career Grand Slam. Spieth didn't get under par for the tournament until his seventh hole Friday - the par-3 16th - and he managed to do enough right for a 66 to get within seven shots of the lead.
He has battled with his game all year, and his confidence isn't at its peak. It's the nature of the course that makes him feel he has a farther climb than the seven shots that separate him from Woodland.
"A little frustrated at this place in general," Spieth said. "This course would be phenomenal - and probably is phenomenal - if it's not playing soft. You get away with more. You don't have to be as precise. Personally, I would prefer more difficult and firmer, faster conditions on the greens. Having said that, I would have shot a much higher score yesterday."
Justin Thomas was at 2 under through seven holes as he tries to repeat as champion, while Rory McIlroy was frustrated with all pars in his seven holes. On a day like this, that meant losing ground.
"It's been 16 pars in a row from yesterday to today, so hopefully I can break that run in the morning," McIlroy said.
Woodland, even with the lowest 36-hole score in 60 years of stroke play at the PGA Championship, still had a long way to go. In conditions like Bellerive, no lead was safe.
"I feel safe because I feel safe where my game is," Woodland said. "I'm not too worried with what anyone else is doing out there."