HAVEN, Wis. — After signing his scorecard on Friday, Hiroshi Iwata started walking toward the clubhouse. He looked surprised when he was redirected to the media center. Iwata, who is making his first major start in the United States, did not draw much notice during his opening five-over-par 77, but in the second round of the P.G.A. Championship he came tantalizingly close to making history.
Iwata, a two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, came to the par-4 18th hole needing a birdie to become the first man to shoot 62 in a major. His approach to Whistling Straits’ 520-yard finishing hole landed short of the green, and he missed holing a tricky pitch shot by inches.