Jhonattan Vegas tops a congested leaderboard at the halfway stage of the PGA Championship, as Rory McIlroy stuttered into the weekend despite a costly finish to his second round at Quail Hollow.
Vegas followed his opening-round 64 with a one-under 70 on Friday morning, setting the clubhouse target at eight under despite double bogeying his final hole, with the Venezuelan two clear of Matt Fitzpatrick, Matthieu Pavon and Si Woo Kim.
Kim fired one of the longest holes-in-one ever recorded in major history during his joint-low round-of-the-day 64 and Pavon charged into contention with a bogey-free 65, with Fitzpatrick primed completing the trio tied second after successive 68s.
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Si Woo Kim holed an incredible 252-yard ace on the sixth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is three off the pace alongside Max Homa, following a three-under 68, as playing partners McIlroy – chasing back-to-back major titles – and Xander Schauffele both had to dig deep over their closing holes to make the cut.
Grand Slam champion McIlroy bogeyed the last two holes of an eventful second-round 69, lifting him to one over, with Schauffele also finishing on the same total to extend his run of consecutive cuts made to 64.
McIlroy stutters through as Scheffler closes
Masters champion McIlroy failed to live up to his pre-tournament status during a three-over 74 on Thursday, at a venue he already has four career wins at, leaving him starting his second round on Friday afternoon outside of the projected cut.
McIlroy got up and down from a greenside bunker to scramble a par at the first and rolled in from 12 feet to birdie the next, with the Northern Irishman holing from 10 feet to avoid dropping a shot at the third.
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The highs and lows of Rory McIlroy’s eventful second-round 69 at the PGA Championship, where he limped into the weekend
The five-time major champion ended a run of pars by taking advantage of the par-five seventh and added another from five feet at the next, with McIlroy starting his back nine with a tap-in birdie at the par-five 10th.
McIlroy was back sweating on the cut mark after back-to-back bogeys over his next two holes, before successive birdies at the driveable 14th and par-five 15th seemingly gave him breathing space heading into the closing ‘Green Mile’ stretch of holes.
McIlroy is looking to claim a sixth major title and pull level with Sir Nick Faldo’s all-time tally
He missed a putt from three feet to save par at the par-three 17th then saw a wild tee shot at the last narrowly avoid the creek, having clattered off a hospitality stand, with McIlroy two-putting from 40 feet for the bogey required to avoid an early exit.
Scheffler mixed four birdies with a lone bogey to card a three-under 68, while Schauffele birdied two of his last seven holes to salvage a level-par 71 and continue his run of making every cut since the 2022 Masters.
Rory McIlroy played alongside Scottie Scheffler over the first two days of the PGA Championship
“I like the position I’m in going into the weekend,” Scheffler said. “Obviously I wish I was a little bit further up the leaderboard. I think I got a lot out of my game the last couple days. As the round went on, my swing continued to get better and I was able to hit some key shots down the stretch to give myself some opportunities.”
Vegas ahead as big names miss the cut
Vegas enjoyed a huge slice of luck when his tee shot on the 17th hit a rake and kicked onto the putting surface, helping him make par and head to the final hole four clear, only to see his pitch from a greenside bunker run off the green and lead to a closing double bogey.
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Jhonattan Vegas had a lucky escape on the par-three 17th hole at Quail Hollow during the second round of the PGA Championship when his ball hit a greenside rake!
“I would say it was a very solid round,” Vegas said. “Started a little bit shaky the first three holes, making some birdies and making some birdies on the back nine. Every chance you get to lead a major and play with the lead is never easy. So I feel proud of a solid round today.”
Homa threatened a record-low major round after four birdies and a kick-in eagle saw him race to the turn in 30, with a seven-under 64 equalling the lowest round of the day and leaving him tied-fifth with Scheffler.
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Max Homa shot a seven-under par 64 during his second round of the PGA Championship, threatening the lowest round in men’s major history
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is part of the logjam on four under and US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is a further stroke back, with 26 players heading into the weekend within five strokes of the lead.
Jordan Spieth’s bid to complete the Grand Slam extends another year after the three-time major champion missed the cut by a shot, despite a second-round 68, while Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas – the last winner of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in 2017 – also missing the cut.
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