While Scottie Scheffler was unable to get off to a strong start in Pennsylvania, Rory McIlroy returned to the majors with a spectacular comeback in the second round of the PGA Championship.
McIlroy’s bid for back-to-back major titles was in contention after he finished the opening round with a 74 with four bogeys, but the Masters champion bounced back with a bogey-free 67 at Aronimink Golf Club.
World No. 2 McIlroy was unable to capitalize on either par 5, but entered the weekend at 1-over with three birdies to put him five behind halftime leaders Maverick McNeely and Alex Smalley, setting him up for a third PGA Championship victory.
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McIlroy shot a flawless 67 in the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
Chris Gotterup shot a round of 65 to move into a group of five players, one stroke behind the leader, while defending champion Scheffler faltered with a 1-over 71, falling two spots back in a crowded group that included back-to-back champion Justin Thomas, world No. 3 Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludwig Oberg.
Bryson DeChambeau finished the round with three straight birdies but missed out on qualifying for a second straight major, leaving Jordan Spieth five behind in his bid to win the elusive major he needs to complete a career Grand Slam.
McIlroy fights back after slow start
After an unexpected start to the day, McIlroy played alongside Jon Rahm and Spieth with a 13-foot birdie on No. 2, followed by a 7-foot birdie on No. 4 and quickly climbed the leaderboard.
McIlroy made solid par saves on the 6th and 8th, but missed an 8-foot birdie chance on the 9th. The six-time major champion was visibly frustrated after the long wait to play both his tee shot and his approach to the par-4 10th hole.
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McIlroy was left frustrated by slow play during the second round of the PGA Championship as he waited for his group to tee off on the 10th hole.
The par streak was ended with a 10-foot birdie on the 12th, and McIlroy got up to save par on his next at-bat, and despite the round taking more than five and a half hours due to high winds and tough greens, McIlroy finished unscathed and entered the weekend inside the top 30.
“I think everyone should feel like they have a chance,” McIlroy said after the round. You’re bunched up, but you start running with wedges on the front nine and you hit 4 or 5 under and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of things. I feel like we can play in the tournament with a back five.”
McIlroy’s second round 67 was seven strokes better than his first round.
McNealy and Smalley take a shocking lead in midfield.
McNeely, ranked 33rd in the world, has only finished in the world top 10 once since last year’s FedEx Cup playoffs and has never cracked the top 20 at the mid-major stage, but he took a share of the lead despite a disappointing 67 in the second round.
McNeely made a hole-out eagle from the bunker on the par-5 16th hole, and made three birdies in five holes from the first hole, briefly leading by two places, but three putts on the sixth and bogey on the eighth dropped him to 4 under.
Smalley bounced back from three consecutive bogeys on No. 29 and birdied the fourth and ninth for a 1-under 69, achieving his clubhouse goal and moving into a five-way share of third place in Gottarup’s round of the day.
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Difficult conditions at Aronimink made it a tough battle for some players vying for a spot in the PGA Championship.
Stefan Jaeger shot 18 par to remain at 3 under, and overnight co-leaders Min Woo Lee and Aldrich Potgieter also carded second-round 70s, with Max Glaserman’s final-hole eagle putting him one back and emerging into the quintet.
Scheffler missed the fairway on his first six holes and made putts less than 50 feet, resulting in bogeys on three of his first four holes, but his strong performance left him in position to win his fifth major of the season.
Scotty Scheffler called some of the pin placements “ridiculous” after the second round.
“This is the most difficult pin position I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour, including the U.S. Open and Oakmont,” Scheffler said. “It’s hard to hole putts, especially when there’s a big slope or there’s wind. I think that’s why I get scores close to par.”
Big names withdraw despite packed leaderboard
On the stacked leaderboard, 29 players are within four shots of the halftime lead, and the eight-shot difference between the top and the cut is the smallest in tournament history.
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Matt Fitzpatrick missed a four-putt at the wrong time on the par-3 14th hole and hit double bogey when he was aiming for birdie.
Jon Rahm, aiming for his third career Grand Slam, has a back three alongside Xander Schauffele, Spieth and Brooks Koepka, with McIlroy one over and Matt Fitzpatrick one more behind.
Justin Rose chipped in on the final hole to go 3-over, Shane Lowry slipped past the cut mark, and DeChambeau was joined by Tommy Fleetwood (+5), Robert McIntyre (+5), Viktor Hovland (+6), J.J. Spaun (+6), Tyrrell Hatton (+6) and Keegan Bradley (+6) to miss the cut.
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