Rory McIlroy charged back into major contention with an impressive second-round fightback at the PGA Championship, as Scottie Scheffler failed to build on his fast start in Pennsylvania.
McIlroy’s bid for back-to-back major titles became a battle to make the cut after a four-bogey finish to his opening-round 74, only for The Masters champion to bounce back brilliantly with a bogey-free 67 at Aronimink Golf Club.
The world No 2 failed to take advantage of either par-five but posted three birdies to head into the weekend on one over, five behind halfway leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley, leaving McIlroy primed to challenge for a third PGA Championship victory.
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McIlroy shot a blemish-free 67 during his second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club
Chris Gotterup fired a round-of-the-day 65 to sit among a group of five players a shot off the lead, with defending champion Scheffler stuttering a one-over 71 to drop two back in a congested group containing two-time winner Justin Thomas, world No 3 Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg.
Jordan Spieth is five behind as he looks for the elusive major required to complete the career Grand Slam, as Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut for a second successive major despite finishing his round with three consecutive birdies.
McIlroy fights back after slow start
Starting the day outside the projected cut, McIlroy – playing alongside Jon Rahm and Spieth – quickly charged up the leaderboard by following a 13-foot birdie at the second by adding another from seven feet at the fourth.
McIlroy made solid par saves at the sixth and eighth but missed an eight-foot birdie chance at the ninth, with the six-time major champion visibly frustrated after a lengthy wait to play both his tee shot and approach into the par-four 10th.
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McIlroy was left frustrated with slow play during the second round of the PGA Championship as his group was left waiting to tee off on the 10th hole
A par-streak was ended with a 10-foot birdie at the 12th before McIlroy got up and down to save par at the next, with McIlroy closing out blemish-free – after gusting winds and tough greens led to rounds taking over five and a half hours – to head into the weekend inside the top 30.
“I think everyone’s got to feel like they have got a chance,” McIlroy said after his round. It’s bunched, but you get on a run with wedges on that front nine, and you shoot four or five-under, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things. At five back I do feel like I’m right in the tournament.”
McIlroy’s second-round 67 is seven shots better than his opening round
McNealy and Smalley grab shock halfway lead
World No 33 McNealy has only one worldwide top-10 since last year’s FedExCup Playoffs and has never been inside the top 20 at the halfway stage of a major, but grabbed a share of the lead despite a disappointing finish to his second-round 67.
McNealy briefly jumped two ahead after following a hole-out eagle from the bunker at the par-five 16th with three birdies in a five-hole burst from the first, before the American three-putted the sixth and bogeyed the eighth to drop back to four under.
Smalley recovered from starting his second nine with three consecutive bogeys to finish with birdies at the fourth and ninth to post a one-under 69, setting the clubhouse target, with Gotterup’s round-of-the-day lifting him into a five-way share of third.
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Tough conditions at Aronimink made it a battle for some of the players battling to make the cut at the PGA Championship
Stephan Jaeger posted 18 pars to remain on three under and fellow overnight co-leaders Min Woo Lee and Aldrich Potgieter also carded second-round 70s, with Max Greyserman’s final-hole eagle lifting him into the quintet one back.
Scheffler bogeyed three of his opening four holes on a day where he missed the first six fairways and converted less than 50 feet of putts, but finished strongly to remain in the hunt for a fifth major in as many seasons.
Scottie Scheffler described some of the pin placements as ‘absurd’ after his second round
“This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour, and that includes US Opens, that includes Oakmont,” Scheffler said. “It’s difficult to hole putts, especially when you have big slopes and wind and I think that’s why you see the scores so close to par.”
Big names exit despite bunched leaderboard
A stacked leaderboard sees 29 players within four of the halfway lead, with the eight-stroke gap between the leaders and the cut equals the smallest in the tournament’s history.
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Matt Fitzpatrick went from a look at birdie to making a double bogey after an untimely four-putt at the par-three 14th
Jon Rahm is three back as he targets the third leg of the career Grand Slam, with Xander Schauffele, Spieth and Brooks Koepka alongside McIlroy on one over and Matt Fitzpatrick a further shot behind.
Justin Rose chipped in on his final hole to progress on three over and Shane Lowry snuck through on the cut mark, as Tommy Fleetwood (+5), Robert MacIntyre (+5), Viktor Hovland (+6), JJ Spaun (+6), Tyrrell Hatton (+6), Keegan Bradley (+6) joined DeChambeau in missing the cut.
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