PGA Championship Round 2: Scheffler Battles Back as McIlroy Cards 74 and Matsuyama Charges at Aronimink

Scheffler's nightmare start and recovery

Scottie Scheffler came into Friday at three under par, sharing the overnight lead with six other players following a composed opening 67.⁴⁸ The early holes on Friday were far less kind. Scheffler made bogeys on three of his first four holes, sliding back toward the cut line and drawing unwanted attention for a player who had arrived at Aronimink as the heavy favourite to add a second major title to his collection.¹⁷

The world number one had not hit a single fairway in five attempts through his first eight holes of the day — a remarkable stat for any tour professional, let alone one of Scheffler's calibre — but gradually found his game as the round progressed.⁷ A tee shot to two feet on the par-three 17th gave him his first birdie of the day and moved him back to one under for the championship, two shots off the lead at that point in proceedings.⁷¹

McIlroy struggles — major drought continues

For Rory McIlroy, Friday's 74 was a significant setback to his hopes of ending a major championship drought that has stretched back to his US Open victory in 2011.²⁶ McIlroy made four consecutive bogeys at one stage during his second round, a run that drained any momentum built from a solid Thursday performance and left him scrambling to make the weekend cut.¹⁵

The Northern Irishman has come agonisingly close on multiple occasions in recent years — losing playoffs, finding water on closing holes, and building leads he has failed to convert — and another stumble in round two at Aronimink will only intensify the scrutiny that follows him into every major.⁶⁹ Whether McIlroy makes the cut will be one of the weekend's early sub-narratives before the final rounds decide who lifts the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.²

Matsuyama fires 67 to share the lead

While the marquee names struggled, Hideki Matsuyama delivered the round of the morning with a flawless 67, making four birdies and just one bogey on the sixth hole.⁵³ The Japanese star, who won the Masters in 2021 to become the first Japanese man to win a major championship, moved to three under par for the tournament and into a share of the clubhouse lead at the time of writing.⁵

Matsuyama's ballstriking has been exceptional this week and Aronimink's premium on accuracy off the tee suits his methodical, controlled game.³⁹ Alex Smalley also made a charge during the morning wave, reaching five under par as he made the turn before the afternoon scoring conditions became clear, putting him briefly at the summit of the leaderboard.¹⁵ The cut line is still being established as play continues through the afternoon, but with such a bunched field, the battle for weekend spots is intense at every level of the draw.⁸¹⁰

Aronimink and the challenge it presents

Aronimink Golf Club is hosting the PGA Championship for the first time since 1962 — a 64-year wait that has been eagerly anticipated by the golf world and by Philadelphia-area fans who filled the grandstands on Thursday in record numbers for a PGA Championship opening round.⁹¹⁰ The course, a Donald Ross design from 1928, rewards accurate iron play and punishes players who miss fairways, as the morning's scoring demonstrated.⁸⁴ The weekend rounds on Saturday and Sunday will determine who among the packed leaderboard can sustain their game under the growing pressure of a major's closing stages.³⁶