PGA Championship: Scheffler closes gap as Aronimink setup keeps field bunched
Scottie Scheffler sits at 2-under par, trailing leaders McNealy and Smalley, while high-profile names including Bryson DeChambeau miss the cut amid glacial pace of play.
The second round of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, concluded with a tightly bunched field, leaving the tournament wide open for the weekend. The PGA of America’s challenging pin placements contributed to a slow pace of play, with rounds exceeding five and a half hours, and resulted in a leader score of only 4-under par. The field remains wide-open, with 27 players within four shots of the lead, including seven former major winners.
Scottie Scheffler, despite early struggles with his driver and putting, sits at 2-under par in striking distance of leaders McNealy and Smalley. Scheffler missed the first six fairways off the tee on Friday and required 32 putts, four more than in the opening round, losing nearly two strokes on the greens. However, he recovered to hit seven of the last eight fairways and carded a second-round 71, keeping him in contention for the Wanamaker Trophy.
Conversely, several high-profile players, including Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and Viktor Hovland, missed the cut or struggled significantly, marking a notable departure from recent form for some competitors. DeChambeau finished at 7-over par after a second-round 71, marking his first time missing the cut in back-to-back majors since 2017. McIlroy and Hovland were among those who failed to advance, while Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, and Adam Scott also missed the cut.
Ludvig Åberg is at 2-under par, having birdied four of his last six holes, and is gaining more than four strokes on approach. Jason Day and Jon Rahm are at 1-under par, while Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith are at even par. Chris Gotterup shot a 65 on Friday, proving that low scores are possible despite the difficult conditions, though the overall leaderboard suggests that scoring will remain a challenge.
The weekend rounds are expected to remain highly competitive, with no clear separation at the top. The difficulty of the setup has drawn mixed reactions, with Scheffler calling the pins the hardest he has ever seen, while McIlroy suggested the tight leaderboard indicates a setup that has not enabled anyone to separate themselves. As the weather is set to warm up, players will look to adjust their strategies to navigate the manufactured greens and rapid surfaces.
