Friday, Round 2

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA

"This is the hardest set of pin locations that I've seen since I've been on TOUR, and that includes U.S. Opens, that includes Oakmont. I did ask, I asked Fooch, who caddies for Justin Rose. He's been around a long time -- and I asked Teddy too -- have you seen anything like this before? They said maybe Shinnecock is the only place they have seen that has pins that could compare to this." - Scottie Scheffler on round two's hole locations.

It was a wild Friday at the PGA Championship. Aronimink continues to challenge the best players in the world. Wind and cold weather were the theme, today's round summary along with observations are listed below. I won't be alone this weekend in Philadelphia. John Haslbauer will be joining me on Saturday and Sunday. Double RTL coverage at the season's second major championship!

Round 2 summary:

• Leaders: -4, Alex Smalley (67-69), Maverick McNealy (69-67)
  • There are 21 players under par after 36-holes.
• Scoring average:
  • (Rd 2: +2.61, 2025: +1.42, 2024: +0.05, 2023: +2.82, 2022: +2.60, 2021: +3.52)
  • First nine scoring average: +0.54, back nine: +2.06 (+1.52)
  • Morning wave: +2.88 (+0.56), afternoon wave: +2.32
  • Hardest hole: #10 +0.42, easiest hole: #9 -0.28
  • The Field was well 407 strokes over par today with 9 eagles, 354 birdies, 620 bogeys, and 74 double bogeys or worse!
• Strokes gained T2G leaders through two rounds:
  • Min Woo Lee, Maverick McNealy, Corey Conners, Max Greyserman, Ludvig Åberg, Kurt Kitayama, and Patrick Cantlay
• Betting favorites after Round 2:
  • Scheffler (+340), Young (+950), McNealy (+1175), Åberg (+1200), Rahm (+1325), Matsuyama (+1325)
• Conditions: High of 67 degrees, wind blowing 15-16 mph on average, again out of the Northwest, with gust well into the 20s practically all day.

Observations:

Between the lines...

• The field of 156 players was reduced to 82 competitors after the 36-hole cut. Everyone is within eight shots of the lead!
• "When it wasn't windy, I mean, you're playing the practice rounds and every pin's in the middle of the green, so it looks easy and feels easier than it always is. But, yeah, I was watching the coverage yesterday, and they were like, I can't believe the scores are this high. And then you see guys pulling 5-woods on par-3s and it's like, yeah, I mean, like, no one's going to be -- there's going to be a birdie maybe for the day on a hole where you're hitting 5-wood into a par-3." - Chris Gotterup after shooting a tournament low 65 today commenting on the difficulty of the course.
• 14 out of the last 15 PGA Championships, the winner was inside the top 7 and ties at the end of 36-holes. The outlier was Collin Morikawa, who was T-25 after 36 holes at TPC Harding Park in 2020.
• "Yeah, um, I was -- the only thing I would say is, I think a bunched leaderboard like this, I think it's a sign of not a great setup, I think when it's as bunched as it is, because it hasn't really enabled anyone to separate themselves. It's like, you know, it's easy to make a ton of pars, hard to make birdies, and not that it's hard to make bogey, but it feels like bogey's the worst score you're going to shoot on any one hole." - Rory McIlroy, great quote on scoring.
• Scottie Scheffler has been in the top 10 after 36-holes 13 times in his career. He went on to win four times, two of those wins were the 2025 PGA Championship, and the 2025 Open Championship.
• "I think the thing that's hardest to see is that every hole location's on a crown. From TV everything looks kind of flat, but you get up there and everything's on a crown. If you miss the putt right, it breaks right. You miss a putt left, it breaks left. Lag putting's different -- difficult because you're going through ridges, there's competing slopes, so is the hill going to win or is the little mound going to win?" - Maverick McNealy, an excellent putter, commenting on the greens.
• Aronimink shows its teeth. Despite playing at 7,238 yards on Friday, short by today’s standards and 111 yards shorter than Thursday, AGC played astoundingly difficult. The morning wave scoring average was 72.88, and the afternoon was 72.33. It’s a perfect scenario as we head into the weekend, with the PGA in complete control. If they want to water the greens, place some pins in bowls, or cut the rough, they can, and we could see some low scores. I, for one, hope they embrace the current conditions, even if the players whine. The leaderboard is jammed together, and the greens have been the star of the show! (Joe)
• Location, Location, Location: Scottie Scheffler commented after his second round that these are the most tucked and inaccessible pins he's ever seen on TOUR. The result? A leaderboard that lacks separation for the second consecutive day. Thirty-six players are within six shots of the lead as we head to the weekend. If the PGA of America’s hole locations continue to stretch the limits of these oversized greens, the formula to separate will be proximity, not GIRs, and putting from long range. (John)
• Giddy-Up Gotti: Chris Gotterup fired the low round of the day, out of the more difficult wave, gaining +7.5 strokes on the field to the tune of a tournament low 65. The New Jersey native has once again thrust himself into contention, seeking his third victory of 2026. He won’t back down or be intimidated by the moment, and he’s shown the ability to close the deal when he’s in form. In the last two tournaments in which Gotterup shot the low round of the day during a round (Scottish Open and WM Phoenix Open), he won both. (Joe)
• Moving Day: Pay close attention to the tee boxes and hole locations released this evening. Aronimink can play as hard (or as easy) as they choose to set it up. We know there is a forward tee box that has yet to be used on Hole 13, which would transform the hole from a 383-yard positional par 4 to a drivable birdie opportunity. This is not a U.S. Open, so I expect the PGA to extend an olive branch and set up some more scoreable tee boxes and hole locations on moving day. (John)

Live Betting - PGA Championship

Saturday card: Young under 69.5 (+106 DK) Gotterup under 70.5 (+102 DK) C. Conners over N. Taylor (-115 BM)

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