PGA Championship Update from Kwazzle Hollow

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The narrative surrounding the PGA Championship at Kwazzle Hollow took some unexpected turns during Friday’s second round.

World No. 1 Scotty Scheffler has steadily climbed up the leaderboard and is now close enough to the lead that he may very well consider himself a favorite to win.

Interestingly, Scheffler isn’t playing at his peak right now, but he sits just three shots behind the leader, who is Jonattan Vegas, at 5 under par.

Rory McIlroy, fresh off his historic Masters win that completed his career grand slam, had a more challenging two days.

He hovered around the cut line for much of Friday, finishing with a 2-under 69, ultimately ending the day at one over to ensure he can continue into the weekend.

McIlroy provided quite a finale on the 18th hole, which has proven tricky this week, leading to more double bogeys here than anywhere else on the course. He needed to play conservatively to make the cut.

After hitting a tee shot from the left side of the fairway, he found himself near a stream and had to punch out into the rough. From there, he managed to chip onto the green and made his putts to secure a spot for the next rounds.

This week poses an intriguing challenge for McIlroy. He recently mentioned that he has achieved nearly all he set out to do in golf, suggesting that anything else is just a bonus.

Still, he insists he remains eager for more success.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele faced a tight race to make the cut as well.

He aimed to maintain the longest active streak of consecutive made cuts, which stands at 63, but ultimately ended up on the wrong side of the cut line, finishing at one over.

In the midst of this, there’s the ongoing story of his pursuit of a PGA Championship title to complete his own grand slam, which has eluded him since his last major win at the 2017 British Open.

After a challenging opening round of 76, Schauffele fought back with a 3-under 68 during the second round.

Despite his efforts, he finished just one shot over the cut line.

Justin Thomas also emerged as a notable storyline, entering the tournament as a favorite, having previously won here in 2017 and recently at the RBC.

Unfortunately, he fell short as well, finishing the 36 holes at three over and missing the cut.