US PGA Championship 2024: Scottie Scheffler hits second-round 66 after arrest – live | US PGA

Bob McIntyre disappeared from the TV coverage and the frame tracker went silent as well. He is -4 for the round, -9 for the tournament, in a tie for fifth and playing the par-five 7th. His approach was a bit trashy and he didn’t find the green, but it’s all a bit confusing.

Brooks Koepka had a miserable few minutes. A birdie on 15 gave him a chance to close in on the leader, but he responded with back-to-back bogeys. He is now -6 for the week.

Several big names will not be playing this weekend. They include Ludwig Aberg, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Dustin Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Sungjae Im and Wyndham Clarke. All of them missed the cut.

Earlier today, Mark from Spain emailed asking if Tiger Woods should drop out. He shot 72-77 but refused to drop after that. “I need to play more,” he said. “Unfortunately, I just haven’t played a lot of tournaments and also not a lot of tournaments in my schedule. Hopefully everything will come together somehow in my training at home and I’ll be ready for the (US Open at) Pinehurst.”

Eagle 3 on the 18th hole for Justin Rose. That leaves the Englishman -5 and in the top 30 heading into the weekend. No less than 10 of his last 12 championship performances have reaped top 30 finishes.

In theory, Xander Schauffele could join the top of the rankings and even pass it. But he is all but certain to be a halfway leader or co-leader at the 2024 PGA Championship, adding a second round of 68 to his opening 62 for a 12-under 130 total.

-12: Schaufele (F)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-10: Tegala (14)
-9: Detry (W), Scheffler (W), Hubbard (W), McIntyre (15)

One last chance for Xander Schauffele at the par-5 18th. But will he reject it? He was -4 through 10 holes today, got scary on 11 and has parred every hole since. Chasers will be elated and even more so after he drags his approach to 18 into thick grass and can only poke the ball onto the putting surface. He’s got about 18 feet for birdie … and he stands up almost immediately. Another pair. Um.

In contrast to Friday’s late feeling of fatigue, Brooks Koepka is making a move. The defending champion opened the front nine with a bogey and the back nine with a double bogey, but he also birdied seven, the last on 15, to move to -4 for the round and -8 for the tournament.

That really didn’t happen for Michael Block this year. The unlikely star of last year’s championship said goodbye after rounds of 76-73 (+7).

Some big moments in a hurry. Brooks Koepka holes 9-foot par to stay at -7, Rory McIlroy takes a rare look at birdie, Xander Schaufele bogeys from 12 feet for birdie on 17, Bryson DeChambeau loses momentum with bogey (drops to -7) , Victor Hovland chips close from thick rough, Sahit Tigala faces a battle for par on 14. At the end of a long day, it’s beginning to feel like a test of patience.

-12: Schaufele (17)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-10: Tegala (12)
-9: Detry (W), Scheffler (W), Hubbard (W), McIntyre (14)

That’s not happening for Rory McIlroy. He’s +1 to 14, -4 for the championship and doesn’t really seem to be turning things around.

Colin Montgomery, meanwhile, was a little disappointed earlier today. A clean double kettle and an icy look from a distance.

England’s Matt Wallace is enjoying a great day. He is -6 to 16 and -7 for the tournament. He has sneaky good form on Jack Nicklaus designs. He won the 2018 BMW International Open at Gut Larchenhof in Germany and was fourth at the 2020 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. He was also third in this event at Bethpage Black in 2019.

Xander Schauffele has three more holes to add to his lead. He looked a little hesitant on the back nine and Paul McGinley on Sky Sports reiterated his theory that he had a great opportunity to seize the moment – and didn’t take it. On 16, he has a 23-foot birdie putt that never runs on the hole. Any chance of putting distance between himself and his closest rivals?

Behind him, Sahith Theegala birdies the difficult 12th.

Kentucky’s Justin Thomas breaks deadlock with birdie at 15. After playing the first seven holes in -3, he added seven pars but returned to the course and -6 for the tournament. It would be fantastic for the tournament to have JT running on the top end this weekend.

Bob McIntyre plays even better: another birdie, this time on the 4th, and he’s on the front page of the leaderboard.

-12: Schaufele (15)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-9: Detry (W), Scheffler (W), Hubbard (W), McIntyre (13), Tigala (11), Finau (11)

Sahith Theegala is a kind of recreation of Botham’s Ashes. His second shot on 10 veered left, clattering into a feed concession. I remind you of Richie Beno’s “Don’t even bother looking for this.” “He went into the pastry shop and came out again.” There is – Tegala had a slump.

Double bogey for Rory McIlroy on 12. He found a bunker on the side of the green, couldn’t run the green and then it all went haywire. “That’s what we see all too often from McIlroy,” sighs Paul McGinley on Sky Sports. McIlroy needs a big finish and Xander Schaufele to stop making birdies. The good news? the leader just missed a break opportunity from 6 feet on 14.

Victor Hovland really looks sharp again. Another birdie, this time from 18 feet on the par-three 11th, and he’s at -5 for the round and -8 for the week.

Fourth birdie for Sahith Theegala. He makes the turn at -4 and is now alone in third (but just hit a very wild drive at 10).

-12: Schaufele (11)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-10: Teegala (9)
-9: Detry (F), Scheffler (F), Hubbard (F)

The name Valhalla comes from Norse mythology. Perfect for Victor Hovland, you might be thinking. The Norwegian has a curious recent history. He finished in the top five at the 2022 Open, 2023 Masters and 2023 PGA Championship. He was top 20 at last year’s US Open and Open. He won the Tour Championship and was a Ryder Cup star. Then he changed coaches and completely lost form. Now he’s back at it and seems happier (as well as hitting the ball better). Just birdied 10, is -4 for the day and -7 for the tournament.

Great by Bob McIntyre. He knocks his approach from 188 yards to the 1st to 6 feet and holes it for birdie. He is now -3 for the round, -8 for the week and tied for seventh. An ardent polish player, he treats Valhalla as a match against Kingussie. Regular correspondent Simon McMahon is a big fan of Bob’s, saying his new Florida base is “no Oban”.

Here’s Ewan Murray on the “stunning nature of Friday the 106th PGA of the United States championship”.

Sahith Theegala is strong in hunting. The American said after the Masters: “A major golf championship is just so much fun. It’s hard and I love hard golf.” He’s proving it this week (even though this week isn’t the toughest major golf championship the field will encounter). He is -3 for the day through 8 and is now third.

-12: Schaufele (11)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-9: Detry (F), Scheffler (F), Hubbard (F), Tigala (8)

Tomorrow’s headline.

Scotsman Bob McIntyre is going well. He has traded three birdies and one bogey on the back nine. He’s -7 for the week and right in the top 10. If he’s still there by the end of Sunday, that will go a long way toward getting his card back for next season, which would be a relief for him. He’s not the biggest fan of a) not being at home in Oban and b) being in America.

Super saver from Rory McIlroy. He was making a real mess on the 9th until he holed a par putt in the middle of the hole from 25 feet. It makes the reversal at -1 for the day and -6 for the week. It needs a good back nine.

David from Mortlake asked yesterday about stellar major championship performances held while a golfer was injured. It was in response to a post about Sahith Theegala’s recently sprained ribs (he’s -8 for the week by the way). I’ve been trying to think of examples ever since and was just hit with the bleeding obvious: Tiger Woods winning the 2008 US Open with a broken leg. Robert Carlson was his playing partner that week, and the sound of his foot popping when Woods hit shots was so disturbing that the Swede took himself and his caddy to the bar afterwards for a whiskey. They were the most expensive he had ever bought, but he considered them healing.

Claire asks: “Yesterday you said the Belgian Thomas Detry had connections to Cornwall – what are they?!?” It’s true, Claire. His wife’s family have a holiday home in the county and he plays golf at St Enodoc. John Betjeman is buried in the churchyard in the middle of the field. Detry’s attachment to Betjemann’s rhyming couplets is unknown.

We have a new solo leader. Xander Schauffele continues to pile on the breakers, now adding a 16-foot birdie on the 9th to turn -3 for the day.

-12: Schaufele (9)
-11: Morikawa (F)
-9: Detry (F), Scheffler (F), Hubbard (F)
-8: Eckroat (F), Finau (5), Theegala (5)

Rory McIlroy needs a spark. Level par for the day, -5 for the week and six shots back of the lead, but the par-five 7th could provide the spark… and it does. He gets up and down from 56 yards short of the green for birdie. He is in the red for the day.

Hattrick of birdies for Bryson DeChambeau at 3, 4 and 5. He has a tough 6th coming up, but then the 7th will be vulnerable to his big hit. It is -6 for the week and could make a significant move on Friday.

The tiniest hint of a smile in the middle of Tiger Woods’ goatee. It was a brutal round for him – he was +6 for the round despite a birdie on 7 – but he almost aced the 8th. Instead, he taps in from 4 inches for back-to-back birdies.

Xander Schauffele joins Collin Morikawa at the top. A birdie on the par-five 7th moves him to -2 for the round and -11 for the week. Tidy stuff and, although the action feels a bit lulled at the moment, the conditions are very playable. The rain from earlier is gone and the pitch is soft, vulnerable to quality balls.

-11: Morikawa (F), Schaufele (7)
-9: Detry (F), Scheffler (F), Hubbard (F)
-8: Eckroat (F), Finau (5), Theegala (5)

Patrick emails: “How did Aaron Rye do today?” Good question Patrick. The Englishman made 15 pars and three birdies to shoot a second 68 of the week. He is -6 and is currently T10th. I had a fun fact about him yesterday, and here’s another one: When he was 15, he hit 207 consecutive shots from 10 feet, setting a world record.

These numbers explain just how good Scotty Scheffler has been over the past three seasons. The gap between him and the three who are next best is absurd.

Mixed fortunes for Brooks Koepka. Through four holes, he has missed a 4-foot par putt and a 5-foot birdie putt, but has drained a 7-foot birdie putt and a 62-footer. However, he is -1 for the day and -5 for the tournament.

Tony Finau had a smooth start to his second round. He is -2 to 3 and is now tied for 6th.

-11: Morikawa (F)
-10: Schaufele (6)
-9: Detry (F), Scheffler (F), Hubbard (F)
-8: Croat (F), Finau (3)