Breven Honda
A wild morning on top of early precipitation was the story on Friday in the second round of the PGA Championship. Despite a 90-minute delay, that was one thing that the field had to overcome on cut day as a soft course ensued as a result of the rain. At the end of play on Friday, the projected cut line was at 1-under par at the time of suspension. Second round action will conclude Saturday morning.
Xander Schauffele, who recorded a 9-under 62 in Thursday’s first round, went into the clubhouse Friday with a one-shot lead at 13-under par over Collin Morikawa.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the second round of the 106th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
Winner: Collin Morikawa
Looking for his second PGA Championship and third career major, Collin Morikawa recorded a 6-under 65 in Friday’s second round to go the weekend with the lead at the time he finished his round. Morikawa recorded five straight birdies from holes No. 4-8 to fuel his round and reach 11-under par midway through the second major of 2024. In addition, his streak of five consecutive birdies marks his longest streak in a major championship round.
Related: Where Collin Morikawa victory stands in the all-time PGA Championship winner’s list
Winner: PGA Championship 2nd round leader: Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele began his round in second place as a result of Morikawa’s performance. Schauffele, who led by three strokes entering the day and four ahead of Morikawa, recorded a bogey-free 3-under 32 on the front nine, including making a 16-foot birdie putt to regain the lead at 12-under par. A birdie on the par-5 10th gave him back-to-back birdies before giving that stroke back on the ensuing hole for his first bogey of the tournament. Despite recording seven straight pars to end his round, the 30-year-old once again has himself in contention heading into the weekend.
Loser: Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark has had a strong 2024 season, highlighted by winning at Pebble Beach, but struggled over the first two days at Valhalla this week as he shot a 4-over 75 through two rounds, including a bogey-double bogey-bogey stretch on holes No. 6-8. When he did get birdies on the scorecard, he would give it back later in the round as he missed the cut for just the third time this season.
Winner: Scottie Scheffler
Despite a wild morning that included being arrested trying to get onto the property at Valhalla Golf Club, Scottie Scheffler did not let that go to his head once he went onto the golf course. The No. 1 player in the world shot a 5-under 66, which included just one bogey on the day that came early at the par-3 11th when he missed his five-foot putt for par. Outside of that bogey, he shot bogey-free, including making six birdies to enter the weekend at 9-under par.
Loser: Francesco Molinari
Francesco Molinari had himself a bad back nine to put him on the wrong side of the cut line. Double bogeys on the par-4 16th and the par-4 17th hurt his chances of making the cut and contending for his second major title. The difference in the 2018 Open Champion making double bogeys on back-to-back holes was a result of not finding the fairway.
Winner: Sebastian Soderberg
Any time a player can make a hole-in-one, it will always be a memory of a lifetime. Whether it is in the upper echelon of golf tournaments, like a major tournament, such as the PGA Championship, or just a round with friends, hitting an ace is a tough but unforgettable experience. For Sebastian Soderberg, he was able to have that memory on the par-3 eighth from 169 yards. He took his 8-iron out and made the fourth ace at Valhalla during a PGA Championship, as the previous three came in 1996. His ace helped him shoot 4-under par Friday to get inside the cut line.
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Winner: Min Woo Lee
Something that is just below celebratory to a hole-in-one is when a player chips in. Players like Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Sahith Theegala did that Thursday. On Friday, Min Woo Lee chipped in from off the green, not once, not twice, but three times as his caddie, Stuart Davidson, did not have to pull out the putter. Lee’s three chip-ins helped him score 5-under par for the day and get to 4-under for the tournament.
Loser: Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods struggled early and was unable to come back as he was 7-over par through the first five holes to get to 8-over par. Woods triple-bogeyed the par-4 second and the par-4 fourth with a bogey on the par-3 third early. The key thing to both of his triple bogeys was that he was not able to find the green in regulation on either approach shot. Woods finished Friday at 6-over 77 and 7-over for the tournament to miss the cut.
Winner: Austin Eckroat
Austin Eckroat is one of those players who has that momentum coming into the PGA Championship with one missed cut in his last nine starts, which includes his victory at the Cognizant Classic in March. Matching his performance from Thursday, he shot another 4-under par to reach 8-under for the tournament and put him inside the top 10 heading into the weekend.
Winner: Braden Shattuck (and maybe) Jeremy Wells and Ben Pollard
We saw last year when a PGA of America Professional had an opportunity to make the cut, they took advantage. Michael Block did the same this year, making a slam dunk hole-in-one in Sunday’s final round. At the time play was suspended Friday evening, there were PGA Professionals in line to make the weekend. Braden Shattuck was safely into the weekend as Ben Pollard was 1-under through 16 holes, and Jeremy Wells was 2-under through 15 holes. There was one other PGA Professional who was one stroke back of the cut line and still on the course.
