Aldrich Potgieter was out in front at 5 under as the second round of the 2026 PGA Championship continued Friday at Aronimink Golf Club, while Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau were trying to stay alive long enough to make the cut.
Chris Gotterup posted the best round of the tournament so far, a 65 that left him two shots behind Potgieter and kept him in the chase. Hideki Matsuyama, who opened with a 70 yesterday, added a 3-under-par 67 and joined Alex Smalley, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee and Ryo Hisatsune at 3 under, giving the leaderboard a crowded look just behind the lone leader.
The numbers around them told the story of a demanding course. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion entering this week, shot a 1-over 71 in the second round and sat at 2 under. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed were among those one shot off the lead, while Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Scheffler and Justin Thomas were all on one under. Tyrrell Hatton, Ludvig Åberg, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa were at 2 over, and the list of players needing a quick turnaround included Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood at 5 over, McIlroy, Justin Rose, Bob MacIntyre and Luke Donald at 4 over, Bryson DeChambeau, Russell Henley and J.J. Spaun at 6 over, Viktor Hovland at 8 over, and Max Homa at 11 over.
Mark Geddes of England was last in the field in 156th at 9 over, a reminder of how quickly Aronimink was separating the contenders from the rest. Conditions were difficult, and the cut line pressure was already swallowing some of the sport’s biggest names as the field thinned. A golf ball taking a strange bounce added another moment of chaos when Chandler Blanchet drove into a golf cart on the right side of No. 3, then called over a rules official and got free relief after saying, "please don't hit anyone." Blanchet’s scare fit the day: tense, unpredictable and full of chances for one mistake to undo a round.
For Potgieter, the task now is simpler to state than to complete: protect the lead while the names behind him keep pressing. With several players at 3 under and Scheffler still close enough to pounce, Friday’s second round has left the championship wide open, but Potgieter is the one setting the pace.
