Rory McIlroy turned a shaky opening into a live weekend at the PGA Championship on Friday, firing a bogey-free 67 at Aronimink Golf Club to climb back into contention after starting the day outside the projected cut.
McIlroy picked up birdies at the second, fourth and 12th holes, cleaned up the rest of the card and finished the second round on one over par, five behind the halfway leaders. It was a sharp response to his first-round 74, which included a four-bogey closing stretch and left the former champion scrambling just to make sure he would still be around for the weekend.
Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley shared the lead at the halfway stage, while Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, was two shots back after a one-over 71. Chris Gotterup posted the round of the day with a 65, adding another low number to a leaderboard that kept shifting all afternoon.
McIlroy’s recovery mattered because the margin at the cut line had already become narrow and the leaderboard was packed. Eight shots separated the leaders from the cut mark at the halfway stage, and McIlroy was playing alongside Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth in one of the event’s most watched groups. Spieth, still chasing the career Grand Slam, was also five behind the leaders.
The day also thinned the field in a way that sharpened the tournament’s stakes. Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut for a second successive major, a reminder that the championship was already starting to sort itself between those who found scoring and those who did not.
McIlroy sounded encouraged by how quickly the mood can change on a course like this. “I think everyone's got to feel like they have got a chance,” he said after the round. He added that the leaderboard was compressed enough that a run with wedges on the front nine could turn the picture fast, and that at five back he felt he was still in the tournament.
That is the value of Friday at Aronimink: one clean round can erase a bad one, but only if a player is still close enough to matter. McIlroy proved he is, and the rest of the field now has to treat him like a real threat again.
