ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was a day of survival.
It was a day of fighting.
It was a day of disappointment.
It was a day of desperate rallies.
At the end of the day, it’s a PGA Championship that, halfway complete, is completely up for grabs with a three-way tie at the top between Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland, all at 5-under.
Close behind are Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Suh, who are two strokes back at 3-under. Brooks Koepka and Callum Tarren are 2-under. Justin Rose and Taylor Pendrith are both 1-under and round out the only nine players among the field of 156 who are under par.
Evidence of how difficult Oak Hill has been playing through 36 holes is this: In the last 10 PGA Championships, the average number of players under par through the second round is 36.
The man to watch is Scheffler, whose consistency is as uncanny as it is remarkable. Scheffler, ranked No. 2 in the world, has finished in the top 12 of the last 13 tournaments he has played, winning two (Phoenix Open and Players Championship) with seven top-5 finishes. The 26-year-old Texan by way of North Jersey is always lurking on leaderboards.
“I find myself comfortable in these situations,’’ Scheffler said. “These are the positions I want to be in. I want to be near the lead. I don’t want to be in 30th place or going home. I’m proud of how I did the first few days, and I’m excited to be in a good position going into the weekend.
“I did a good job of grinding today. I had some nice up-and-downs and kept the course in front of me for the most part. Didn’t hit as many fairways as I would hope to. Still, to shoot 2-under, especially on a day where the rough got really wet and it was really tough to play out of, to post a number today was good, solid golf.’’
So, too, did Hovland, who’s trying for his first major championship win after a number of so-so performances in them.
“These tournaments are what you dream about winning and you practice so hard to play in,’’ Hovland said. “I haven’t done great in the majors. I’ve had some nice top-15 finishes and stuff like that, but I haven’t quite been in contention. I think that’s been because I’ve just been a little bit young and stupid, just going after some pins that I’m not supposed to go for. You just can’t do that in major championship golf. You just have to wear out center of the green. If that putter gets hot, you can make some birdies.’’
Koepka, who has won two PGA Championships, played solid golf, too, posting the low round of the day with a 4-under 66 after a 2-over 72 in the first round.
“A lot better,’’ Koepka described his Friday, compared to Thursday. “I felt more comfortable with the putter. My ball-striking [Thursday] was as bad as I’d seen it in a long time. Happy to shoot under par and get back into the mix. I just hate not being I contention. I hate losing more than I like winning.’’
Rory McIlroy, who never has gotten going all week, somehow kept himself close. He shot a 1-under 69 after his opening-round 71, and is merely five shots back.
Conners has been basking in the love he has gotten from a number of Canadian fans who made the drive.
“It’s been a pretty special week so far,’’ he said. “I think being so close to Canada there’s a lot of Canadian fans out here. They’re cheering me on. That definitely feels good. It puts a smile on my face.’’
Though Scheffler, Conners, Hovland and others were vying to get to the top of the leaderboard, some stars, such as defending champion Justin Thomas, world No. 1 Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth, who needs a PGA Championship to complete a career Grand Slam, battled to the end to stay for the weekend.
Both Thomas, a two-time PGA winner, and Spieth had to make knee-knocker putts on their final hole to make the cut at 5-over. Rahm followed his opening-round 76 with a 68 on Friday and is 4-over.
“It was a fight,’’ said Thomas, who looked utterly relieved as he walked off 18. “Tiger [Woods] has always said it, I’ve always said it, you’ve got to give yourself a chance and anything can happen. And on this golf course, I gave myself a chance, so see if we can do something crazy this weekend.’’
David Duval, a former No. 1-ranked player and major winner who’s now an ESPN analyst, said it best as the likes of Thomas and Spieth fought to make the cut.
“If you’re not playing tomorrow,’’ Duval said, “You can’t win the tournament.’’
