File photo of Sahith Theegala who has quietly gone about his business at the 106th PGA Championship in Kentucky amid all the drama. Image courtesy PGA Tour/Getty Images.
By Rahul Banerji
On a day off-field drama almost upstaged the golf, Tokyo Olympic champion Xander Scheuffele kept his nose ahead at the 106th PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.
Tiger Woods failed to make the cut along with long-time rival Phil Mickelson. The LIV Golf boys made telling progress
And world number one Scottie Scheffler began his day in handcuffs but ended it three strokes behind the clubhouse leader after 36 holes.
Spending time in a police holding cell and having your mug shot taken is not the best preparation for a golf major but the tournament favourite set it all aside for a 5 under par 66 and a tie for fourth place.
It sent out the sort of signal none of Scheffler’s competitors would have looked forward to and while 36 holes still remain in the event, the Masters champion has shown his focus is still very much on the Wanamaker Trophy.
After his record-setting 62 on Thursday, Schauffele had a more sedate second round with a 3 under 68 that included seven straight pars (12 under 130) to finish the day a stroke ahead of Collin Morikawa (66-65).
Morikawa, a two-time major winner could have shared the lead with five birdies on the trot but a closing bogey ensured he led third placed Indian-American star Sahith Theegala (65-67) by one.
Chasing pack
Scheffler (67-66) shared fourth place with Belgium’s Thomas Detry (66-67), Mark Hubbard (65-68) and Bryson DeChambeau (68-65) on 9 under 133 with defending champion Brooks Koepka (67-68) tied for 12th on 7 under 135.
DeChambeau, South African Dean Burmester (68-65) and Koepka were the best of the 16-strong LIV Golf brigade of whom 11 made the cut at 141 (1 under par) into the money rounds.
The others going through were Lucas Herbert (6 under), Cameron Smith (4 under), Patrick Reed (3 under), Tyrrell Hatton and Martin Kaymer (2 under), and Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch making it on the number.
“I feel like my head is still spinning,” Scheffler said after his second round. “I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me.
“I started going through my routine and tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today. Fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.”
Chaotic situation
Scheffler added that it had been a “chaotic situation” and he never intended to disregard the police instructions. “A big misunderstanding,” he said.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I feel for them,” he said of the victim’s family. “My situation will get handled.
“I’ve kept myself in the tournament now with a pretty chaotic day, so I’m going to go from here and focus on getting some rest and recovery and get ready for a grind the last two days.”
Added the rejuvenated Morikawa, “I know I still have it in me, and that’s what’s exciting. After Augusta, it sucked to finish like that and it sucked to lose to Scottie, but at the end of the day, I knew I had three more majors coming up.”
With the cut applied at 141, it was the lowest number in the PGA Championship, below the level par line in 1995 at Riviera, in 2006 at Medinah and in 2018 at Bellerive.
Hideki Matsuyama was the lead Asian in the field on 7 under 135 (70-65), while Joohyung Kim (66-71) lost his overnight top-five placing and dropped to tied 22nd.
Friday was only the 13th time Tiger Woods missed the cut as a professional in major championships. Before Friday, he had made just one triple bogey in 22 PGA Championship appearances. This time, he had two on the same day (hole numbers 2 and 4).
Also read: Scheffler arrest eclipses Scheuffele’s day one heroics at Valhalla
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