NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Not many players imagined Aronimink Golf Club and its wild, wavy greens would be so tough on scoring at the PGA Championship.
Even fewer would have predicted Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley to be atop the leaderboard Friday with the year’s second major tournament for men’s golf halfway through 72 holes of regulation play.
What to expect the rest of the weekend? Pretty much anything.
“Anyone who makes the cut, they’ve got to feel they have a shot in the tournament,” said two-time reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who found himself only five shots behind with 29 players — including Scottie Scheffler and six other major champions — ahead of him.
Two long days at the suburban Philadelphia course produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years. The 15 players separated by two shots made it the biggest logjam going into a weekend at any men’s major since 2002.