Last year, Scottie Scheffler’s preparation for his second round at the PGA Championship started with him in handcuffs in the back of a Louisville police car.
This time around he strolled into Quail Hollow without attracting the attention of law enforcement and had exactly the day he would have wanted.
There was no chaos and, more importantly, no jailhouse mugshot. Just a round of the typically brilliant golf we’ve come to expect from him.
A three-under par 68 has left the leader, still Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, firmly within Scheffler’s sights and he looks ready to pounce over the weekend.
Scheffler, playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in the most eye-catching group of the first two days, birdied two holes on the front nine and two more on the back.
The only blemish on his scorecard came at the par-3 13th, where his wayward tee shot troubled the spectators on the left side of the green. He had 15 feet to save par but couldn’t convert.
Scottie Scheffler had a better second round at the PGA Championship than last year’s arrest
A three-under 68 has left the leader, Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, within Scheffler’s sights
Scheffler once again played with Rory McIlroy, who endured another difficult day
It seems remarkable that, for all his success on the PGA Tour, Scheffler has still only won two major championships.
He looks primed to add to that over the next two days.
‘I like the position I’m in going into the weekend,’ the American said after his round.
‘Obviously I wish I was a little bit further up the leaderboard. I think I got a lot out of my game the last couple days.
‘I felt like, as the round went on, my swing continued to get better and I was able to hit some key shots down the stretch to give myself some opportunities. I’m looking forward to the weekend.’
Now Scheffler’s job is to hunt down Vegas, who managed to hold onto the lead after round two.
Vegas, who began the day two shots clear and leading a major for the first time in his career, shot a one-under-par 70 to reach eight-under, leaving him two shots clear of Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim.
Elsewhere, Max Homa produced the best major round of his career to move into contention.
Homa, who won the first PGA Tour title of his career at Quail Hollow back in 2019, produced a seven-under-par 64 thanks to a sensational first nine holes that left him tied for fifth with Scheffler and Ryan Gerard.
