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Here are a few names to think of when we consider the chances of the co-leaders, Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley, this weekend: Johnattan Vegas, Matt Jones, Robert Streb, Carl Pettersson, Tim Herron \u2013 they\u2019ve all led, or co-led, this championship at halfway and drifted away over the final 36 holes.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Beware Scottie Scheffler this weekend. A statement of the bleeding obvious, you might mutter, and with some justification. But get this: 29 of his last 32 third and fourth round scores have been sub-70. Moreover, in 14 of those 16 tournaments, he logged two sub-70 scores at the weekend. If he maintains that record he\u2019ll put pressure on everyone else in the top 20.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Maverick McNealy on his rise to the top of the leaderboard: \u201cHard golf course, fun test, but a long time to be switched on. I played four a half hours very good golf and an hour not so great. This is one course where I can contend without hitting fairways. I hope to hit more fairways this weekend, though.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The back nine has mostly been sloppy by Jon Rahm. But he closes out with a delicious back foot chip to confirm his par that leaves him -1 for the championship. Rory McIlroy played an average 8-iron into the green and has a 40-foot birdie putt. It was a nice line yet leaves a testy little par putt. Jordan Spieth has played the hole best of the trio and he has 11 feet for birdie to hit the weekend on level-par, but it only brushes the hole. He looks close and, while he\u2019s twitched every bit as much as we\u2019d expect him to, he also looks under control. Now for the McIlroy par putt and in it pops. A 67 for +1 for the tournament.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ludvig \u00c5berg on opening rounds of 66-72: \u201cCompared to yesterday, I did most things better. I was hitting more fairways, I was hitting it closer, and I was making more putts. We knew it was going to be a day of patience with some of those pins. The wind was up early in our round. It died down, which made it a little bit easier. But still a difficult golf course, and I\u2019m pleased with my patience.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Maverick McNealy ties Alex Smalley for the halfway lead<\/p>\n A fine effort by the Californian to make it two unheralded pacesetters in this second major championship of the year. That said, big names linger close behind, including Scottie Scheffler who is just two shots back of the lead.<\/p>\n -4: Smalley (F), McNealy (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n To Maverick McNealy on the par-five 9th. He\u2019s found rough from the tee and also with his second shot, but he\u2019s still got a 13 feet for birdie and the solo lead. He\u2019s an excellent putter, one of the best, but the wind has left his sails in the last hour and it never looks close.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A magnificent 57 feet and 3 inch birdie putt at 17 pulls up two inches short for Jordan Spieth. Now Rory McIlroy has a go from 33 feet and it rests near the hole for par. Finally, from 30 feet, Jon Rahm, and it\u2019s a cosy two putt for par. As you were.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau finished with three straight birdies. But it\u2019s not enough to get him into the weekend. He completes 36 holes in +7. A tough week and it\u2019s not been the easiest year, of course. Decisions to be made.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Min Woo Lee has been asked if a win this week would be good for his family. His sister Minjee is already a multiple major winner. His reply was lovely: \u201cIt is tough. You win one, but you got to win three more to overtake the sister. Still a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n To the business end of the par-five 16th hole. Jordan Spieth\u2019s eagle putt stays up, but he taps in for birdie. He\u2019s now +1 for the week. Rory McIlroy has a swift 11 foot birdie putt to get back to level-par for the championship \u2026 it was a little tentative and slips past. Now Jon Rahm has seven feet for his birdie \u2026 it lips out! Not a lot of energy in the group after that trio of first putts and they\u2019ll be frustrated heading to the 17th tee.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jordan Spieth is yet to scratch a par breaker on his card today. He\u2019s made 12 pars and three bogeys. But a superb approach to the par-5 16th should change that. He\u2019s left himself 10 feet for eagle.<\/p>\n Harris English has completed a second round of 67 to start the weekend on -2 for the championship. He was tied second behind Scottie Scheffler in this championship last year and then second behind Scheffler in the Open.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Maverick McNealy\u2019s tee shot at the par-3 8th came to rest up against a cushion of first cut grass. He used the toe of his putter to progress it, and it didn\u2019t work out too well. It left 12 feet for the par and he missed it. He drops back to -4 for the week, back in a tie for the lead with Alex Smalley.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm was looking quite chipper when he got to -2 for the round on the 11th. It\u2019s been downhill ever since, though. He saved par at 12 after finding trouble. But has now made bogey at both 13 and 15. And, having missed right with a few tee shots, he now hooks his tee shot at 16 into heavy rough.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We had a big clue that something special had happened with a huge roar out on the course. A long Rory McIlroy birdie putt? No. A huge Min Woo Lee try? No. So it must be Rickie Fowler\u2019s long birdie try at 17?!?! Oh yes! From 9 feet and it gets him to +1 for the week.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s going to be a huge weekend for Alex Smalley and he knows it. \u201cI\u2019m certainly not one that\u2019s super loud or boisterous, I try to stay laid back,\u201d he told the press. \u201cI don\u2019t like being in the spotlight a whole lot, so I\u2019m still trying to get used to playing in front of large groups of people. My first couple years on tour, I kind of struggled with that. It can be a little overwhelming. I realise that there are probably people who don\u2019t know who I am, and that\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lots of chatter from the commentary team about likely conditions at the weekend. After the chilly conditions so far this week, it is forecast to heat up and the wind will continue to blow. Those two factors should contribute to fast fairways and faster greens.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018The Ludvig \u00c5berg Move\u2019 sounds a little like a Len Deighton rip-off spy novel. In reality, he\u2019s just made his fourth birdie in five holes at the par-five 16th. He\u2019s -4 for the round and -3 for the championship. Smooth swinging and box fresh, he\u2019s right in the hunt.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.36 EDT<\/p>\n Maverick McNealy\u2019s magic touch has left him. A three putt at 6 has seen him slip back to -5 for the week.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always been tickled that his Going for the Green percentages are low. In short, that means he isn\u2019t a very gung ho golfer. In fact, he\u2019s rather calculating. I like to think that somewhere his parents are shaking their heads, disappointed that he\u2019s not lived up to their hopes and dreams for him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n William Simpson is backing me up on the Andrew Coltart obsession with Garrick Higgo\u2019s clumsy timekeeping. He emails: \u201cHe\u2019s very grumpy about it. Why does it matter so much to him?\u201d Quite.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Stephan Jaeger has 12 feet for birdie on the 9th, his final hole of the day. It would be lovely for him to make it. But also neat if he made par instead because it would be his 18th of the second round. He\u2019s a busy little fellow with rather neat and short paces.<\/p>\n The putt doesn\u2019t drop so it\u2019s 18 pars for Jaeger! He hits the weekend on -3 for the championship. It\u2019s his 13th major start and he\u2019s in good shape to register a first top 20 finish.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Andrew Coltart on commentary slips his final dagger of the week into the back of Garrick Higgo. He\u2019s got himself in a terrible tiswas about Higgo missing his tee time yesterday. Higgo has finished the week on +5 and is going to miss the cut by the two shots he was penalised because of his daft mistake. Coltart seems to think some vengeful golfing gods got involved. His obsession has been quite peculiar.<\/p>\n Garrick Higgo, more like Grrr-ick Higgo. Photograph: Richard Heathcote\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.49 EDT<\/p>\n The updated leaderboard now that Maverick McNealy is stretching clear \u2013 and Si Woo Kim is repeating what he did on Friday in last year\u2019s PGA Championship in sneaking onto the front page.<\/p>\n -6: McNealy (14*) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Another birdie from Maverick McNealy, this time from eight feet at the 5th. He\u2019s now -5 for the round and -6 for the championship. He\u2019s two clear of the field and has opportunities to come on the front nine.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A move from Sweden\u2019s Ludvig \u00c5berg. He was level-par through 11 holes, but his body language suggested he was doing worse than that. He\u2019s now made three birdies on the bounce. He\u2019s -3 for the day, -1 for the championship and bouncier.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jon Rahm has followed one terrible tee shot with a poor one. This time, he found heavy rough and has only been able to thrash the ball into a fairway bunker. Rory McIlroy was in the fairway and has found a different bunker to Rahm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aldrich Potgieter is taking positive thoughts from finishing bogey-bogey to lose the lead. \u201cSleeping on the lead is not always good,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s mentally draining for a week like this where it\u2019s so big. So I think being in a couple shots back puts me in a position where I can look for a low round instead of defending.\u201d He then referenced his victory in the Rocket Classic last summer when he found sleeping on the lead tough, struggled early in his final round, but then composed himself.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A bold strike on the 12th green from Rory McIlroy and his 10 foot birdie putt drops. He\u2019s now +1 for the championship and has red numbers in his crosshairs. He has a genuine chance to get himself in contention. He backs it up with a solid iron from the 13th tee. Playing partner Jon Rahm completes his par saving exercise from off the green at 12 to make amends for that dodgy drive.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Stephan Jaeger has pencilled 16 pars on his card today. Neat and tidy stuff, but he has the tricky 17 and 18 to come. He remains as he started the day on -3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Rahm has found his ball. Wyndham Clark helped him find it because it actually hit his foot when he was on the 16th tee. The lie was fine and there were no trees around Rahm, but he\u2019s missed the green with his approach.<\/p>\n Jon Rahm looks a bit cheesed off. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.52 EDT<\/p>\n And Puig on his playing partner through 36 holes, Aldrich Potgieter: \u201cIt was awesome. He\u2019s a really talented player. He hits it really far. I think I hit it pretty far, but he\u2019s definitely longer than me. He played unbelievable golf today and yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n David Puig on his week: \u201cI get up every day for weeks and days like today. I\u2019m really excited about the weekend. I\u2019ve been getting a little better year after year, and I definitely got to this major championship as best prepared as ever. Really excited to have a late tee time on a Saturday. I\u2019ll give my best and hopefully it\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve no idea where that went,\u201d says Jon Rahm after his tee shot at 12 flies miles right. His divot was before the ball. That\u2019s not going to improve the pace of play either.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.51 EDT<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy had a 54 foot birdie putt at 11 \u2013 and he fancied that it was going in when it was halfway there. A little tilt, a little move, and it was on track, but it pulls up centimetres short.<\/p>\n Jon Rahm is a lot closer with his approach. 13 feet for his birdie and it drops. He\u2019s no -3 and right in the mix.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s David Puig has made birdies at 16 and 18 to join the group on -2. The LIV 24-year-old looks set to record his best-ever major championship performance. He\u2019s played five of them and has a best of tied 39th in the 2023 US Open.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n How is Aldrich Potgieter playing 18? It\u2019s been a bit of a trial. He lashed his drive 331 yards into the wind, but straight into a fairway bunker. His second shot escaped the sand but clipped a tree and became stuck in the rough, some 56 yards short of the green. The pitch ran through the green, and he could only chip close. A bogey-bogey finish to slip back to -3. If he doesn\u2019t over-concern himself with that finish, he can contend this weekend, but he will also have to cope with a situation unlike anything he\u2019s experienced before.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It feels like Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm reached the 10th tee on Wednesday. They\u2019ve finally reached the 11th tee after making pars. Wayne Riley is a little giddy: \u201cThe wind is down, just a one club breeze, this back nine is easier now, there is a chance here for them to make inroads.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A new leader! Maverick McNealy has started his second nine \u2013 the easier front nine \u2013 with two birdies to jump to -5. With conditions getting colder but flat, he has a great opportunity to build a gap on the field.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is snail\u2019s pace,\u201d sighs Paul McGinley on television. Rory McIlroy has had to wait a long time to play into the 10th green and it is perhaps no surprise that the approach lacks sparkle. Jon Rahm, for all his length off the tee, cannot find the putting surface. Nick Dougherty notes that the group was due to finish midnight UK time but are on track to squeeze home just before 1am.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Simon Carter emails: \u201cHow is Adam Scott faring on his 99th consecutive major championship start?\u201d It\u2019s not been a good week for him, I\u2019m afraid Simon. Rounds of 72-76 have left him +8 and with no hope of playing at the weekend.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It remains a very tight leaderboard. There are now 25 players within four shots of the leaders.<\/p>\n -4: Smalley (F), Potgieter (F), McNealy (10*) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Play is slow and the marquee group has spent a lot of time on the 10th tee. When Jon Rahm finally unleashes his tee shot, it catches the slope and bounds down the fairway. A neat 356 yards. Rory McIlroy\u2019s effort clattered into a tree, bounced out, catches the slope and is recorded as 343 yards. Jordan Spieth thrashes his tee shot right into a nasty bunker.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Maverick McNealy makes birdie at the 1st to creep up to -4 alongside Alex Smalley \u2013 and also now Aldrich Potgieter who three putts the 17th green for bogey.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n More Bryson DeChambeau woe. He misses the green at the 10th, his first chip fails to find the green, but then \u2026 some good news \u2013 he pops the second chip in the hole! He\u2019s +9 for the week with eight holes to play. Another frustrating week for him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Wondering where Aldrich Potgieter gets his power from? He credits rugby and wrestling, which were his favoured sports as a child. He\u2019s also hit the gym this season and been able to keep his clubhead speed while becoming leaner and stronger.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth group have hit the par-five 9th hole. Spieth makes par and stays even for the week. McIlroy\u2019s eight foot birdie putt slips by. He stays at +2. Ram has six feet for birdie \u2026 and he doesn\u2019t make it either. He stays -2.<\/p>\n Up ahead, the leader Aldrich Potgieter found rough from the tee and with his second at the par-five 16th. He has to accept a par. He\u2019s three solid swings from a great halfway position.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sahith Theegala hit the turn two shots off the lead. He\u2019s not going to the 11th tee in that state, alas. His tee shot found sand. His second shot disappeared. Really! It was lost. He took a drop in the sand, biffed the ball down the fairway, his fifth shot has left him 16 feet for a double bogey, he missed it and cards a triple bogey 7. Unfortunate, maybe, but the shot he lost was poor. Television speeds up its footage of him looking for the second shot and Nick Dougherty describes it as \u201cBenny Hill style\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aldrich Potgieter doesn\u2019t need help finding distance from the tee. He led the Average Driving Distance stats on last year\u2019s PGA Tour<\/a> and is doing so this year, too. Now his drive on the 542-yard par-four 15th finds a path and scoots along it like a ball bearing down a drain pipe. It eventually kicks off it into rough. The ball travelled 333 yards in total.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A quiet start for Jon Rahm. Seven birdies and now he drains a 25 foot putt for birdie at 8. He\u2019s -2 for the championship and right in the mix here. Last year, he briefly led this championship in the final round and afterwards said: \u201cThe first time I\u2019ve been in position to win a major and haven\u2019t done it. I\u2019ll get over it.\u201d Might he properly get over it this weekend?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s more from Scottie Scheffler about the difficulty of Aronimink: \u201cMost of the pins today were, I mean, kind of absurd. Like the one on 14 was probably the hardest pin that I\u2019ve seen in a long time just because, I mean, there\u2019s literally just like a spine and they\u2019re like, oh, we\u2019ll just put the pin right on top of it. And you\u2019re like, all right, well, I\u2019ll see what I can do \u2026 You know, it\u2019s just, challenging \u2026 This is the hardest set of pin locations that I\u2019ve seen since I\u2019ve been on tour, and that includes US Opens, that includes Oakmont. I did ask, I asked Fooch, who caddies for Justin Rose. He\u2019s been around a long time – and I asked my caddie Teddy too – have you seen anything like this before? They said maybe Shinnecock is the only place they have seen that has pins that could compare to this.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ouch. Min Woo Lee has just missed a tiddler. He had three feet for par at the 9th and didn\u2019t catch much of the hole. He falls back to -2 for the championship.<\/p>\n -5: Potgieter (13) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler on his day: \u201cJust started getting more comfortable after being shocked by how difficult it was early on … did a good job of battling back \u2026 we\u2019ll see how far back I am at the end of the day \u2026 these are the hardest set of pins I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood finished his 36 holes on +5 earlier. He\u2019s set to miss the weekend, and it carries on from an unhappy Masters. \u201cA long way from being good enough to contend,\u201d he said then. \u201cHit it in the wrong place, short game was awful, didn\u2019t putt the way I did in the first two rounds and my scoring this weekend was dreadful.\u201d He\u2019s set to go nine major championships since his last top 10. He will be desperate to find form ASAP because the Open takes place on his home soil in Southport, at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood putts on the 10th green. Photograph: Matt Slocum\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.04 EDT<\/p>\n Josh Heppell emails about Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s struggles: \u201cWonder if when he climbs down into that bunker he is genuinely grateful to have a wedge the length of a 7-iron.\u201d Yesterday, there was footage of a shot he played right in front of a bunker camera \u2013 and his longer-than-usual sand wedge did look very uncomfortable and odd. You\u2019d have to think he\u2019s had plenty of opportunity to change if necessary, but who knows, Josh? Meanwhile, more bother for him as a chip from the side of the 8th green has motored through the green to more rough.<\/p>\n No bother for Aldrich Potgieter. His chip span backwards to 22 feet \u2026 and he drained it for par!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aldrich Potgieter has found his ball. It is close to the out of bounds and in a tricky, but not nasty spot. He bunts it forward just short of the green. He\u2019d hoped his drive would end up there so he\u2019d have an up and down for birdie. Instead, he needs one for par.<\/p>\n Aldrich Potgieter hits from the rough on the 13th fairway. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.06 EDT<\/p>\n The par-four 13th is playing 383 yards. Aldrich Potgieter pulls driver. The TV commentators are a little wary of that choice. And they might have been right to be. It\u2019s hurtled towards the out of bounds, but no word yet. To be continued \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy makes his par at 6. His approach left him a devilish long putt over a shoulder. When that settled, he had nearly seven feet for par. The putt wobbled around the hole, but it dropped. A good par save.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Remember Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s problems at Augusta National? There\u2019s a clear case of deja vu going on. His first chip at 7 found sand. His sand shot left him 26 feet for bogey. His first putt didn\u2019t require a tap in. He finally records a double bogey 6. He\u2019s +9 for the championship and he\u2019ll need to play the next 11 holes in -4 at least to play this weekend.<\/p>\n
-3: Matsuyama (F), Gotterup (F), Potgieter (F), Jaeger (F), Lee (F), Greyserman (F)
-2: C Young (F), Thomas (F), Scheffler (F), Puig (F), English (F), SW Kim (F), \u00c5berg (F)<\/p>\n
-4: Smalley (F),
-3: Matsuyama (F), Gotterup (F), Potgieter (F), Jaeger (17*), Lee (15)
-2: C Young (F), Thomas (F), Scheffler (F), Puig (F), Cantlay (15), SW Kim (15), Rahm (13)<\/p>\n
-3: Matsuyama (F), Gotterup (F), Jaeger (13*)
-2: C Young (F), Thomas (F), Scheffler (F), Lee (11), Greyserman (10*), Rahm (9)<\/p>\n
-4: Smalley (F)
-3: Matsuyama (F), Gotterup (F), Jaeger (9*), Theegala (9), McNealy (7*)
-2: C Young (F), Thomas (F), Scheffler (F), Day (10), Lee (9), Greyserman (7*)<\/p>\n