Overview
- After Friday’s second round, Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy shared the lead at 4 under, with the gap from lead to cut just eight shots, tying a PGA Championship record first set in 2006.
- Saturday’s calmer, warmer conditions and more accessible hole locations produced a scoring burst, with early starters cashing in and Rory McIlroy firing a 66 to move within one of the lead before the late wave began.
- Defending champion Scottie Scheffler slipped to 2 under with a Friday 71 yet stayed in range, and he called several hole locations the toughest he has seen on tour, describing some pins as “absurd.”
- The leaderboard remains unusually congested, with major winners such as Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and others within a few shots, while notable names including Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood missed the cut.
- Aronimink is hosting its first major since 1962 on restored, sloped greens that have funneled approach shots away from flags, a setup that, combined with shifting weather, has compressed scoring and fueled debate over course philosophy at majors.