PGA Championship: Many names stop, Rory McIlroy and Schauffele have a spectacular escape

Vegas continues to lead, Rory McIlroy and Schauffele escape

Defending champion Xander Schauffele had to work hard to make the cut in the second round of the PGA Championship. With an even par (71 strokes), he finished the first 36 holes with a total score of +1 (143 strokes) - just enough points to advance, and at the same time extend his streak of making the cut to 64 consecutive tournaments.

Schauffele hasn't missed a cut since The Masters in 2022. That's the longest streak on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods' record of 142 consecutive tournaments without a cut from 1998 to 2005.

Schauffele admitted that the second round at Quail Hollow was “heart-stopping,” especially when he fell to +3 after the first few holes. However, a spectacular par save on the par-5 seventh hole after a water hazard, along with two birdies in the final seven holes, kept him alive.

“It was a really tough day for me,” Schauffele said. “Hopefully these will be the worst two laps of the week, and I can do something special at the weekend.”

Rory McIlroy and Schauffele just qualified.

Rory McIlroy’s situation was no easier. The 2025 Masters champion made a spectacular cut, after making bogeys on both of his final holes (17 and 18). However, his round of 69 (-2) was a big step up from his opening day 74, helping him move up 36 places in the rankings to T62 with a total score of +1, tied with Xander Schauffele.

At the top of the leaderboard, Jhonattan Vegas was no longer as explosive as the opening round, but with a 70 (-1) in round 2, he still maintained the top position with a total score of -8. Following closely behind with a difference of 2 strokes are three golfers Si Woo Kim (-7 round 2), Matthieu Pavon (-6), and Matt Fitzpatrick, who maintained a stable performance with two consecutive rounds of 68.

Many stars stop

Of the top 10 golfers in the world's professional golf rankings, six failed to make the cut, including two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas (5th), Ludvig Aberg (6th), Hideki Matsuyama (7th), Russell Henley (8th), Sepp Straka (9th) and Shane Lowry (10th).

Justin Thomas entered the tournament in great form, finishing in the top two in three of his last four tournaments, including a playoff victory at Harbour Town against Andrew Novak to end a three-year title drought. But he bogeyed three of his last four holes, finishing round two with a 72 and a total score of +3 (145).

Matsuyama came to Quail Hollow with a streak of 19 consecutive major cuts, the longest of any player. But he bogeyed the final hole of Round 2 and finished with a total score of +3, two strokes over the cut mark (+1), ending that impressive streak.

Aberg, one of the favorites, opened with a 70 but fell short in the second round with a 75. Straka and Lowry both had rounds of 73-71, missing the cut by one stroke.

Justin Thomas stopped in disappointment.

Jordan Spieth - who is trying to complete his career Grand Slam - despite a remarkable improvement with a 68 (-3) in round 2, 8 strokes better than the opening round, his total score (+2) still stopped him.

The Masters 2025 runner-up Justin Rose also played poorly, finishing the first two rounds with a total score of +9, disappointingly eliminated.

In addition, half of the 16 LIV Golf members participating in this year's tournament were unable to continue after 2 rounds. Among them were many names who had won majors such as: Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer.

Brooks Koepka shot 75-76 through two rounds and failed to make the cut in two consecutive majors in the same year for the first time in his career. He has now gone eight straight majors without a top-10 finish since winning the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. This is the longest title drought of Koepka's career.

Phil Mickelson (54 years old) eliminated himself from the game in the first round with 79 strokes. Although he is known as one of the golfers with the best short game skills in the world, it took him 4 shots to escape the sand trap at hole 12.

Trong Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/pga-championship-nhieu-ten-tuoi-dung-buoc-rory-mcilroy-va-schauffele-thoat-hiem-ngoan-muc-post1743019.tpo