NEWTOWN SQUARE – The first two rounds of the 108th PGA Championship challenged the field with overnight rain and wet conditions for the morning cycle of Thursday’s tournament opener and cold, blustery conditions for the Friday morning crew. In both cases, PGA of America pin placements made the course even tougher.
That second round of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club concluded with Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy holding the co-lead at 4 under par after 36 holes.
The punitive rough, brutal morning winds, and what World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler described as “kind of absurd” pin locations kept the leaderboard exceptionally tight. Despite a tough three-bogey start, Smalley rebounded with a 69, while McNealy battled to shoot (67). A massive pack of heavy hitters remains firmly in the hunt, including Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Gotterup just one shot back at 3 under. Meanwhile, Scheffler ground out a 71 to join two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas and Cameron Young at 2 under, and Rory McIlroy fired a clean 67 to safely make the weekend at 1 over par.
A historic 58 players sit within six shots of the lead, creating the most crowded 36-hole leaderboard in tournament history. The difficult scoring conditions ultimately caused the cut line to settle at 4 over par, sending 73 players packing. There were moments of high drama late in the afternoon on the cut line loop. Former champion Justin Rose spectacularly kept his weekend hopes alive by chipping in for an eagle on his final hole to finish at 3 over, while Michael Kim holed a lengthy eagle putt on his final shot to safely clear the line at the exact same mark.
The stringent (+4) cut line claimed an incredibly distinguished group of elite players, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, who missed his second consecutive major cut after finishing at 7 over despite a late flurry of three straight birdies. Joining him on the wrong side of the line was World No. 6 Tommy Fleetwood (+5), whose tournament unraveled after making only two birdies all week. Other top-tier stars who failed to advance included former major champions Viktor Hovland (+6), Wyndham Clark (+5), Keegan Bradley (+6), and Adam Scott (+8). Highly ranked contenders like Russell Henley (+5), Tyrrell Hatton (+6), and Max Homa (+12) also fell victim to Aronimink’s relentless defense, making for a star-studded list of early exits.
2026 PGA Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes
T1 Alex Smalley -4 (69)
T1 Maverick McNealy (-4) (67)
T3 Hideki Matsuyama (-3) (67)
T3 Aldrich Potgieter (-3) (72)
T3 Chris Gotterup (-3) (65)
T3 Stephan Jaeger (-3) (70)
T3 Min Woo Lee (-3) (69)
T3 Max Greyserman (-3) (69)
Full Leaderboard (link)