On May 16th, 2026, freezing 25 mph winds and brutal pin placements at Aronimink wreaked havoc on the PGA Championship field, leaving Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy as the surprise 36-hole co-leaders at -4.
THE CARNAGE AT ARONIMINK
- Freezing low-50s temperatures and relentless 25 mph winds turned Round 2 into an absolute survival test, pushing the cutline to +4 and leaving surprise co-leaders Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy atop the leaderboard.
- Dustin Johnson summed up the grind perfectly, claiming the wind was "blowing one hundred," while local Chris Gotterup fired a tournament-low 65 despite noting some pins "did not even look like they were on the green."
- 21-year-old Aldrich Potgieter fired a brilliant 70 to sit just one back at -3, narrowly missing Tiger Woods' 1997 record for the youngest 36-hole major leader.
SCHEFFLER'S GRIND & BRYSON'S BUST
- Scottie Scheffler battled to a 71 to stay in the hunt at -2, while Bryson DeChambeau suffered a career-worst missed cut at +7 amid struggles with his single-length irons, LIV investor meetings, and YouTube commitments.
- Scheffler called the setup the "hardest set of pin locations" since Oakmont, comparing the 14th hole's pin to a "microphone," while Bryson's coach Dana Dahlquist insisted they need "nothing drastic" to fix his swing.
- CBS's Johnson Wagner didn't hold back on Bryson, heavily criticizing his inability to play the wind and the awkwardness of using 6-iron length wedges on Aronimink's uneven lies.
CUTLINE DRAMA & BOUNCE BACKS
- The +4 cutline provided incredible late-round theater. Justin Thomas fought officials over pace-of-play during his 69, while Rory McIlroy blasted a 344-yard drive en route to a bounce-back 67 to safely reach the weekend.
- JT fired back at rules officials during his round, asking "what is time par" when dealing with 25 mph gusts.
- Shane Lowry nearly threw his weekend away by topping a 164-yard tee shot into the water on 17, sweating it out to land exactly on the +4 number.
Quick Hits
Justin Rose's miraculous 76-foot chip-in eagle on the par-5 9th to make the cut • Rickie Fowler's clutch 60-foot birdie bomb on 17 to survive at +1 • Scottie Scheffler's absurd 80-foot par save on the 14th hole
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