Xander Schaufele tops the leaderboard after an uncommon Friday on the PGA Championship, the place Scotty Scheffler stays in competition regardless of being arrested earlier than the second spherical.
Schaufele, who matched the bottom spherical in a males’s main and shot the primary 62 in PGA Championship historical past on the opening day, added a three-under 68 at Valhalla Golf Membership to move into the weekend at 12 beneath and beat Colin Morikawa.
Two-time main winner Morikawa made 5 straight birdies en path to a second-round 65, the bottom rating for the morning wave, which got here after play was delayed 80 minutes by a deadly off-course accident.
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Colin Morikawa took the lead in his second spherical with a shocking blast of 5 birdies
Scheffler was arrested by police after making an attempt to drive into the golf membership in heavy site visitors attributable to the incident. The world primary was detained earlier than being launched in time to publish an outstanding five-under 66 to remain inside three strokes of the chief. .
Sahit Tegala is tied for third at 10 beneath, whereas Scheffler, chasing main titles and his fifth win in six begins, is tied for fourth with Bryson DeChambeau, Mark Hubbard and Thomas Detry.
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Talking after his second spherical on the PGA Championship, Scotty Scheffler detailed his arrest and detention earlier than being launched in time to spend time at Valhalla Golf Membership.
Unimaginable Friday at Valhalla
Hypothesis over whether or not Scheffler would function dominated the early phases when the second spherical lastly acquired beneath method at 8.35am native time (1.35pm BST), whereas Morikawa moved up the leaderboard as he adopted the opening spherical 66 with six lower than 65 .
Morikawa – beginning on the again 9 – birdied the thirteenth and 18th to show round in 34, then made 5 in a row on the fourth to get to 12 beneath earlier than bogeying his closing gap of the day.
“The little run of 5 birdies was me simply enjoying good golf, and typically when the putts fall, that is what occurred,” Morikawa mentioned. “That is the kind of golf I’ll be asking myself over the following two days and 36 holes, simply to remain current and make photographs and execute them.”
Scheffler arrived on the course slightly below an hour earlier than the delayed tee time, going through 4 fees for the sooner incident, though he shook off a rushed begin to combine in six birdies with a solitary bogey.
“I used to be very shocked, to say the least,” Scheffler admitted. “The officer who took me to jail was very good. He was wonderful. We had chat within the automotive, it helped me relax. I used to be by no means offended. I’d say I used to be shaking for about an hour in shock and concern.’
Schaufele – one of many later starters – drained a 40-footer on the par-three second and briefly pulled away from two after three birdies on the four-hole seventh, solely to overlook a five-footer to avoid wasting par on the eleventh and never be capable of add to his quantity for closing the holes.
“If you have not gained a golf event in a few years, you must be fairly constant,” mentioned Schaufele, who equaled the championship scoring document set by Brooks Koepka in 2019. “I am simply affected person and making an attempt to play the perfect golf I can, and steer clear of me.”
Tegala is tied for third after a four-under 67 and Detry is three behind after an excellent eagle on the ultimate gap, with Hubbard briefly holding a share of the lead throughout an eventful spherical that featured six birdies and three bogeys.
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Final yr’s runner-up Victor Howland is 4 lengths behind, whereas Scotland’s Robert McIntyre suffered a bogey end to drop to eleventh, the place defending champion Koepka and England’s Matt Wallace are.
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a primary main in a decade – on the venue the place he final gained the PGA Championship in 2014 – failed as a degree 71 left him seven adrift with Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Jordan Spieth, whereas Tiger Woods missed out lower after six over 77.
Play was suspended on account of darkness at 8:41pm native time (1:41am BST) and the 17 gamers should now return on Saturday morning to finish their rounds. The lower is now set to be one much less, leaving John Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick amongst these lacking from the weekend’s motion.
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