LOUISVILLE, Ky. The only complaint about Scottie Scheffler’s recent dominance of the golf scene was that maybe he was too normal and maybe he wasn’t exciting enough to capture the attention of millions of people week after week.
For nine thrilling hours on Day 2 of a PGA Championship that began with Scheffler in a jail cell and ended with his name near the top of the leaderboard, the world’s best player delivered a reality TV performance more riveting than any miniseries or episode from Netflix. of law & Order.”
“I definitely never imagined going to jail,” Scheffler said after landing there, when he disobeyed a police officer directing traffic after a fatal crash halted pre-dawn traffic. “And I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my game times, that’s for sure.”
Scheffler managed to get from prison to the golf course on time, then shot a 5-under par 66 to finish the day in fourth place, just three strokes behind leader Xander Schauffele.
“I feel like my head is still spinning,” he admitted after the round. “I really can’t explain what happened this morning.”
How the Masters champion recovers from one of the most unexpected days of his life, not to mention one of the most bizarre days in sport, will be the story to watch over the weekend.
Some other angles to look for in Valhalla in the coming days:
AHEAD
Schauffele has a chance to go head-to-head after posting a 3-under 68 to reach 12-under and take the lead from Collin Morikawa heading into the weekend. Schauffele, winless in two years, hardly looked rattled as he lost a one-off lead to Rory McIlroy at Wells Fargo last week.
“You’re upset you didn’t win, or I was upset I didn’t win,” said Schauffele, who has a chance to become the first golfer to lead every PGA round from start to finish since Brooks Koepka in 2019. “But I knew I was playing really well.”
COLLIN CAN?
Schauffele may not have minded finishing near the top of the leaderboard. The same can’t be said for Collin Morikawa, who faded late in last month’s final round at Augusta National and settled for a tie for third behind Scheffler.
He made five consecutive birdies on Friday to reach 11 under and put himself in position for a third major with his wins at the 2020 PGA and 2021 British Open.
“It sucked to end up like that (at the Masters) and it sucked to lose to Scottie, but at the end of the day, I knew I had three more majors coming up and to prepare for that and make things as sharp as possible and just come out strong.” ,” said Morikawa. “It’s obviously good to start like this.”
SOFT AND DRY
The rain and cold temperatures made Valhalla a chore for the first two days, and the results showed it.
With a handful of players returning Saturday to finish the second round, the cut line was set to be 1 or 2 under par. The only two previous major championships where the cut line was below average were the 1990 and 2006 British Open.
Temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend. Will the scores go with them?
LIST OF TOP ELEVEN
Among those four shots off the lead who are vying for their first major: Sahith Theegala, Thomas Detry, Mark Hubbard, Austin Eckroat, Victor Hovland and Tony Finau.
In a group with one more shot are Koepka, who overcame a double bogey on No. 10 to shoot 68, and Robery MacIntyre, who saved par on the par-5 seventh after hitting his third shot on the artificial grass in a hospitality tent near the green .
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AP National Writer Will Graves contributed.
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AP Golf:
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