Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, May 15, 2026, 13:59 (EDT)
- Shane Lowry tumbled to 4-over, carding a 76 in his second round—a stark turnaround after starting just one stroke back of the lead.
- Aldrich Potgieter got off to a hot start in his second round, reaching 4-under. Hideki Matsuyama shot a 67 and trails by just one, keeping things crowded atop the board.
- Scottie Scheffler, last year’s winner, stumbled out of the gate Friday, leaving the PGA Championship up for grabs as Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau started pushing to make the cut.
Shane Lowry saw his PGA Championship hopes unravel Friday at Aronimink Golf Club. A tee shot into the water during his second round knocked him out of early contention and left him scrambling to make it past the cut.
Lowry’s opening 68 had put him a shot back after round one, but after carding a 76 on his second loop, he dropped to 4-over. As of press time, ESPN’s live leaderboard pegged the projected cut at 3-over—leaving the Irishman on the wrong side of the line.
That slip proved costly—Aronimink offers almost zero margin for error. When the 108th PGA Championship teed off Friday, 48 players sat within three shots of the lead. By early afternoon, the leaderboard refused to settle, swinging on each hole instead of opening up.
Sky Sports reported that Lowry found the water with his tee shot in the second round, prompting its commentators to describe it as “the worst shot we’ve ever seen from Shane as a pro.” The moment came sharply after his opener, where just a day before, he chipped in for eagle at the par-five ninth to close a 68. Sky Sports
Aldrich Potgieter, who was in that crowded pack of seven first-round leaders, jumped out front at 4-under after just four holes on Friday, ESPN’s leaderboard showed. Matsuyama—winner of the 2021 Masters—carded a 67 to get to 3-under in the clubhouse. He’s tied there with Alex Smalley, Jason Day, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune and several others as play carries on.
Scheffler’s bid to repeat as champion stumbled out of the gate. The world No. 1, according to Reuters, bogeyed three of his opening four holes after teeing off on the back nine, and during that stretch, he found just one fairway. He finally picked up a birdie at the par-three 17th, sticking his tee shot just 22 inches from the hole.
That flipped from Thursday’s story. Scheffler then found 13 of 14 fairways, grabbing a share of the first-round lead at 3-under 67 alongside Potgieter, Jaeger, Lee, Hisatsune, Smalley, and former PGA champion Martin Kaymer. “Definitely the best start I’ve gotten off to this year,” Scheffler said after his round. He also pointed out how “really tight” the board was, calling it “anybody’s tournament.” PGA Championship
McIlroy and DeChambeau entered the afternoon stretch as the high-risk names to watch. McIlroy, fresh off a Masters win, started out with a 74, slipping with four bogeys to close. DeChambeau fired a 76. Heading into Friday’s tee times, both found themselves chasing the projected cut.
“I’m just not driving the ball well enough,” McIlroy told Sky Sports after wrapping up his first round. “I miss it right, and then I want to try to correct it. And then I’ll overdo it, and I’ll miss it left.” Sky Sports
Potgieter, Matsuyama and the rest of Thursday’s pacesetters face the same uncertainty that tripped up Lowry and put the brakes on Scheffler: Aronimink’s not letting much slide—clean scorecards are rare. According to the PGA of America, 33 players finished within two shots of the lead after Round 1, with 48 just three back—both major championship records. So it only takes a single bad swing to dump someone from leaderboard to the brink of the cut in no time.
