PGA Championship 2023: 3 Instant Reactions to Friday Leaderboard Scores
Corey Conners, Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler sit in a three-way tie atop the 2023 PGA Championship leaderboard after two rounds.
The three players have been consistent at Oak Hill Country Club, which is a characteristic that few golfers displayed on Thursday and Friday amid treacherous conditions.
Conners, Hovland and Scheffler are three of the four players who carded consecutive scores in the 60s in western New York. Justin Suh, who is two shots back of the leaders, is the only other player with two rounds in the 60s.
The trio of leaders possess a two-shot lead over Suh and Bryson DeChambeau going into Saturday. Brooks Koepka is lurking three shots back in a two-way tie with Callum Tarren.
The top of the leaderboard is littered with the sport's biggest names, and so is the bottom, where Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm are among the golfers who barely survived the cut line.
The three previous major champions displayed tremendous fight over their final nine holes on Friday to hang around for the weekend.
Leaders Displayed Remarkable Consistency
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The PGA Championship leaders displayed a remarkable sense of consistency throughout the second round.
Conners, Hovland and Scheffler all posted a combination of 67-68 to finish Friday at five-under. Scheffler and Conners both shot a 67-68, while Hovland recorded his scores in reverse order.
The leading trio stood out on Friday, as the weather wreaked havoc on the most of the players at Oak Hill. Wind gusts caused a ton of high scores in the morning and early afternoon and then rain affected play for parts of the afternoon.
Scheffler, Conners and Hovland combined for 11 birdies and four bogeys on Friday to create some separation between themselves and the rest of the field.
Nine golfers enter the weekend with an under-par score for the tournament. Nine other players sit at even par.
If Scheffler, Conners and Hovland display the same consistency from the first two rounds on Saturday, they could open up a larger lead and trim the number of serious contenders for the Wanamaker Trophy going into the final round.
Previous Major Champions Display Fight to Make Cut
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The drama at the other end of the leaderboard was more captivating than the fight for the lead at points on Friday because of the players who fought to make the cut.
A slew of previous major champions produced some terrific shots to reach five-over or better to make the cut.
Thomas had to rally on the 18th hole to make bogey to only drop back one shot to the cut line and Spieth used a nice up-and-down from the bunker on the 18th green to stay at five-over.
While Thomas and Spieth tried to avoid a massive drop toward the cut line, Rahm needed to rally with a few birdies to stay alive for the weekend,
Rahm birdied the 13th, 14th and 15th holes to put himself safely in front of the cut line. He needed some cushion since he bogeyed the 16th hole to drop to four-over.
Rahm, Spieth and Thomas are part of a very talented group of golfers at four-or-five over. Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith are tied with Rahm, while Phil Mickelson, Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton all sit at five-over with Spieth and Thomas.
The list of players on the edge of the cut line shows how challenging Oak Hill has been for the sport's best players to manage.
The gap is nine or 10 shots to the leaders for those players, and while a win seems out of the question for now, they still have a chance to land a high finish on Sunday if they benefit from the momentum gained from Friday's fights.
Brooks Koepka's Back Nine Surge Put Him in Good Spot to Contend
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Koepka surged into a tie for sixth with a run of five birdies on the back nine.
Koepka sat at two-over after a birdie on the 10th hole and a bogey on the 11th hole.
He rolled in a birdie on the 12th hole and then moved up the leaderboard with birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th holes.
The back-nine surge allowed Koepka to be within striking distance of the leaders from the start of Saturday's third round.
Without the string of birdies, Koepka might have had to push for results early on Saturday to work his way into contention, but instead he is in a comfortable spot where he will not have to take many risks.
Koepka owns the most major victories of any player under par after two rounds, and his winning experience could serve as a vital X-factor as the leaderboard shifts on Saturday.
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