Because of a nearly two-hour frost delay on Thursday, the second round of the 105th PGA Championship might not finish on Friday (it’ll be close), but this is what we already know about how this tournament could play out at Oak Hill Country Club:
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• After a restoration/redesign that included three brand-new holes, the East Course was going to look considerably different, and boy does it ever. Many fewer trees, but still enough to create obstacles for wayward shots; sizeable runoff areas are wreaking havoc with slight misses while testing players’ ground games; and the rough is plenty deep without being overly penal. (The competitors may argue that one). All this translates into a winning score that may stay in single digits for the fourth time in the last five PGAs.
California teaching pro Michael Block, while shooting an impressive even-par 70, had a stellar observation during his walk-and-talk ESPN interview, dubbing Oak Hill “the baby of Shinnecock and Oakmont.”
• LIV golfers aren’t going away. It’s been posited that maybe the players who bolted for LIV a year ago wouldn’t be competitively sharp when they cross over to the majors. Yet Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed finished in the top eight at the Masters, and the clubhouse leader on Friday morning Bryson DeChambeau (66) as well as Dustin Johnson (67) are well in the mix.
• Oak Hill isn’t yet favoring one strength over another. At five under and heading into the last four holes of his first round on Friday, on-course leader Eric Cole was 69th in strokes gained/off-the-tee and 46th in driving distance, but second in approach and ninth in putting. The clubhouse leader with a four-under 66 was DeChambeau, less bulky but still leading the first-round field in driving distance (347 yards on two measured drives) while also being solid in every other phase. With 67s, Scottie Scheffler (though he overcame missing seven greens) does everything well; Canadian Corey Conners missed half the fairways, but was fourth in putting, and Johnson was surprisingly T35 in driving distance, but putted lights out with a ranking of No. 2 in strokes gained.
• Oak Hill is beating up some very good players, though it could have been far uglier. Xander Schauffele started bogey/double bogey/bogey, but battled back to score 72. Tony Finau stumbled to a 41 on the front, but three straight birdies on the back helped him also get to 72. Rory McIlroy was three over on his front, but recovered for a 71.
And in the biggest stunner of all—World No. 1 Jon Rahm will be scrapping to make the weekend in the second round after an opening 76.
So far, it looks like the course is up to the task, the leaderboard is attractive, and there is still plenty of time for big surprises.
PGA Championship 2023: Latest Updates:
2:44 p.m.: Corey Conners played a lovely low wedge below the trees at the par-5 13th hole from 141 yards out to about 10 feet, then cans the birdie putt to move within one of Scottie Scheffler’s lead. The par 5s are playing (very slightly) over the par right now, according to Datagolf, but Conners picked up the 12th birdie of the day there.
As the announcers just pointed out, Conners is just one of a handful of Canadians who are playing really well. Taylor Pendrith (who also finished top 10 at Winged Foot, by the way) is in the clubhouse at 1-under (T-7). Adam Svensson is T-5 after two birdies to open his second round. I suppose we’re pretty close to the Canadian border up in Rochester, N.Y., so perhaps the Cannucks are digging this cold, blustery weather up north.
2:38 p.m. — Viktor Hovland found the front bunker at the par-3 third hole and it costs him a stroke. Hovland has yet to make a par through three holes—two birdies and a bogey—now putting him at 3-under overall, two back of Scheffler.
2:31 p.m. — Out of nowhere, we have a few cells of rain that have come popped up in Rochester, and it looks like it’s raining hard and gusting wind as Bryson DeChambeau gets his first round going on the first hole. It’s umbrella and towel season … which is a bit unexpected … we knew Saturday was going to be a slog of cold and wetness, but it looks like there might be a few extra minutes of conditions to deal with today.
Bryson’s fairway wood off the tee just finds the rough, but the 2020 U.S. Open champion chopped it onto the green to start.
2:20 p.m. — Viktor Hovland has matched Scottie Scheffler’s start a few groups later—with birdies of his own on Nos. 1 and 2. The talented Norweigan just nailed a 20-footer on the second hole after an 11-footer on No. 1 … that’s a heckuva way to start his round. He’s just one back of Scheffler, who parred No. 3 with an impressive two-putt from across the entire green.
2:14 p.m.: Justin Rose finishes his marathon morning with a par at the ninth hole to get in the clubhouse at 1-under par. It felt like the Englishman was on or near the lead the entire morning … really stellar play from the Englishman, who bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7—two of the toughest holes on the course—but still is T-7 and firmly in the thick of things looking for his second major championship.
1:57 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler birdies back-to-back holes to start his second round—knocking in a 9-footer on the second hole after his tap-in birdie at No. 1 to take the lead by himself at 5-under. Incredibly impressive start to his round on the more difficult front nine (it has played as a stroke harder all round). That’s a nice buffer as he heads to the most challenging stretch on the front.
1:47 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay just carded the round of the day (67), but he’s going to walk off the course with a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth. A bogey on his last hole (the ninth) came after missing the green with his approach, then missing a four-footer for par. Still, Cantlay has fought his way back admirably in this championship.
1:38 p.m. — We heard all morning from the broadcasters that the afternoon on Friday will be extremely difficult. Well, Scottie Scheffler is off to an ideal start if the wind does pick up. He just flagged his wedge to a foot for a tap-in birdie to tie Bryson DeChambeau’s lead. Oddsmakers have now made Scheffler’s odds to win +140 … nearly even-odds for the 2022 Masters champion to win. That’s some massive respect … there are 53 holes left to play for Scheffler!
1:27 p.m. — The afternoon wave is getting onto the course to begin their second rounds, which includes Scottie Scheffler (-3), who finds the short grass right off the fairway with this tee shot. Despite him trailing Bryson DeChambeau, oddsmakers are making Scottie a big-time favorite to win this championship before he even hits a shot on Friday (they have him at a +200 favorite). For context, the odds for his next closest competitors are 11-1 — assigned to Bryson (-4), Patrick Cantlay (even) and Viktor Hovland (-2).
Joel Dahmen is off to a very hot start to his second round, birdieing 10, 11 and 12 to start his day so far. Not too shabby, Joel!
1:07 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay has the round of the morning wave so far—getting himself to even-par on the tournament after an opening 74. He just parred 7 to remain four back of Bryson’s lead, who will tee off in about an hour. Cantlay is gaining nearly three strokes to the field on approach right now per DataGolf, which is the kind of golf we’ve seen from the eight-time PGA Tour winner this year.
12:55 p.m. — The sixth hole is an absolute menace. In just the last 45 minutes, Max Homa, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson have all found the hazard right of the fairway and proceeded to miss the green left with a fairway wood. Phil and DJ were lucky enough to stay on land, but as we mentioned before, Homa found the water. He and Mickelson left with doubles, while Johnson was able to hole his bogey putt. Something to watch as the day goes on …
12:50 p.m. — Justin Rose has missed 10 fairways in a row (that’s all of them, so far) and lost nearly two strokes to the field in the process, and yet, is two under par for the day. He should give his putter a big kiss after the round is over.
12:39 p.m. — After an opening-round 74, Patrick Cantlay has fought all the way back to even par, with five birdies on the card through 14 holes. He has gained five and a half strokes on the field already today.
12:33 p.m. — In a way, Max Homa got lucky at the par-4 6th. After his drive found the creek right of the fairway, he broke out the lumber from 256 yards and pulls his approach long and left of the green and into the creek again. He was able to get up and down from there to save double bogey, but it could have been much worse.
12:21 p.m. — Dustin Johnson has bounced back from a two-over first nine with a pair of birdies on his second nine to get back to two-under for the tournament. He’s still one over for the day, but with the scoring average rising well above par, that wouldn’t be such a bad place to finish.
12:06 p.m. — Mito Pereira, who led the PGA Championship on the 72nd tee last year, has a bogey-free, three-under round going through 11 holes. He has reached red numbers, moving to one-under for the tournament with a birdie at the first (his 10th).
Elsewhere, Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who’s from just across Lake Ontario, drains a long birdie putt at No. 7 to move to two-under. He misses a mid-range par putt at his finishing hole to fall back to one-under. But with the wind getting stronger as the day goes on, in the clubhouse with a red number on the board is a great place to be.
In the same group, club pro Michael Block shoots a second consecutive 70 to sit at even par through two rounds, in a tie for 13th. He will make the cut.
11:56 a.m. — Max Homa has played 13 holes in the second round. He is one under par. He has made four pars. After knocking in his fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 fourth, Homa moves to even par, into the top 15.
11:37 a.m. — Hello, Dustin Johnson. After two bogeys at 16 and 17, DJ turns to the front nine and buries a birdie on the shorter par-4 second to get to two-under for the tournament, two behind Bryson DeChambeau and one behind Rose, who bogeyed the 18th hole (his ninth) to drop back to three-under, in a tie with Corey Conners and Scottie Scheffler.
11:06 a.m. — Justin Rose, 2013 U.S. Open champion and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, has made three birdies in his first seven holes of the second round to tie for the lead.
10:57 a.m. — Oh dear. Club pro Michael Block, one of the feel-good stories early in this PGA Championship, follows a bogey on the par-5 fourth with a cold shank off the tee on the 165-yard, par-3 fifth. Luckily, his ball hit a tree and ricocheted back in bounds. It was a double bogey when all was said and done, but it could have been worse. Back to even par for the tournament for Block, with the hardest hole on the course coming up next.
10:25 a.m. — It’s fair to say the course is playing a little easier today, especially the back nine. Some gettable pins, and some softy conditions that have allowed for some birdies. The wind looks like it’s started to kick up, though…
10:07 a.m. — A couple of wiley vets in the form of Justin Rose and Adam Scott have been lurking near the top of the early leaderboard. Rose birdied two of his first three holes and is now into T-2. Scott made back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, but bogeys eitehr side of those Leave him at T-7
9:46 a.m. — Speaking of the 15th hole, Tony Finau, one-over at the time and playing with Homa, hit a strange shot off the tee that ended disastrously short-sided. Clearly, he didn’t watch my video on exactly this. According to the stats, he’d do well to make a par from there. He almost did: He hit a phenomenal flop shot to almost six feet, but his downhill right-to-left breaker burned the edge.
9:34 a.m. — Fresh off back-to-back birdies to move to even par and four back of the current lead, Hideki Matsuyama is standing over a wedge on the 134-yard 15th hole when a commentator predicts there’ll be hole-in-one on the hole today. He was almost exactly right: Matsuyama flagged his shot to inside 10 feet, but the putt a third-straight burned the edge.
9:27 a.m. — Dustin Johnson is officially unlucky for not having grabbed a share of the lead at this point. He’s now lipped out from 15 feet and 22 feet on the 10th and 12th holes for birdie, which would’ve moved him into T-1. One of these will fall sooner or later, and it’s a good sign that he’s giving these birdie chances great looks.
9:17 a.m. — Aaaand just like that, Homa gives one back. He missed the fairway on the 623-yard 13th hole, and ended up with a tricky up-and-down attempt from the rough behind the green that culminated in a missed 15-footer. The curse of the live blog.
9:11 a.m. — Max Homa has been looking rather sharp this morning. He stuffed his shot to within 20 feet on the beefy 245 yard, par-3 11th hole and made the putt for birdie. He had jokingly said he was planning on laying up on that hole earlier this week. Then, on the next, he fired a wedge to six feet and dropped that putt. He’s a man we’ve been expecting to show up in majors, and these kind of stretches are why. Let’s see if it continues.
8:37 a.m. — Dustin Johnson lips out a 20-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole, his first of the day, that would have given him a share of the lead at four under with his LIV Golf pal Bryson DeChambeau. With a pair of LIV guys in contention, it’s worth your while to read this post from our Shane Ryan that aims to explore what it would actually mean for a LIV golfer to claim a major title.
8:30 a.m. — Block birdies the par-4 14th and is now three under par and tied for second—rare air for a club pro in the PGA. The last club pro to finish in the top 20 was Jay Overton in 1988 at Oak Tree and the best finish ever by a true club professional was Jimmy Wright’s fourth-place finish in 1969 (the PGA of America says Tommy Bolt’s third-place showing in 1971 is the low finish by a club pro but we’re calling b.s. on considering Bolt, who won 15 times on the PGA Tour including a U.S. Open, a club pro).
8:26 a.m. — Tony Finau rolls in a six-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole, his first of the day to get to one over. One over par doesn’t sound that great, but it’s much better than the six-over mark he was on after his first nine holes on Thursday. Finau, winner a few weeks ago in Mexico, has made five birdies in his next 10 holes.
8:15 a.m. — Patrick Rodgers makes a par on the 18th hole and the first round is officially completed. Bryson DeChambeau holds the lead after 18 holes, but the LIV star shouldn’t be all that optimistic that he’ll be there come Sunday. In the last 17 PGA’s the first-round leader has gone on to win just twice, with Jimmy Walker in 2015 and Brookks Koepka in 2019 the only ones to pull it off.
8:11 a.m. — With a par on the 18th hole, Eric Cole closes out an opening-round 67. It would be seen as an amazing start without the double bogey he made at the resumption of play, but it’s still something the 34-year-old can’t been too disappointed with.
7:58 a.m. — And now Block birdies the par-4 12th to get to two under and a tie for sixth. Or put another way, as the ESPN+ commentators note, he’s now eight shots ahead of World No. Jon Rahm.
7:45 a.m. — As the first round wraps up in the morning, the second round is already underway and club pro Michael Block is having a nice start. With a birdie on his first hole (the par-4 10th) he’s at one under par. His even-par 70 on Thursday left him with the best score among the 20 club professionals competing this week at Oak Hill.
7:36 a.m. — It’s not quite as chilly on Friday morning as it was for the start of Thursday’s opening round when play was delayed by a nearly two-hour frost delay. But today’s weather challenge is expected to be winds, which are forecasted to jump to 25-30 miles an hour in the afternoon.
7:29 a.m. — Phil Mickelson finishes his opening round with a double bogey and a three-over 73 continuing a disturbing trend for Lefty. Since opening the 2003 PGA with a 66, the two-time PGA champ has gone 75-72-75-71-71-78-72-73 in competitive rounds at Oak Hill.
7:10 a.m. — Cole hits his fourth on to the green, but misses the eight footer for bogey and falls from solo lead to one back of clubhouse leader Byrson DeChambeau.
7:04 a.m. — Sitting on the overnight lead in a major is heady stuff, even for a PGA Tour veteran, let alone a rookie who got into the PGA Championship as an alternate. We can only imagine Eric Cole had a little bit of a restless night sitting at five under with his ball in the middle of the fairway on the sixth hole. Unfortunately the nerves show when he proceeds to hit his approach on the par-4 hole into the water left of the green. Yikes.
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