NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Alex Smalley closed with a birdie to set the clubhouse lead at 4-under-par 136 on Friday, while Chris Gotterup and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama put themselves in contention at the PGA Championship halfway through the second round at Aronimink Golf Club.
Smalley, one of seven co-leaders after 18 holes, signed for a 1-under 69 at about 2:30 p.m. local time. He was tied with South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter and Australia’s Min Woo Lee, who were 1 under par early in their respective rounds.
The other first-round leaders playing this afternoon are Germany’s Stephan Jaeger and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.
Gotterup’s 5-under 65 was the best round of the tournament by two strokes. The native of nearby New Jersey burst onto the scene with last year’s Scottish Open title and third-place finish at the Open Championship before he won two events on the PGA Tour this winter.
Gotterup birdied Nos. 7, 8 and 9 at the end of his round to surge up the leaderboard.
“If you’re in the right spot you can make a putt, but it’s really hard to get it close,” Gotterup said of the scoring conditions. “I felt like I got it about as close as you could on 11 today, and I had 25 feet and — made a nice putt. But, yeah, I felt like I just was in a good spot for some of those putts.”
Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, is vying for his second major after a consistent tee-to-green day with four birdies and one bogey. He said his birdie at No. 7 was his favorite.
“My birdie putt hung on the lip for a while, and then the wind blew it in,” Matsuyama said. “So that was probably my best one.”
Smalley started the day at 3 under and was the first player to reach 5 under this week before squandering the cushion he’d built. He played the back nine — the more difficult half of the course — in 2 under par but proceeded to bogey Nos. 1, 2 and 3. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 4 before pitching his third shot at the par-5 ninth to 14 inches.
Australia’s Jason Day birdied the first two holes of his afternoon round to join the tie at 3 under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler completed a 1-over round of 71 in more than 5 1/2 hours as sluggish pace of play became a prevailing topic of discussion around Aronimink.
Scheffler dropped to 2 under for the tournament, joining Cameron Young (67) and Justin Thomas (69) two shots behind the leaders.
Notable players with afternoon tee times include Xander Schauffele (2 under in the first round), Brooks Koepka (1 under), Jordan Spieth (1 under), Jon Rahm of Spain (1 under), Rickie Fowler (even), Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (4 over) and Bryson DeChambeau (6 over).
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
