TWO-TIME MAJOR champion Collin Morikawa made five consecutive birdies today to seize the PGA Championship lead while top-ranked Scottie Scheffler charged into a share of third after being arrested before his second round.
World number three Xander Schauffele fired a nine-under par 62 yesterday at Valhalla to match the lowest major round in history and was second, two back of Morikawa, when he teed off in round two.
Morikawa, who reeled off two sets of three birdies in a row in a 66 yesterday, went two better to overtake fellow American Schauffele for the lead. He reached 12-under with one hole to play, before bogeying his last hole to reach the clubhouse at 11-under.
Rory McIlroy has just started his second round, while Shane Lowry finished with another two-under 69. That leaves Lowry in a tie for 17th on four-under.
The Offaly native began his round on the 10th with a birdie before a bogey at the next, and then picked up shots on 13 and 16. He dropped a shot on the first and then clawed it back with a birdie on the fourth.
There was disappointment for Padraig Harrington after yesterday’s 77, he is currently +10 overall after 17 holes today, and will miss the cut.
Morikawa, ranked 13th in the world, began on the back nine and sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the 13th and a three-footer to birdie the par-5 18th. He unleashed another hat trick starting with a birdie putt from just outside eight feet at the fourth. Next came a 17-footer for birdie at the fifth and then he holed out from just inside 34 feet at the sixth.
At the par-5 seventh and par-3 eighth, he sank birdie putts from about five feet, stretching his lead to three on 12-under.
Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open and comes off a career-best share of third at last month’s Masters.
Scheffler, however, was the focus of most spectators, as they lined the course to cheer him every hole, some while wearing T-shirts with his new mugshot image taken hours earlier.
Scheffler, who won his second Masters title last month, shook off his arrest and booking to make five birdies against a lone bogey to share third on 8-under overall after 14 holes.
Scheffler, a new father after his son arrived last week, hit his opening tee shot into the right rough at the par-5 10th hole but dropped his approach three feet from the hole and tapped in for birdie.
He missed the green and a five-foot par putt to bogey the par-3 11th but responded with his longest made putt of the week, a 26-foot birdie, at 12 to reach 5-under.
Scheffler left himself a birdie putt from just inside six feet at the par-5 18th and sank it, then added birdie putts from six feet at the second hole and three feet at the fourth.
Sharing third with Scheffler was world number 81 Mark Hubbard, making only his fourth major start.
Hubbard birdied the par-5 10th and par-4 12th to start his round then sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the par-5 18th.
The 34-year-old American, whose best PGA Tour finish in 214 career starts was a share of second at the 2019 Houston Open.
Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, making only his third major start, aced the 173-yard par-3 eighth hole.
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