Jhonattan Vegas is taking his lead into the weekend.
Vegas, after an incredible finish where he posted five birdies in six holes to get to 7-under on Thursday afternoon, posted a 1-under 70 on Friday to get to 8-under — thanks in part to a ridiculously-lucky shot off a rake — which gave him a two-shot lead at the midway point of the PGA Championship.
Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim — who hit the longest ace in recorded major championship history on Friday — are right behind Vegas at 6-under.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler climbed his way into contention on Friday, too. He made four birdies on the day to get to 5-under for the week. Both Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, however, made the cut on the number to even survive into the weekend.
The cut closed at 1-over, which sent several big names — including Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka — home early.
Stick with Yahoo Sports this week for all of the latest news from on the ground in North Carolina, and check out the leaderboard here.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER49 updates
Fri 16 May 2025 at 4:57 pm GMT-7Leaderboard Update
With the second round now in the books, here’s where things stand at Quail Hollow.
Leaderboard
1. Jhonattan Vegas (-8)
T2. Si Woo Kim (-6)
Matt Fitzpatrick
Matthieu PavonT5. Scottie Scheffler (-5)
Max HomaT7. Ryan Gerard (-4)
Denny McCarthy
Sam Stevens
Robert MacIntyre
J.T. Poston
Alex Smalley
Ryan Fox
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Michael Thorbjornsen
Garrick HiggoSeveral big names, like Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, are all headed home from Quail Hollow early.
Spieth is next in line to complete the career grand slam, and the PGA Championship is the last event he needs to win to pull that off. That, though, will have to wait for next year at Aronimink.
Fri 16 May 2025 at 4:03 pm GMT-7The Big Three will all make it to the weekend
Scottie Scheffler, at 5-under, is in the mix for the championship. Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, will make the weekend … barely. Both are at +1, which is the projected cut line.
After hitting it off the tent and landing near the water, Rory McIlroy saved his bogey at the 18th. He should safely make the cut.
Rory McIlroy might be playing his way out of the tournament. After having a par putt lip out on the 17th, McIlroy nearly landed his drive in the water at the 18th.
He’s going to have to stand with his feet in the creek along the 18th at his approach shot. McIlroy’s at even par still, and the cut is at 1-over.
Si Woo Kim has followed up his hole-in-one with a birdie at No. 7, which has him at 6-under now and in a tie for second.
Here’s Si Woo Kim knocking it in from 252 yards out … and celebrating like he just won the tournament. Though he didn’t, the hole-in-one did get him to 5-under for the tournament, in a tie for fourth.
The World No. 1 has not played his best golf at Quail Hollow. He’s hit only a handful of fairways Friday, and yet … he’s now just three strokes back of the lead.
Back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 have Scheffler at 5-under for the tournament (2-under on his round). And now just two players — Mathieu Pavon and Matt Fitzpatrick — are between him and leader Jhonattan Vegas.
But … he’s got the hardest three-hole stretch on the course ahead of him.
As of 5:40 p.m. ET, the cut is projected at 2-over. Here’s a look at notable names who are right on the cusp of making it into the weekend.
Currently Safe
Rory McIlroy (+1) | 13
Jordan Spieth (+2) | F
Xander Schauffele (+2) | 13
Shane Lowry (+2) | 17*
Currently Out
Justin Thomas (+3) | F
Rickie Fowler (+3) | 16
Patrick Reed (+4) | F
Patrick Cantlay (+5) | 14
Phil Mickelson (+7) | 15
Brooks Koepka (+10) | 16
Fri 16 May 2025 at 2:09 pm GMT-7Jhonattan Vegas knows he belongs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Of course a guy with the last name “Vegas” gets the lucky breaks.
Friday afternoon at the PGA Championship, Jhonattan Vegas stood on the tee at the 17th, deep in Quail Hollow’s Green Mile. At 10-under, he held a four-stroke lead on the rest of the field. His tee shot arced high but short, and pinged directly off a rake. The ball could have easily ricocheted into the nearby water, but instead, it leaped forward in the direction of the flag. Vegas two-putted from 33 feet to salvage the hole and avoid what could have been disaster.
“It was one of those things that happens in this sport,” he said after his round. “Sometimes you get a sprinkler head that goes out of bounds or the cart path that goes out of bounds or sometimes you hit a rake that goes on the green. It’s just part of the game, and you’ve just got to enjoy it all.”
In other words, what happens to Vegas, doesn’t stay with Vegas. (Sorry. But it was right there.)
For more on Vegas’ impressive start at Quail Hollow, click here.
Phil Mickelson was in a good place midway through his round on Friday. Well, it wasn’t awful at least. He had rattled off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to mount a bit of a comeback and attempt to make the cut.
Then, he landed in a bunker on No. 12 and, well, things did not go well. Mickelson left the hole with a quadruple bogey, which has all-but ended his week in North Carolina.
Not great.
Rory McIlroy is still making moves. He just birdied the par-5 10th (his fourth birdie of the day) to get under even par for the tournament.
As of now, he should be safely into the weekend.
Jhonattan Vegas is in a great place at the midway point of the PGA Championship, even with his double bogey on the final hole today.
“You’ve gotta remember all the good stuff that I’m doing out there,” he said. “Game seems to be in a great space, mentally in a great space. At the end of the day, ust gotta keep enjoying it.”
“I feel like I’ve been playing a lot of good golf—game seems to be in a great space—just gotta keep enjoying it—the more I enjoy, the better I will play.”
Jhonattan Vegas is seeking his first career major win at the PGA Championship. He joined @hallylead from Quail Hollow… pic.twitter.com/5GnJeOGRdL
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) May 16, 2025
Rory McIlroy is making a push for the weekend. He’s got two birdies on the day now and sits at 1-over, which is just barely inside the cut line.
We’ll see if that holds as he approaches the turn.
Well, that’s one way to save your par.
Alex Smalley is just one back of Jhonattan Vegas now after making three birdies in his last four holes.
This doesn’t count as a hole-in-one, but it’s basically the same thing. J.T. Poston, after hitting his tee shot into the water at the par-3 17th, chipped-in from the drop zone to save his par.
Honestly, this is the most relatable thing I’ve seen out on the golf course all day.
With the early wave now in the clubhouse, here’s a look at where things stand at Quail Hollow:
Leaderboard Update
1. Jhonattan Vegas (-8) | F
T2. Matthieu Pavon (-6) | F
Ryo Hisatsune | 6*
Alex Smalley | 8T5. Max Homa (-5) | F
Luke Donald | 8*T7. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (-4) | F
Michael Thorbjornsen | F
Ryan Gerard | 1*
Matt Fitzpatrick | 6
Nico Echavarria | 6*He struggled on the home hole, but Jhonattan Vegas is in with a second-round 70. Coupled with his opening round 64, he’s at 8-under for tournament, currently two shots clear of the field.
Vegas had it to 10-under, but an errant approach at 18, followed by a bunker shot that actually rolled off the green led to a double bogey on 18. Disappointing, for sure, but he’ll take it.
Vegas has never been in this position before, having never finished inside the top 20 at a major. In fact, he hasn’t made a cut at a major since 2021. Now, though, he’ll be in one of the final pairings come Saturday, if not the final pairing.
Johnny Vegas doesn’t need much help right now, but … he’ll take it when given.
Off the rake to 33 feet from the hole, giving him a decent look at birdie.