logo
2025 PGA Championship Round 2 leaderboard, live updates: Jhonattan Vegas leads early at Quail Hollow as stars struggle

2025 PGA Championship Round 2 leaderboard, live updates: Jhonattan Vegas leads early at Quail Hollow as stars struggle

Yahoo16-05-2025

Jhonattan Vegas is out in front early at Quail Hollow.
Vegas used an incredible finish where he posted five birdies in six holes to get to 7-under on Thursday afternoon. That gave him a two-shot lead over the rest of the field, and made him the first Venezuelan man to ever lead at a major championship.
Vegas overtook Cam Davis and Ryan Gerard, who held the lead most of the day Thursday at the PGA Championship with their 5-under 66s.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who entered the week as a narrow favorite, rallied a bit to end his opening round. He made two birdies in his final three holes to get to 2-under. Last year's winner, Xander Schauffele, finished at 1-over. Rory McIlroy, fresh off his win at the Masters, came in at 3-over. Scheffler and Schauffele were among the players complaining about the mud balls all over the course, which caused them each to make a double bogey on the same hole.
The cut is projected to be at 2-over, though it's sure to move around quite a bit throughout the day. 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.
Second Round
When: Friday, May 16 Where: Quail Hollow Club | Charlotte, North Carolina TV: ESPN
TV Schedule
7 a.m. — 12 p.m. ET | ESPN+ 12 p.m. — 7 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN+
*Denotes No. 10 tee start
7:49 a.m.* ET — Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa 8:00 a.m.* ET — Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Åberg 8:17 a.m.* ET— Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland1:03 p.m. ET — Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry 1:47 p.m. ET — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele
Some big names, like Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, are buried deep in the leaderboard after Day 1. But how deep is too deep to resurface? According to Elias Sports Bureau, only two players have ever won the PGA Championship after being outside the top 50 on the leaderboard:
Payne Stewart, 1989 Kemper Lakes GC, T-77 after Round 1
John Mahaffey, 1978 Oakmont CC, T-59 after Round 1
So, good luck, gentlemen, and maybe start making a birdie or two.
The course is going to have its revenge. Check out the roll this putt gets on the dried, sloping green:
Wait for it… 😱Welcome to Friday at The PGA Championship pic.twitter.com/YXG9RtlNYC
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 16, 2025
Oh, there will be some angry players today.
The first ace of the tournament went to Eric Cole, who played the par-3 fourth perfectly on Thursday.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨Eric Cole makes a hole-in-one from 184 yards on the 4th hole. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/aSLMouOMdT
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hello from Charlotte, where the rains are done and the warmth is rolling in. Highs today are expected to touch 90, meaning the water that's still soaking the course — and there's still a whole lot of it — is going to turn Quail Hollow into a sauna. That's no problem for those watching at home, but for the players, it's an added layer of challenge, and for the gallery, it's a reminder to stay hydrated and seek shade often. This will be a decisive day at the PGA Championship, and it's going to be a hot one, too.
The mud that runs beneath Quail Hollow's fairways, thanks to the rain that fell earlier in the week, led to a lot if issues on Thursday.
'It's frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it's going to go,' Scottie Scheffler said. 'I understand it's part of the game, but there's nothing more frustrating for a player. You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes.'
For more on the mud balls, click here.
*Denotes No. 10 tee start
7:49 a.m.* ET — Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa 8:00 a.m.* ET — Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Åberg 8:17 a.m.* ET— Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland 1:03 p.m. ET — Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry 1:47 p.m. ET — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele
1. Jhonattan Vegas (-7)
T2. Ryan Gerard (-5)Cam Davis
T4. Luke Donald (-4)Ryan FoxAlex SmalleyStephan JaegerAaron Rai
T9. Alex Noren (-3)J.T. PostonRyo HisatsuneNico EchavarriaMatt FitzpatrickRobert MacIntyreRasmus HøjgaardKeegan BradleyTyrrell HattonMichael ThorbjornsenRafael Campos
After a strange Thursday at Quail Hollow, pretty much everybody that's not a top-10 player in the world is up there on the leaderboard.
Jhonattan Vegas, the No. 70 player in the world, holds a two-shot lead over the field entering Friday's round.
Some big names, like Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, are buried deep in the leaderboard after Day 1. But how deep is too deep to resurface? According to Elias Sports Bureau, only two players have ever won the PGA Championship after being outside the top 50 on the leaderboard:
Payne Stewart, 1989 Kemper Lakes GC, T-77 after Round 1
John Mahaffey, 1978 Oakmont CC, T-59 after Round 1
So, good luck, gentlemen, and maybe start making a birdie or two.
The course is going to have its revenge. Check out the roll this putt gets on the dried, sloping green:
Wait for it… 😱Welcome to Friday at The PGA Championship pic.twitter.com/YXG9RtlNYC
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 16, 2025
Oh, there will be some angry players today.
The first ace of the tournament went to Eric Cole, who played the par-3 fourth perfectly on Thursday.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨Eric Cole makes a hole-in-one from 184 yards on the 4th hole. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/aSLMouOMdT
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 15, 2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hello from Charlotte, where the rains are done and the warmth is rolling in. Highs today are expected to touch 90, meaning the water that's still soaking the course — and there's still a whole lot of it — is going to turn Quail Hollow into a sauna. That's no problem for those watching at home, but for the players, it's an added layer of challenge, and for the gallery, it's a reminder to stay hydrated and seek shade often. This will be a decisive day at the PGA Championship, and it's going to be a hot one, too.
The mud that runs beneath Quail Hollow's fairways, thanks to the rain that fell earlier in the week, led to a lot if issues on Thursday.
'It's frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it's going to go,' Scottie Scheffler said. 'I understand it's part of the game, but there's nothing more frustrating for a player. You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes.'
For more on the mud balls, click here.
*Denotes No. 10 tee start
7:49 a.m.* ET — Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa 8:00 a.m.* ET — Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Åberg 8:17 a.m.* ET— Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland 1:03 p.m. ET — Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry 1:47 p.m. ET — Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele
1. Jhonattan Vegas (-7)
T2. Ryan Gerard (-5)Cam Davis
T4. Luke Donald (-4)Ryan FoxAlex SmalleyStephan JaegerAaron Rai
T9. Alex Noren (-3)J.T. PostonRyo HisatsuneNico EchavarriaMatt FitzpatrickRobert MacIntyreRasmus HøjgaardKeegan BradleyTyrrell HattonMichael ThorbjornsenRafael Campos
After a strange Thursday at Quail Hollow, pretty much everybody that's not a top-10 player in the world is up there on the leaderboard.
Jhonattan Vegas, the No. 70 player in the world, holds a two-shot lead over the field entering Friday's round.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US Open gets a peaceful day of practice ahead of tough test that awaits at Oakmont
US Open gets a peaceful day of practice ahead of tough test that awaits at Oakmont

Associated Press

time27 minutes ago

  • Associated Press

US Open gets a peaceful day of practice ahead of tough test that awaits at Oakmont

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Serenity at Oakmont could be found Wednesday morning when Rory McIlroy stood on the first tee as the sun rose against a hazy sky on the horizon. He was playing with his best mate in golf, Shane Lowry, their final practice before the U.S. Open. The peace gets shattered as soon as the score starts to count. Even with Scottie Scheffler in full flight as the No. 1 player in golf, even as McIlroy tries to build on his dream moment of being the Masters champion, as Bryson DeChambeau gets a chance to see if his brawn can handle this rough, there has been one name — Oakmont — that rises above all others going into the 125th U.S. Open. 'Oakmont is relentless,' said John Bodenhamer, the chief championships officer at the USGA who sets up the course for the toughest test in golf. 'There's no letup. It's a grind. That's the U.S. Open.' It gets started on Thursday with Matt Vogt, the former Oakmont caddie now an Indiana dentist, selected to hit the opening tee shot. Jon Rahm, who won his U.S. Open four years ago at Torrey Pines, made his debut at Oakmont in 2016 when he was fresh out of Arizona State. He shot 76 on the first day, went 1-over par the rest of the way and finished as low amateur. Even with changes to the course from a restoration project, including a ditch that now meanders across the landing area in the 10th fairway, the Spanish star has a better idea what to expect. 'You're aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like. It's going to be a challenge,' Rahm said. 'A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a nice test, a difficult test, and I think one of the truest representations of what a U.S. Open is all about.' Dustin Johnson set the Oakmont scoring record for a U.S. Open at 276 when he won in 2016. The USGA mentioned a few other numbers that also describe Oakmont, mainly the 5-inch rough so dense at the bottom there were no guarantees a golf ball might be lost. Another number had historical context — only 27 of the 1,385 players who have competed in a major championship at Oakmont finished under par. That includes when Oakmont, now a par 70, was played as a par 71 or par 72. 'Our mantra is tough but fair,' Bodenhamer said. 'And what does that mean? It's pretty simple. It's not about the score. It's about getting every club in a player's bag dirty, all 15 of them — the 14 in their bag and the one between the ears. And we work hard on that. 'And that's how we've gone about our business here at Oakmont.' The other number that stands out is 10 — the number of times the USGA has brought its marquee championship to the course built to be tough in 1903. No other course has held the U.S. Open more often. The USGA has been accused over the years of trying to protect par, which it long has denied. Johnny Miller remains the only player to win the U.S. Open with a 63 in the final round, in 1973 at Oakmont. The following year, Hale Irwin won at 7-over par in what became known as the 'Massacre at Winged Foot.' It also fed into the belief that par matters. In some respects, it does. Bodenhamer was asked what score would indicate the USGA didn't get it right. 'Interesting question,' he replied. 'Off the top of my head, something in double digits. I've said this before, we don't want 20 over to win and we don't want 20 under to win. It might be tough. It might not be tough enough. There's a number in there somewhere.' Scheffler is in search of the third leg of the career Grand Slam after winning the PGA Championship by five shots at Quail Hollow last month. Scheffler has won his last three tournaments — all in a five-week stretch — by a combined 17 shots. 'What is he doing? Well, everything,' Justin Thomas said. 'It's effortless. Every single aspect of his game is unbelievable. I think his mental game is better than anybody out here. To be able to play with those expectations and to stay present as often as he has to me is maybe more impressive than even the golf he's playing. 'He just doesn't make any mistakes and almost kind of lets himself be in contention versus forces himself in contention. He just seems to be playing better.' If there is a common trait among U.S. Open champions at Oakmont, strength would be on the list. Johnson won in 2016, Angel Cabrera in 2007, big Ernie Els in 1994. The first of 18 professional majors by Jack Nicklaus and those powerful legs came at Oakmont in 1962. 'I'd say there's definitely a strength factor coming out of the rough,' Scheffler said. 'I don't really know if this is a golf course you can necessarily just overpower with a bomb-and-gouge type strategy, especially with the way the rough is.' Scheffler's strength, much like Tiger Woods, is knowing where to miss and playing the angles. That works almost anywhere. Almost. 'There's not really many areas where you step on the tee box and you're like, 'Hey, I can miss it right here; hey, I can shade towards the left side of the fairway because right is really bad,'' he said. 'Actually, if you hit it in the right rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. If you hit it in the left rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. So might as well try and split the difference there and hit it in the middle.' Sounds simple enough. It rarely is at Oakmont. And that's just the way the USGA likes it. ___ AP golf:

UFC on ESPN 69's Cody Garbrandt says Sean O'Malley 'looked like sh*t' in title fight loss
UFC on ESPN 69's Cody Garbrandt says Sean O'Malley 'looked like sh*t' in title fight loss

USA Today

time28 minutes ago

  • USA Today

UFC on ESPN 69's Cody Garbrandt says Sean O'Malley 'looked like sh*t' in title fight loss

UFC on ESPN 69's Cody Garbrandt says Sean O'Malley 'looked like sh*t' in title fight loss ATLANTA – Cody Garbrandt is fully focused on getting back on track with a UFC on ESPN 69 win over Raoni Barcelos on Saturday, but if he gets it done, a big fight could await. Former UFC bantamweight champ Garbrandt (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) competes for the first time since UFC 300 in April 2024 when he takes on Barcelos (19-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at State Farm Arena (ESPN, ESPN+). It's an important bout for him, especially after recently signing a new multi-fight contract with the promotion. If Garbrandt can pull off something spectacular this weekend, as he has many times before, then it's hard not to consider a potential showdown with Sean O'Malley, who he once had a heated press conference exchange with and has since fired many verbal and social media shots toward. With O'Malley on a two-fight losing streak after consecutive title losses to champ Merab Dvalishvili, most recently at UFC 316 this month, it could be a potentially good time for the pair to settle their differences. "He should've kept smoking because he looked like sh*t," Garbrandt told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday's media day. "Whatever you have to do. Sometimes you lose and you try to reinvent yourself and find yourself. At the end of the day, you know who you are, you know what you've got to do. I know I'm one of the best fighters in the world. When you lose you've got everyone in your ear saying you've got to do this and you've got to do that. Just remember what got you there and who you are the end of the day. I think that's a huge fight and pay-per-view sale, Sean and I. But I'm focused on this fight this Saturday and then we'll let everything else fall in line." After dealing with some health issues including vertigo, Garbrandt, 33, said this is "the best I've felt in a while" due to mental and emotionally clarity. He hopes that translated into the octagon, because while his reign as champion is now many years ago and there's been many ups and downs since then, Garbrandt admits he doesn't have satisfaction with his career. "I'm a former world champion – yeah, that's great," Garbrandt said. "It's something that was amazing to accomplish, but it didn't fulfilled me. For me to be here, going through what I've gone through (with) the injuries, setbacks, losses – whatever you want to call it. To wake up every day and chase this dream, to push yourself to a limit and set goals inside of the fight career, it's something that wakes me up every day. It motivates me, it scares me and fills me with all different kinds of emotions to get in there and fight another man that's willing to do whatever to get the win."

Mavs deny Jason Kidd request, latest to turn down Knicks in coaching search
Mavs deny Jason Kidd request, latest to turn down Knicks in coaching search

USA Today

time28 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Mavs deny Jason Kidd request, latest to turn down Knicks in coaching search

Mavs deny Jason Kidd request, latest to turn down Knicks in coaching search | Reports Show Caption Hide Caption Six names to replace Tom Thibodeau for the Knicks new head coach Who should replace Tom Thibodeau now that the Knicks have decided to move away from their head coach? The For The Hoops crew picks six names here. The New York Knicks moved swiftly in making the controversial decision to fire coach Tom Thibodeau after losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Finding his replacement is proving to be more difficult, and perhaps harder than anybody inside Madison Square Garden thought. The Knicks have sought permission to speak with at least three sitting NBA head coaches in recent days and been turned down by every team currently employing them, according to multiple reports. ESPN reported Wednesday that Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks became the latest coach New York sought permission to speak with only to be denied by the Mavericks. The Knicks have also tried to interview Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets since firing Thibodeau on June 3, according to multiple reports. ANALYSIS: Tyrese Haliburton going to film school to decode Thunder's defense New York is coming off its first conference finals appearance in 25 years under Thibodeau, who spent five seasons with the Knicks. His firing came less than a year after he signed a three-year contract extension that hadn't even started yet. The Knicks were the fifth NBA head coach opening this offseason and the only available job at the moment. Three openings were filled when the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets each elected to elevate their interim coach from the end of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Phoenix Suns recently hired former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott to be its new coach. Kidd, 52, led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and has five playoff appearances over nine seasons as an NBA head coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas. He was also an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the 2020 NBA championship. Finch, 55, just took the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Udoka, 47, spearheaded the Boston Celtics when they went to the 2022 NBA Finals before serving a one-year suspension due to multiple violations of team policy. He was hired by Houston ahead of the 2023-24 season and has quickly turned the Rockets into a Western Conference contender in his two seasons there. Thibodeau, 67, previously served as the head coach for the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. His .579 career winning percentage is the highest by any coach without an NBA Finals appearance (minimum 300 games coached), according to ESPN. He wrote a thank you letter to Knicks fans that was posted to social media and ran as a full-page ad in Wednesday's New York Times.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store