RACING AGAINST DARKNESS, BRYSON MOVES INTO CONTENTION

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As Bryson DeChambeau was racing up the leaderboard in Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship, he was also racing against the clock. Or in this case, against darkness.

Considering he shot a 6-under 65 to move into a tie for fourth while also completing his round after the horn sounded – and thus avoiding an early tee time on Saturday just to complete a single hole – the Crushers GC captain was pleased with both outcomes.

“In this scenario, I’m a bit greedy,” he said with a smile of relief. “I was very pleased to get both.”

DeChambeau enters the weekend at 9 under, three shots off the lead held by Xander Schauffele. He’s the highest-placed player among the 11 LIV Golf members to make the cut at Valhalla after the completion of the second round Saturday morning.

Dean Burmester, playing his final two holes Saturday after play resumed following a fog delay, eagled the par-5 18th with a 26-1/2 foot putt to complete a bogey-free 65. That left him at 8 under and tied for eighth.

Defending PGA champion Brooks Koepka finished slightly earlier than DeChambeau at 7 under following his second-round 68, while Lucas Herbert shot 67 to finish at 6 under.

The other LIV players reaching the weekend are Cameron Smith (4 under), Patrick Reed (3 under), Tyrrell Hatton and Martin Kaymer (2 under), and Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch, each making the cut on the number at 1 under.

DeChambeau’s 65 tied for lowest score of the day. He made three consecutive birdies on his front nine and was a bogey-free 5 under before bogeying the par-4 12th. He bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 13th and another at the 16th and had makeable birdie putts on the final two holes under less-than-ideal light.

“I wanted the last couple and skimmed the edge on both of them,” said DeChambeau, who shared the 36-hole lead at last month’s Masters before ultimately finishing tied for sixth. “You know what, it is what it is and really just pleased with the way I controlled the golf ball around the golf course, even though I didn’t strike it my best, I put it in places where I could score. 

“When I didn’t have my best, I got up and down most of the time besides 12. Looking for that bogey-free round. Didn’t happen. But you know what, I’m pleased with the way I’m playing. This golf course is a good test of golf and I’m excited for the weekend.”

ROUND 2 NOTES

SHORT PUTT MISADVENTURES: Brooks Koepka had a rollercoaster Friday that included a bogey on his opening hole followed by four birdies the remainder of the front nine, then a double at the par-5 10th after an errant second shot resulted in a penalty stroke. He bounced back with two birdies, and then finished birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie for a 68.

Koepka's putting woes between 3-6 feet contributed to the topsy-turvy day. He missed a putt from 3 feet, 9 inches for that opening bogey, missed a birdie putt from 4 feet, 9 inches on the fourth hole, and his final two bogeys came off missed par putts of 5 feet, 5 inches at the 16th and 4 feet, 9 inches at the 17th.

FRUSTRATED REED MAKES WEEKEND: Patrick Reed’s first two rounds at this week’s PGA Championship reflect the kind of 2024 season he’s endured in the LIV Golf League. He’s playing better than his scores indicate – and that leads to one simple feeling.

“Frustration,” the 4Aces GC star said. “Frustration. With a capital F-R-U, and just keep on going.”

Reed followed his opening 1-under 70 with a 2-under 69 on Friday at Valhalla, leaving him at 3 under for the tournament and assured of a spot on the weekend. Although he’s well off the lead, a strong finish could enhance his world ranking in his bid to earn a spot in next month’s U.S. Open and extend his active major start streak to 42.

But in order to do that, he’ll need to flip the switch on a season full of frustrating results. One of LIV Golf’s top players in the first two years, Reed is currently 30th in Individual points and has just one top-10 finish.

“Kind of in that rut of feeling like I'm doing things a lot better than the score's turning out,” Reed said. “I'm usually that guy that when they watch me play, they're like, oh, he's about to shoot 75, 76, and I turn it into 67, 68. Now I'm doing the opposite. I'm hitting the ball like I should be shooting 63, 64 and I'm shooting one or two under par. So, it's frustrating.” 

Reed’s round Friday included a chunk-block with his hybrid on his second shot at the par-5 18th, leaving him with no chance to make birdie. Then at the par-3 third, he three-putted from 37 feet for bogey. “Just kind of uncharacteristic mistakes,” he said.

The good news is he has two rounds this weekend in order to get things right.

“All I can do is continue building on the good ball striking, building on hitting good putts,” he said. “I feel like that's a thing. I feel like I'm hitting quality putts. They're just not quite going in. So just kind of build on those things and then just keep doing that. And at some point, they're going to fall and that low round's going to come and hopefully once that low round comes, it sparks everything else.”

JOACO, GOOCH ALSO MAKE THE CUT: Reed is not the only LIV golfer who’s feeling frustrated this weekend. The reigning Individual Champion and the current points leader also are trying to work through issues.

Smash GC’s Talor Gooch, the 2023 champ, and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, winner of two LIV Golf events this year, both finished on the cut line at 1 under. But it hasn’t been easy for either player.

In shooting 71-70 in the first two rounds, Gooch said he just hasn’t been sharp tee to green. 

“The whole two days were a grind,” he said. “I don't have a whole lot of ball control right now and this golf course, it'll expose you if you don't have ball control, so we're grinding the whole two days. It was good to finish that off with an under-par score and hopefully we can go get after it this weekend.”

For Niemann, the issue is just the opposite. His putter has betrayed him, especially in the first round when he shot a 2-over 73. Of the 156 players in the field, he ranked 154th in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing 4.115 strokes on the greens. He was much better Friday while shooting a 3-under 68.

“I knew it was going to be tough,” Niemann said. “Obviously haven't been putting my best and I knew I had to bring my ‘A’ game and my ‘A’ putter this week. It wasn't there the first day. It's a little better today, but I think there's still plenty of room for improvement for my putting, which I'm looking forward to that because I know if I can get it going, I can shoot some really good scores."

RAHM’S ‘SURPRISE’ MC:  Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm has been the LIV Golf League’s most consistent player, the only one who has finished top 10 in each of the first seven tournaments. He came into Valhalla confident about his chances. 

But after shooting 70-72, he finished at even par and one stroke outside the cut line, ending his string of 18 consecutive made cuts in majors. He hadn't missed a cut in a major since the 2019 PGA.

"Surprised,” Rahm said of his two rounds. “Surprised because of how I felt like I was hitting it in Australia and Singapore and in the week off before coming here, especially off the tee, hitting great drives – and that's what's been my downfall. I just couldn't find a fairway off the tee. You can make birdies off the fairway, but off the rough, it's a tough golf course to score on and that's kind of what happened to me."

Rahm said he began thinking about the cut line after he made a bogey on the fourth hole after failing to get up-and-down from off the green. He then bounced back with a birdie at the fifth hole.

“I was just hoping to get one more and clear myself,” Rahm said. “But yeah, when you're playing bad you kind need the extra motivation some kind of way. It was on my mind and the swing wasn't quite there, but with the putter, I felt comfortable. I was just begging to give myself some kind of a chance and I could never give myself anything on the last three holes. I think it was 25 feet. 25 feet and 60 feet, which I've been less nervous over some putts at distance in my career, that's for sure.”

HERBERT IN THE HUNT: Ripper GC’s Lucas Herbert is tied for 16th at 6 under following his 67 on Friday. The only other major in his previous 14 starts in which he’s been in a better position through 36 holes was the 2022 Open Championship won by his captain Cameron Smith.

“I hit one in the hotel at St Andrews on 17 that Saturday,” Herbert recalled. “Hopefully we don’t that on 17 here tomorrow.”

Not much of a chance given how he’s played the first two days. Herbert’s round was highlighted by a stretch of three consecutive birdies, similar to his first round when he posted four consecutive birdies en route to a 69.

Herbert said his 3- and 5-woods deserted him for a stretch on Saturday, derailing the momentum gained from his birdie streak.

“If I can sort out the 3-wood and 5-wood now on the range afterwards,” he said, “we can get it going on the weekend. …

“Tomorrow will be lovely. Then hopefully get ourselves a late tee time Sunday and tee it up with the big boys.”

LATE BIRDIES SAVE DJ: Dustin Johnson was outside the projected cut line going into his back nine, but birdied four of his last seven holes to shoot a 68 and finish on the number at 1 under.

RD. 2 LEADERBOARD

How the LIV Golf players stand following completion of the second round of the PGA Championship