Skip to content

Li tops impressive leaderboard ahead of weekend at PGA Championship

Tom Pennington / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Haotong Li shot a 5-under 65 in Round 2 of the PGA Championship to carry a two-shot edge atop a star-studded leaderboard into the weekend.

The 25-year-old grabbed the clubhouse lead early on Friday and remained there, with no one able to reach his 8-under mark. He becomes the first Chinese player to hold a lead at the end of a major championship round.

Two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, and Justin Rose are among the big-name players sharing a six-way tie for second.

Koepka shot 2-under while battling hip tightness during Round 2, and he received treatment several times throughout the day.

"I woke up this morning, it was tight, and worked out and it got even tighter and then we loosened it up," Koepka said. "It was a little tight when I was hitting balls on the range but it's nothing to be worried about. We'll loosen it up again and it will be a lot better."

Despite the ailment, he remains in contention to win a third straight PGA Championship.

Day held a share of the 18-hole lead and pulled ahead by one briefly at the start of his second round. However, a costly double-bogey on No. 12 dropped him out of the top spot and into the logjam at 6-under.

Here's the top of the leaderboard after Round 2:

Place Player To Par R2 Score
1 Haotong Li -8 65
T2 Tommy Fleetwood -6 64
T2 Jason Day -6 69
T2 Daniel Berger -6 67
T2 Brooks Koepka -6 68
T2 Justin Rose -6 68
T2 Mike Lorenzo-Vera -6 68

Xander Schauffele and Dustin Johnson are at 4-under in a share for the 11th spot.

Rory McIlroy (1-under), Tiger Woods (even), and Justin Thomas (1-over) all flirted with the 1-over cutline, but they managed to put themselves in a position to play over the weekend.

Rickie Fowler botched a tap-in putt to make double-bogey and headline the notables to miss the cut.

Here are the broadcast schedules for the remainder of the week:

In the United States

Date Channel Time (ET)
Aug. 8 ESPN+ (streaming) 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
ESPN 1-4 p.m.
CBS 4-10 p.m.
Aug. 9 ESPN+ (streaming) 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
ESPN 12-3 p.m.
CBS 3-9 p.m.

In Canada

Date Channel Time (ET)
Aug. 8 TSN.ca (featured groups) 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
TSN 1/4 1-10 p.m.
Aug. 9 TSN.ca (featured groups) 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
TSN 3 12-9 p.m.
TSN 1/4 5-9 p.m.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox