Zalatoris shoots 2nd-round 65 to take lead at PGA Championship
Will Zalatoris shot a 5-under 65 on Friday at Southern Hills to lead the PGA Championship after the second round.
Mito Pereira is in second, one back at 8-under, while Justin Thomas sits third at 6-under. Bubba Watson is in fourth at 5-under after firing a 63.
| PLACE | PLAYER | ROUND 2 SCORE | TOTAL TO PAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Zalatoris | 65 | -9 |
| 2 | Mito Pereira | 64 | -8 |
| 3 | Justin Thomas | 67 | -6 |
| 4 | Bubba Watson | 63 | -5 |
| T5 | Rory McIlroy | 71 | -4 |
| T5 | Abraham Ancer | 69 | -4 |
| T5 | Davis Riley | 68 | -4 |
| T8 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 69 | -3 |
| T8 | Stewart Cink | 68 | -3 |
Watson's 7-under 63 on Friday matched the 18-hole scoring record at the PGA Championship. It's the 18th time a player has shot 63 at the major.
He made nine birdies and two bogeys en route to the low round of the day.
Tiger Woods made the cut after a 1-under 69 on Friday in just his second official tournament since his February 2021 car accident.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed the cut after posting rounds of 71 and 75. The 25-year-old has recorded consecutive rounds over par at a tournament for the first time this year.
Zalatoris, currently ranked No. 30 in the world, has finished inside the top 10 at a major four times in just seven starts. His career best at a major came at the 2021 Masters Tournament where the 25-year-old finished runner-up to Hideki Matsuyama.
"I've kind of had an attitude with the majors, especially since the Masters, where I wanted to enjoy the experience as much as I could," said Zalatoris, according to ASAP Sports. "I don't want to leave anything - looking back from 20 years from now I don't want to regret my attitude or anything like that."
Shane Lowry shot rounds of 70 and 72 to make the cut. As a result, the Irishman extends the longest active streak of cuts made at major championships with 12.
Rory McIlroy, who led after 18 holes, posted a 1-over 71 on Friday to fall back into a tie for fifth. Jordan Spieth, who would complete the career Grand Slam with a win this week, made the cut at 1-over. He's 10 strokes back heading into the weekend.
Thomas and Watson will tee off in the penultimate pairing in Saturday's third round at 2:40 p.m. ET.
Zalatoris and Pereira, whose 64 on Friday at Southern Hills matched his career low on TOUR, will tee off as the final pair Saturday at 2:50 p.m. ET.