Vegas keeps lead, but Scheffler makes move at Quail Hollow

Jhonattan Vegas will take the PGA Championship lead to the weekend at Quail Hollow, but Scottie Scheffler is among those hot on the Venezuelan's heels at the season's second major.

The first-round leader actually reached 10-under Friday but gave two strokes back with a double-bogey on the challenging 18th hole. That puts him two clear of Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Si Woo Kim, with Scheffler just three strokes off the pace.

Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau were among those also making a push Friday, with Homa joining Scheffler at 5-under, while last year's U.S. Open champ is five back at 3-under.

You'd never know Vegas doesn't have a top-20 finish at a major by the way he played Friday after sleeping on the overnight lead. He played sound, mistake-free golf until the treacherous 18th caused that crucial double-bogey despite Vegas finding the fairway with his driver. His lead remains the same two strokes it was after Thursday, although the chasers bring significantly more pop than those after Round 1.

"This is kind of what we put all those hours for," Vegas said, according to ASAP Sports. "You put all those hours to give yourself chances like this. Unfortunately I haven't been able to do it throughout my career, but like I said, you never know. You got to keep the pedal down, keep your head down, and keep working hard. You never know when things are going to turn your way."

While Pavon doesn't have much of a resume when it comes to majors, Fitzpatrick's U.S. Open win in 2022 showed he has the ability to close the deal. Add the entertaining Kim - who broke the record for longest ace in major history Friday with a 252-yard hole-in-one at No. 6 - and the pack in second is worthy of chasing down Vegas.

However, many people will probably view Scheffler as most dangerous, with the World No. 1 sitting in the wings despite once again not having his best stuff. Scheffler hit just six fairways Friday but somehow escaped with just one bogey on the card. That speaks to his unmatched mental ability to get around the golf course efficiently while avoiding trouble.

"If you're going to play a 72-hole golf tournament, there's going to be days and stretches of golf where you're not swinging it your best," Scheffler said afterward. "Over the course of a tournament this long and on a major championship setup, there's going to be, like I said, some bumps in the road. It's all about how you respond to those. I did a good job of responding to those mistakes today and keeping myself in the tournament."

Scheffler's joined by a resurgent Homa, who charged with the lowest round of his major career - a 7-under 64 that featured a near-ace on the 341-yard par-4 14th. Homa's struggled mightily in regular PGA TOUR events this year, but after a T-12 at the Masters last month, it seems he's up for the challenge at the majors. He's certainly comfortable at Quail Hollow, as he notched his first career PGA TOUR win there in 2019.

While he didn't get to 5-under, DeChambeau is once again firmly in the mix at a major following a 3-under 68 on Friday. There's no question the reigning U.S. Open champ has established himself as one of the game's best major players, and he sits second favorite to win the event despite being five off the pace.

If there's going to be another DeChambeau duo with Rory McIlroy, the latter will have to go super low on the weekend after a disappointing Friday finish dropped him back to 1-over for the championship. A bogey-bogey close for the Masters champ saw him fall back to the cutline, with an up-and-down needed at the 18th just to make the weekend. McIlroy does hold the course record at Quail Hollow with a 61, but he might need to match that twice this weekend to have any chance.