Smalley and McNealy lead the PGA, but Aronimink is the real leader so far

NEWTON SQUARE, Pa. — As the early morning golfers set out for their second day of play at the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, you sort of had the feeling they felt as though they were playing somewhere else besides outside of Philadelphia in May.

There were more heavy hoodies being worn that golf shirts. Skull caps replaced baseball hats, and some even wore gloves when they weren’t swinging a club. And almost everyone arrived at the practice putting green before their tee time with a hot cup of coffee, or something, in hand.

The weekend is going to feel more like summer, but for the second straight day, a chilling and bothersome wind engulfed the course, not helping players who have struggled with the rough and roller coaster-like greens. It made for a day of just holding on more than really putting any big rush towards the top of the leaderboard.

Many big names didn’t make it on cut day, some lesser known held on to their good spots, and others just battled tooth and nail to stay around for a weekend that is going to be highlighted by sunshine and warmer weather, which might make these greens with the crafty pin placements as challenging as any.

Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy were atop the leaderboard at four under par, one stroke ahead of a group of six that included Chris Gotterup, who shot a Thursday-best 65. But the real leader so far after two rounds is Aronimink, which is making these golfers look somewhat human.

“Yeah, you never know going into a tournament how things are going to be,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler after posting a one-over 71, the 13th time he’s been in the top 10 after Day 2 of a major in his career. He is five strokes off the lead.

“You just get a feel for the golf course and how firm the greens are, and I was a bit surprised how far they pushed a lot of these pin locations. But I mean, after, when you’re looking at the pins Wednesday night you see it, you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, they’re pushing these things as far as they can,’ and you go, ‘Okay, great.’ Then you know going into it. I was a bit surprised how windy it was. When we went out to play our practice round on Wednesday, there were guys that even elected not to play just because of how windy it was on Wednesday, and it was fairly comparable to how it was this morning. And I was glad I went out there and played on Wednesday because I think that experience on a new golf course and a lot of wind was helpful for me going into today’s round.”

Scheffler entered Friday tied for the lead, but bogeyed three of his first four holes. He birdied three of his final 11 holes, with one bogey, to put himself in a fine position for the weekend.

“This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on TOUR, and that includes U.S. Opens, that includes Oakmont.,” Scheffler said. “I did ask (caddies), ‘Have you seen anything like this before?’ They said maybe Shinnecock is the only place they have seen that has pins that could compare to this.

“But it’s different in a sense on this golf course, because Oakmont, their greens are extremely severe, but they’re extremely severe in one direction. Here, it’s like the green may slope all this way and then we put the pin down here and then there’s also a slope this way. And like it’s not as, how would you say, natural to the slopes that are there. There’s a bit more, I think, that’s manufactured into the greens, and it’s just very difficult. It’s difficult to get the ball close to the hole. It’s difficult to hole putts, especially when you have big slopes and wind, and I think that’s why you see the scores so close to par.”

While patrons are here to see the talents of the world’s greatest players, you get the feeling walking around the grounds that having a course in our area present such a challenge is quite gratifying.

It wasn’t uncommon the first two days to see players fly over a green from a green-side bunker, or flub a shot out of the rough, or roll a put completely off a green. Aronimink has presented itself not just as a physical challenge, but a mental one, too. The reactions of players after shots throughout the day told that story.

Smalley, who entered the day among the leaders at three under, kind of was a microcosm of how the course played on Friday. Starting on the back nine with an early tee-time, Smalley held on for his first nine holes and even picked up two birdies to get to a tournament-leading five under par. But he then bogeyed his next three holes before picking up a birdie and No. 4, and then another at nine to finish out his day at one under 69.

“A lot of really good moments, some not so great moments, and then a lot of just trying to keep moving forward in between,” said Smalley, who has finished in the top 25 in his last five events.

“It was difficult, it was chilly this morning, the wind was up. Some of the hole locations are very difficult. They’re right on the top of a crown. So you might have a putt that goes uphill, but once it gets to the hole, it starts going downhill. So I had a couple 15- or 20-footers up the hill today that I was really just trying to lag up near around the hole and trying not to let it get away from me. It was difficult. I definitely would have taken a 1-under today before I teed off.”

Almost all would, but some did even better than that. Chris Gotterup had the round of the day with 65 to put him at three under for the tournament. Cam Young continued his torrid play of the past few months with a 67, including an eagle on the par 5 ninth, that was playing 590 yards.

Some of the bigger names that won’t be around for the rest of the weekend include Bryson DeChambeau, who finished seven over with a round of 71 after a 76 on Thursday. Tommy Fleetwood was one off the cut line of four over after his 73 on Thursday. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley finished his two days at six over par, while Delco native Braden Shattuck, the club pro at Rolling Green in Springfield Township, shot a 75 Thursday to finish the tournament at 16 over par.

As the weather turns better for the weekend, perhaps the scores will, too. Aronimink will have a lot to say about it, though.