Tiger Woods says goodbye after a difficult day

The second day at the PGA Championship turned into a nearly endless affair, to the extent that the round was not quite completed. The day started with a one-and-a-half-hour delay due to the tragic incident of a tournament worker being fatally struck by a vehicle at five in the morning, while they were in the vicinity of Valhalla. An hour later, Scottie Scheffler’s arrest occurred due to an incident with a police officer.

Nevertheless, someone must have pulled some strings, and the world number one managed to arrive on time to start his match after posing for his mugshot in the characteristic orange jumpsuit issued to detainees in the United States. Once focused on golf and overcoming the ordeal, Scheffler reaffirmed his title candidacy with a stellar round of 66 strokes, displaying great composure throughout. In the morning session, Jon Rahm also played but struggled, ultimately failing to make the cut after signing for a 72. David Puig will also miss out, and Adrián Otaegui (playing the 15th hole, par) did not finish his round and still has a chance to continue into the weekend.

Tiger Woods, results

During the morning, another standout player alongside Scheffler, who has also won two majors, was Collin Morikawa (65), a golfer known not for his power but for consistently hitting fairways, which is crucial at Valhalla. Xander Schauffele (68), who is more of a power hitter, also fits that mold and remains in the lead with a total of 130 strokes, followed closely by Morikawa with 131. Bryson DeChambeau (65 on day 2 and 133 total) is no longer flying under the radar; he leads the field in distance but miraculously remains near the top despite missing fairways.

Brooks Koepka was another player who was accurate off the tee. After a brilliant first nine holes, he encountered a double bogey on the 10th, which initially did not deter him. He began stringing together birdies but made bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, fortunately closing his round with a birdie (68 on the day, 135 total). Rory McIlroy (137 overall) did not recover from his double bogey on the 12th. Nonetheless, several notable players remain at the top of the leaderboard, and Rory still has his chances.

Tiger Woods plummeted from the start of the day, standing at +7 after playing four holes. He recorded two triple bogeys during this span, which was almost inexplicable, especially the incident on the 4th hole, where his drive was perfect. Nevertheless, he remains focused on continuing to work hard, expressing that he still enjoys competing. “It’s been a great week at Valhalla, and my result hasn’t reflected how people have treated me here […] I’m going to keep fighting until the end,” he said. He also added, “I need to play more; I still have a long way to go, I need to improve physically, and I hope my team and I can achieve that before Pinehurst.”