A birdie on the challenging 18th hole at Quail Hollow Club positioned Ryan Fox of New Zealand within the top 10 as Australian players experienced setbacks on the second day of the PGA Championship in Charlotte.
Fox was among just 11 golfers to achieve a birdie on the par-4 18th hole Friday. His approach shot from 152 yards landed close to the cup, finishing just outside two feet from it. This concluded an even-par round of 71 for Fox, who is tied for seventh going into the weekend.
Jhonattan Vegas from Venezuela retained his two-shot lead after shooting a round of 1-under 70. Fox was one of fifteen competitors separated by merely two strokes on a day where thirteen out of eighteen holes played over their par.
Cam Davis, initially tied for second with a first-round score of 66, managed only one birdie in his three-over-par round of 74, dropping him into a tie for twenty-seventh at two-under. Fellow Australian Adam Scott also ended up at two-under after suffering a double-bogey on the final hole.
Elvis Smylie made his PGA Championship debut and was three-under early in his round with birdies at holes one and three. However, he finished with a double bogey on eighteen and bogeyed seventeen for a total score of seventy-three, barely making the cut at one-over.
Min Woo Lee started strong with four early back-nine birdies but ultimately missed the cut after losing shots on both seventeen and eighteen. Former champion Jason Day, Cameron Smith, and Karl Vilips all failed to make it past the cut line.
Fox entered this tournament as the last qualifier following his victory at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic last Sunday. With limited preparation time consisting only of playing eighteen holes Wednesday, Fox drew upon his experience from participating in all rounds during the 2017 PGA Championship held at Quail Hollow. He scored an opening-round sixty-seven Thursday followed by successful back-nine birdies Friday.
Scott began Round Two steadily before achieving three back-nine birdies himself but encountered difficulty when attempting to navigate Quail Hollow’s notorious eighteenth hole finisher. After hitting into water along its left side with his approach shot resulting eventually only scraping by post-penalty recovery efforts involved putt attempts unable reaching intended target accurately enough leading ultimately disappointing bogey outcome overall
Davis highlighted eventful sixth-hole chip-in eagle measuring fifty-three feet away marking solitary instance requiring no putts needed otherwise relying extensively thirty other instances elsewhere within competition session showing noticeable difference compared earlier stages initial series participation featuring fewer instances requiring extensive putting work significantly more manageable circumstances comparatively speaking
Smylie demonstrated growing composure competing against elite-level opposition registering fourteen green hits regulation across field performance yet faced considerable frustration dealing resultant putting demands throughout encounter despite promising starts converting several opportunities present earlier intervals securing progress position advancing further deeper proceedings forthcoming
