PGA Championship Rd. 2 notebook: Rahm, Puig move into contention

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Spaniards David Puig and Jon Rahm lead the list of seven LIV Golf players who made the cut at the PGA Championship and will compete for the Wanamaker Trophy this weekend at Aronimink Golf Club.

Puig, making just his sixth major start, has the best position on the 36-hole leaderboard as part of a seven-way tie for ninth. The young Fireballs GC star is at 2 under, just two strokes off the lead shared by Americans Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley. It’s the first time he’s been inside the top 10 after any round in a major. Puig will be paired with defending champion Scottie Scheffler (see tee times below).

Rahm is another shot back, tied for 16th. The Legion XIII captain and two-time major winner is seeking to add the third leg of the career grand slam.

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith broke his string of six missed cuts in majors and is at even par, tied for 22nd.

Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Joaquin Niemann are among 15 players tied for 44th at 2 over. Elvis Smylie made the cut on the number at 4 over and is tied for 68th.

The four players who missed the cut were Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin and Bryson DeChambeau, the latter finishing his round with three consecutive birdies to shoot a 1-over 71 after his opening 76.

PUIG READY FOR NEXT STEP

David Puig is entering uncharted territory at this weekend’s PGA Championship. It’s also the next natural step in his quest to become a major champion.

The young Fireballs GC star produced one of the rare low rounds Friday at Aronimink Golf Club, shooting a 3-under 67 that leaves him at 2 under for the tournament and inside the top 10 of the leaderboard. It’s his best position after any of his 18 rounds played in his six-start major career.

“Really excited about the weekend,” said the 24-year-old Spaniard, whose previous best 36-hole position was 49th in his first major, the 2023 U.S. Open. “I think obviously I could do some things better. I think I’ve been getting better year after year, and I definitely got to this major championship as best prepared as I ever was compared to the other ones I played.”

In his opening 1-over 71 on Thursday, Puig relied on his strength with the driver, as he ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained Off the Tee. On Friday, he leaned heavily on his putter, especially at the seventh and eighth holes when he rolled in par-saving putts from 21 and 17 feet. He also saved par at the 12th with an 8-footer.

Puig suffered his lone bogey on the day at the 14th, reclaimed that lost shot with a birdie at the par-5 16th, then finished his round with another birdie at the par-4 18th, making a putt from 33 feet. The 67 equals his lowest round in a major.

“Yesterday’s driving was incredible,” he said. “Today, I probably visited the rough a couple more times, so that’s why I said maybe I drove it a little worse. But it’s still pretty good.

“Yesterday, I didn’t really make much on the greens, but today I had a great day. So, it’s good to have some sort of combination between driver and putter.”

The driver definitely made a positive impact at the 16th. Facing a tee shot into the wind, he swung with such force that he had to take a few steps back after impact to keep his balance. The 329-yard drive allowed him to carry the bunkers on the left side. He then hit his approach from 211 yards to 35 feet for a two-putt birdie.

“Just kind of went full send and went backwards on my finish a little bit,” Puig said. “I hit it really good.”

Two more days of hitting it really good might very well lead to something special late Sunday afternoon.

RAHM’S LATE BOGEYS

Jon Rahm was a bogey-free 2 under through his first 12 holes Friday and tied for third overall before bogeys at the par-4 13th and 15th holes knocked him down the leaderboard. Even so, he enters the third round tied for 16th – his second-best position through 36 holes in his 12 major starts since winning the Masters in 2023.

SMITH’S 60-FOOT PUTT

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith ended his second round on a high note, rolling in a birdie putt from 60 feet, 2 inches to finish his 1-over 71.

Smith, who is even par through 36 holes, not only made the cut for the first time in his last seven major starts but is inside the top 25 for the first time after two rounds at a major since the 2024 Masters, when he was eighth.

KAYMER’S TOUGH STRETCH

After claiming a share of the first-round lead with an opening 3-under 67, 2010 PGA champion Martin Kaymer suffered five bogeys in his first seven holes before playing even-par golf the rest of the way. His 5-over 75 dropped him down the leaderboard but he stayed inside the cutline with a 2-over total. It’s the second time in his last seven starts in the PGA Championship that he’s made the cut.

“It was super, super hard this morning,” Kaymer said. “I played OK, but I missed a couple of tee shots here and there. Had some shocking lies and couldn’t get to the green, and obviously you collect some bogeys. Couple of 3-putts, more bogeys. All of the sudden you’re 4 or 5 over and I didn’t feel like I did much different than yesterday. Every time I missed the fairway, I had a bad lie. Yesterday I got away with it almost every single time. Today was the complete opposite.”

With an early tee time Friday, Kaymer faced gusty and cold winds on his front nine. By the time he finished his round, the winds had subsided and the sun was out for the afternoon wave.

“We talk about LIV being fair since we all play in the same conditions,” the Cleeks Golf Club captain said. “Look at this now. Now it’s beautiful to play. But that’s what the majors are about – if you’re lucky and you have a good draw. It was still playable today, especially the back nine. The front nine, I thought, was brutal.”

Kaymer expected the afternoon leaders to build on their advantage, which will leave him with a big deficit going into the weekend. But if he can repeat the kind of performance he displayed in the opening round, perhaps he can still make noise.

“If you have one of those 4-, 5-unders, it’s a great round on this golf course,” he said. “I was close yesterday. I need one of those rounds tomorrow or Sunday to creep up there. 5-over today hurts. If I’d been around par today, it would’ve been nice.”

DJ’S EARLY START

4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson was in the first group Friday and was 2 over through his first eight holes. But he regained both strokes while playing bogey-free the rest of the way, leaving him inside the cutline with a 2-over total through 36 holes.

LATE BOGEYS NEARLY DOOM SMYLIE

Elvis Smylie, the first-year LIV Golf player who won the season opener in Riyadh after joining Ripper GC, was inside the cut line with four holes to play. He had played his first 14 holes at 1 under and was on a streak of 11 bogey-free holes.

But his tee shot at the par-4 15th found the rough and he had to lay up with his approach, missing a 17-foot par putt. His tee shot at the par-3 17th dribbled off the back edge; he followed with an excellent birdie attempt from 67 feet that ran past by 4 feet but unfortunately missed that short par putt.

That left him tied for 70th at the time and sitting firmly on the cutline at 3 over when he played the 18th. His tee shot found the right rough, and his approach found the greenside bunker, and he couldn’t get up-and-down. The final bogey didn’t end his week, however, as the cutline moved later in the day and he made the weekend on the number at 4 over.

STROKES GAINED STARS 

Through two rounds, David Puig ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (+1.561). Jon Rahm ranks second in Strokes Gained Around the Green (+1.824). Cameron Smith ranks ninth in Strokes Gained Putting (+1.940). Joaquin Niemann is LIV Golf’s highest-ranked player in Strokes Gained Tee to Green (+2.752, 13th overall). In Friday’s Rd. 2, Puig led the field in Strokes Gained Putting (+3.972). On Thursday, he ranked second in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (+2.114).

ROUND 3 TEE TIMES

8:39 a.m. ELVIS SMYLIE (with Luke Donald)

9:51 a.m. JOAQUIN NIEMANN (with Tom Hoge)

10:30 a.m. MARTIN KAYMER (with Matt Fitzpatrick)

10:50 a.m. DUSTIN JOHNSON (with Jordan Spieth)

12:30 p.m. – CAMERON SMITH (with Rico Hoey)

12:50 p.m. – JON RAHM (with Andrew Putnam)

1:40 p.m. – DAVID PUIG (with Scottie Scheffler)