CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler would love to have the birdie putt back that he missed on the 17th hole. He lamented a missed opportunity at the 10th as well. He nitpicked his swing and a few other things following the second round of the PGA Championship.
And he’s three shots out of the lead.
Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, shot 68 at Quail Hollow to move into a tie for fifth while his playing partners—Masters champ Rory McIlroy and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele—were flirting with the 36-hole cut.
“I like the position I’m in going into the weekend,” Scheffler said. “Obviously I wish I was a little bit further up the leaderboard. I think I got a lot out of my game the last couple days.
“I felt like, as the round went on, my swing continued to get better, and I was able to hit some key shots down the stretch to give myself some opportunities. Looking forward to the weekend.”
Scheffler is three shots back of 36-hole leader Jhonattan Vegas, who leads a trio of players—Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim—by two shots. Scheffler is tied for fifth with Max Homa, with whom he will be paired in the third round.
His round included four birdies and a single bogey and since making a double bogey at his seventh hole of the tournament, Scheffler has played 29 holes in 5 under par.
“I think that’s part of also being in a good head space,” he said. “There’s going to be bumps in the road. There’s going to be challenges out there. Yesterday the mud balls were definitely a bit of a challenge.
“It's always frustrating when you lose shots really just due to a bad break and not really making a poor swing. It’s all about how you bounce back and staying in the moment yesterday and today on two days where I really didn’t swing it my best and was able to keep myself in the tournament really.
“Yesterday and today were days that were pretty challenging out there, so I’m proud to still be in the golf tournament and looking forward to another couple of days.”
Scheffler, Fitzpatrick and Bryson DeChambeau (who is tied for 17th, five back) are the only three players among the top 25 on the leaderboard who have won a major championship.
“I think most of me is just glad to be close to the lead,” Scheffler said. “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.
“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.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Without His Best Stuff, Scottie Scheffler Is Lurking at Quail Hollow.