Scottie Scheffler didn’t have his best Friday at the PGA. It’s still his to lose

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Scottie Scheffler stood at the first bar and looked at the beginning of Aronimink Golf Club’s before nine He had been waiting, along with Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, for a while. Play in 2026 PGA Championship it’s been a slog over two rounds.

There Scheffler stood, chatting with caddy Ted Scott, working out an un-Scheffler opening nine in his second round. He missed his first six fairways and bogeyed three of his first four holes as Philadelphia’s terrible conditions and locations of diabolical pins got the best of the defending champion. He waited and calmed his mind. This major championship will be a test of patience. That’s what Scheffler himself said after the opening round.

Now, without his A-game, that patience was key to staying in the fight — to give himself the best chance to take home another Wanamaker trophy.

“I feel like if it’s hard for me out there, then it’s going to be hard for the other players,” Scheffler said Friday. “It was pretty obvious to say that today’s conditions were pretty tough, and so I kept reminding myself of that. I think even when the pins get that tough, you have to pick and choose when you’re going to try and maybe go for a pin or try to play a little bit smarter.”

As many of the world’s best bombed Aronimink as they tried to force their way back onto the board, Scheffler showed the “relentlessness” that Rory McIlroy often trumpets. The thing that makes Scheffler’s golf unstoppable.

The moment Scheffler was waiting for came a few holes later when he faced a 143-yard approach on Aronimink’s par-4 fourth hole. It was the same yard he faced on his approach to no. 2, but with a different wind direction. Earlier on No. 2, Scheffler played it safe, hit a 30-footer and made par. Facing a different wind direction at no. 4, but with the same ball, Scheffler stepped on the gas.

“On the second hole, how windy it is and where the pin is, it’s not the time for me to try to put one in there,” Scheffler said. “Just get in there about 30 feet and two-putt and get out of there and maybe steal one with a putt. And then go to the fourth hole, get the right number and it’s OK, let me try to get it a little closer.”

He holed it to five feet and birdied it to get to 2 under, where he sits after 36 holes, two shots off the 36-hole lead.

He’s two back, but this PGA Championship still feels like Scottie Scheffler’s to lose. He went out early Friday in cold and blustery conditions and only hit half his fairway. He ranked 42nd in the field in Total Strokes Gained in Round 2 as of this writing. He ranked 82nd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 126th in Strokes Gained: Putting. He did almost nothing and could not find a way out.

But good iron play (he’s ranked seventh in the approach) and his biggest weapon — an elite ability to think in terms of big championship tests when he’s not at his best — have him on the front page of the leaderboard, close enough for everyone to notice.

Scheffler said the pins at Aronimink have been “kind of absurd,” given the wind conditions. The test was difficult, but not unfair. However, it was no surprise to him that the PGA of America decided to push the envelope. On Wednesday, as the winds blew around Philadelphia, many of Scheffler’s competitors chose to cut practice rounds short or cancel altogether. Scheffler said he chose to play in the strong winds, ensuring he was prepared for anything. If there is an edge, the best find it. It was there Friday morning as he battled around Aronimink, throwing enough punches to enter the weekend as the defending champion and the favorite to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy again and do what he’s best in the world at: solving golf’s ultimate puzzles.

“I think you can always see that, and I think that’s what’s great about the tougher tests,” Scheffler said Friday when asked if he saw low scores there. “A lot of times you see someone figure it out.”

Everyone on the field is looking for answers. After two rounds at Aronimink, it’s not hard to see who has the best chance of solving this riddle this weekend.