Xander Schauffele waves after the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky.The cheers were endless Saturday in the PGA Championship, and when another record day of scoring finally ended at vulnerable Valhalla, so were the possibilities.
Scheffler’s remarkable streak of 42 consecutive rounds at par or better finally ended in the second-lowest scoring average for a Saturday at the PGA Championship. He faded early, never quite recovered and shot 73 to finish eight shots back with 23 players ahead of him. Sahith Theegala birdied six of his last 10 holes for a 68 and was one shot behind. Another shot back was the trio of Lowry, DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland – a British Open champion, U.S. Open champion and FedEx Cup champion.“There are a ton of guys who can do it tomorrow,” Morikawa said.Scheffler was coming off the most heart-racing day of his career that featured an arrest for not following police orders, brief jail time and a 66 to get into contention for a second straight major.
DeChambeau had only three birdies and didn’t get much out of his round until he chipped in for his eagle, a moment so loud it was hard to tell if he or the thousands of fans were more excited. He said he hasn’t felt that kind of energy since his 58 to win LIV Golf Greenbrier last year. That’s 15 players at 10 under or better, the most through 54 holes in major championship history. The previous record was seven players, most recently at St. Andrews in 2022.
He was 4 over through four holes, and on three occasions he followed a birdie with a bogey. It was his highest score since a 73 in the third round of the Tour Championship last August.