• The PGA Championship is halfway there and everyone is tied at the top
• Further down, Brooks Koepka is tied for sixth place at two under par
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World number two Scottie Scheffler, Canadian Corey Conners, Norwegian Viktor Hovland snatched a share of the PGA Championship’s second-round lead on Friday, while the unforgiving Oak Hill kept some of golf’s biggest names fighting for qualification.

Scheffler, who posted his first bogey-free spin at a major tournament with a neat 67 on Thursday, could not match that brilliance in the second half but delivered as usual a clinical performance by going two under 68 to get back on top.

Conners started the day level with Scheffler one back of pacemaker Bryson DeChambeau and finished in the same position also signing 68.

World number 11 Hovland started his round with back-to-back birdies and then made a five-foot birdie putt in the 18th minute to join Conners and Scheffler at five under 135.

“The tournament is halfway there,” said Scheffler, who can reclaim the numbers ranking with a win on Sunday. ‘I’ve had two good days so far, and I just hope to continue with that as time goes on.

‘You get rewarded for a good shot here, and if you execute, you can make a birdie on almost any hole.

‘So when you can hang on to the lead and stay in position and hopefully wait to get hot, it’s a great position to be in.’

The three men opened up a two-shot lead going into the weekend on Justin Suh (68) and LIV Golf standard carrier DeChambeau, who scored an 18th for one-over 71.

Brooks Koepka (66), another member of the LIV Golf contingent, and Callum Tarren (67) were two strokes below.

And LIV Koepka’s tour partner Patrick Reed shot a 71 in the second half, and was in 35th place with a three-over.

Through the first two rounds the golfers have faced everything Mother Nature can throw at them with high winds, frost and rain adding to the already solid defense of Oak Hill.

After freezing and freezing temperatures delayed Thursday’s start of play, wind and rain became a problem Friday as only nine of 156 players reached the halfway mark of the year’s second major under par.

Defending champion Justin Thomas, six-time major winner Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth, who needed only the PGA Championship to complete a career grand slam, all made it through to the weekend very easily at the cut line five times. .

Spieth, making his seventh career try, threw a shot that required eight feet in the 18th minute to secure his spot.

The day started with 30 golfers returning early to complete their first round after darkness halted play on Thursday, and the action continued non-stop with players rushing back to the East Course with officials determined to be back on schedule.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry started the day with a three-over closer to the cutline later in contention, but the 2019 British Open champion found a bit of magic in the back nine with five birdies in six holes between the 10th and 15th.

Lowry would boge his final two holes on the way home, but his 67 would see him level through two rounds in a package that included good friend Rory McIlroy.

Four-time major winner McIlroy is yet to find any form at Oak Hill but the Northern Irishman’s grit kept him in the hunt for a one-under 69, ending with a 17-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole.

“I hit that putt at the end, I looked at the board, and I thought, I can’t believe I’m back five,” said McIlroy. “I think that’s a good thing because I know if I can play him off the tee that’s the key to my success over the weekend.

‘If I can play the ball off the tee, I will try.’

World number one Jon Rahm bounced back from an opening round of 76 with two under 68 which was enough to see the Spaniard qualify for the weekend with a total of four over.

This Cinderella story in the PGA Championship is 46-year-old Michael Block, one of 20 teaching club professionals on the course, who has played some of golf’s biggest names on par 70 level two-round cards to qualify.

Other notable performances included Justin Rose tied for eighth place one-under, Collin Morikawa tied for 19th at one-over, and Max Homa tied for 35th three-over.

The tournament runs for two more days and will end on Sunday.