Back in the 1970s, Dan Jenkins lamented, “My editors never forgave me for the unpardonable sins of George Archer and Bob Coody,” when they won the Masters instead of Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer.
Cut to 50 years later, and when I asked my editor who was leading the 2025 PGA Championship during Round 1, he responded, “Nobody you’d like…”
He was being facetious, to be sure, but there is still a grain of truth. Journalists root for great stories, and we have more than our share of puzzling strangers on the leaderboard at the halfway mark of this, the 107th PGA Championship, while several marquee names left North Carolina’s Quail Hollow Club with a trunk slam and a screech of tires.
Most fans recognize the leader, 40-year-old Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas as a PGA Tour fixture, although he has never finished higher than 22nd in any of his prior six PGA Championship appearances, and that was all the way back in 2016 at Baltusrol when Jimmy Walker won. On Thursday, Vegas birdied five of his final six holes to card a 7-under 64. Quite the turnaround considering in his previous 18 rounds of PGA Championship competition, Vegas had broken 70 just three times and never scored lower than 68.
Join Golf News Net for $10 per year, and go ad-free!Vegas stayed hot on Friday reaching 10-under par before a double bogey at the 18th derailed his round. His shot of the day was his flared iron at No. 17 that caromed zanily off the rake on the side of the bunker, then rolled harmlessly onto the green, settling a mere 15 feet away and securing an easy par. The former Texas Longhorn holds a two-shot lead over Si Woo Kim, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Matthieu Pavon of France. Vegas followed his opening 64 with a 1-under 70 to post an 8-under score to par at the halfway mark. And in 16 major starts, he has yet to crack the top 20.
“This course is never easy, especially paying thhs long and this tough, but I’m in a good place mentally. That’s what I came here to do, enjoy the process. And that’s what I’m doing, I’m staying in the moment and enjoying the process,” Vegas stated. “I have great coaches around me…We have a long 36 holes to go. I’m gonna take it one shot at a time, and I’m gonna try my best to bring it home.”
Matthieu Pavon of Toulouse, France, is raising almost as many eyebrows as Vegas. Playing in his first PGA Championship, Pavon fired a bogey-free 65 in the second round, including a blistering 31 on his outward nine. Splitting his time between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, Pavon became the first French golfer to win on the PGA Tour since 1907 with his victory at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open. The last was Arnaud Massey, who won the Open Championship that year at Royal Liverpool.
“I was very lucky to play the Wells Fargo last year on this golf course and get a little taste of it, because I understand it better,” he said energetically. “I try to get disciplined on the golf course and even more when it’s a major, because mistakes can add up very quickly and you can walk away with very high numbers. Something I’m proud of today was 14. Very drivable, but for me that back pin was a layup. I wanted to make birdies, but I laid back with a 4-iron. I hit a mice wedge and I made a birdie.”
Pavon will play with Si Woo Kim in the second-to-last pairing of the day, behind Vegas and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Kim carded a hole-in-one on the brutally long, 252-yard 6th hole on Friday. Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa are three shots back of Vegas at 5-under total.
Ten players are tied at 4-under 138, and another 10 are tied at 3 under. All in all, 74 players made the cut in this, just the second major contested at Quail Hollow, the former being the 2017 PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas.
Quail Hollow may serviceable as a PGA Tour stop – it’s extreme length combined with ubiquitous water keep scores moderately respectable and tournaments dramatic. But Hunter Mahan skewered the course and the PGA of America with a truth bomb – this charmless, target-style throwback to the 1980s, has no strategy or depth. The Kardashian of golf courses Mahan called it; I call it a soft option for the PGA of America. Still, the goodie bags are superb.
However, when dialed up to major championship difficulty, regular Tour stops run the risk of artificially suppressing scoring and letting a wider majority of golfers be competitive. Frequently, tricked-up golf courses produce off-brand winners. And a sharpened Quail Hollow with rough grown to jungle status by torrential rains has produce a leaderboard where the money list is turned upside down. How else can you explain Spieth, Koepka, Matsuyama, Rose, Thomas and Lowry going home (combined 13 majors), while Garrick Higgo, Ryan Gerard, Denny McCarthy, Sam Stevens, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Michael Thorbjornsen are all within touching distance of the Wanamaker Trophy?
Besides, you knew it was going to be another wacky week at the PGA when Rory McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion had his driver ruled non-conforming on Tuesday. At least the PGA of America checked gear on Tuesday instead of Thursday morning, like they did in 1977 at Pebble Beach. And - *JACKPOT!* - they dinged Tom Watson for non-conforming Ram irons. The U-grooves were too wide. The controversy stemmed from the fact that Watson had used those same clubs to win the Masters and British Open that same year.
“Who’s got clubs?," Watson asked franticly, as the minutes before his tee time ticked away. “I’ll take anything!”
Borrowing a set from Roger Maltbie, Watson shot 68 on the course where five years later he would win the U.S. Open. A set hurriedly flown in from his home in Kansas City arrived in time for Friday’s round. He shot 73-71-74 with the substitute set and went on to finish in a tie for sixth, four shots behind Lanny Wadkins who won in a playoff over Gene Littler.
Ray Floyd and Gary Player were also dinged for non-conforming grooves. Floyd was prepared, having brought an extra set of clubs with him. Player, who didn't have a spare set, spent the afternoon in a workshop filing down his old irons to conform with the rules.
Oh well. At least we didn’t have someone in handcuffs in the back of a squad cruiser. Cough cough! Scottie! Scottie! Cough cough!
