Rory McIlroy is back in contention at the US PGA Championship, declaring himself "right in the tournament" after a stunning second-round turnaround. The Northern Irishman, who was visibly frustrated after a four-over-par opening round that threatened to derail his bid for back-to-back major titles, roared back with a bogey-free 67 at Aronimink Golf Club in southwest Philadelphia.
Starting the day eight shots off the clubhouse lead, McIlroy now sits just five back from co-leaders Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy heading into the weekend's "moving day." His resurgence is even more impressive considering only two players—Chris Gotterup (65) and Ludvig Aberg (66)—have posted lower scores over the first two days.
The leaderboard is unusually congested, with 15 players within two shots of the midway lead for only the third time in major championship history. McIlroy, never one to mince words, labeled his opening round "shit" and when asked to describe his second, quipped: "Not as shit."
"At five back I do feel like I'm right in the tournament, and that's really what I wanted to do today—just get myself back in it," McIlroy said. He attributed his improved performance to a better understanding of the course conditions, admitting he was "too aggressive" in the first round after practice rounds didn't hint at the difficulty that awaited.
The pace of play was characteristically slow for a major, with McIlroy's group taking over five hours to complete their round. "It seems like the first two days of major championship golf are always going to be like that," he noted.
Aronimink has proven a stern test, defying pre-tournament predictions that it wouldn't challenge the world's best. World number one Scottie Scheffler, who battled to a second-round 71 to sit two off the lead, called the pin placements "the hardest I have seen on tour." McIlroy has mixed feelings about the course's setup, particularly questioning the tightly packed leaderboard, but there's no doubt he's right where he wants to be—within striking distance of another major title.