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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania, May 15 (Reuters) - Maverick McNealy joined overnight co-leader Alex Smalley at the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard on Friday as the American pair reached the halfway stage tied at four under par after a testing second round at chilly, wind-swept Aronimink Golf Club.
McNealy, who had been the on-course leader at five under with five holes to play and later moved as low as six under, dropped shots late before finishing level with Smalley, who earlier carded a one-under-par 69 to set the clubhouse target.
The leaders were one shot clear of Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee and Max Greyserman, who were grouped at three under, while defending champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler remained firmly in the mix at two under, two shots off the lead.
Smalley, who started on the more difficult back nine, held the outright lead by two shots at one point before falling back with three consecutive bogeys after the turn. He stopped the bleeding with a birdie at the par-four fourth and added another at the par-five ninth where his eagle attempt stopped 14 inches from the hole.
"A lot of really good moments, some not so great moments, and then a lot of just trying to keep moving forward in between," said Smalley. "It was difficult, it was chilly this morning, the wind was up."
McNealy looked set to take control of the tournament when he reached six under, but late mistakes brought him back to the field and he finished tied with Smalley at four under. He had a chance to take the solo halfway lead at his final hole, the par-five ninth, but was unable to convert his birdie putt.
"I didn't feel like I played that great. I somehow got a lot out of my game, and this is obviously new territory for me. But I am confident that it's going to go into the experience bank, and good or bad, I'm going to learn a lot from it," the American said.
Former Masters champion Matsuyama carded his only bogey of the day at Aronimink's par-four sixth hole when he failed to get up and down after his approach from the fairway zipped back off the front of the green.
Scheffler, who also went off the back nine, dropped out of the lead with bogeys on three of his first four holes as he struggled to find the fairways in windy conditions while also dealing with tricky pin positions.
He mixed a bogey with three birdies the rest of the way, including at the ninth where his eagle attempt settled three feet from the cup, and signed for a one-over 71 that left him at two under for the week.
"I feel like if it's hard for me out there, then it's going to be hard for other players," said Scheffler. "It was pretty obvious to tell this morning the conditions were pretty tough, and so I just kept trying to remind myself of that."
Martin Kaymer, who won the 2010 PGA Championship and joined LIV Golf in 2022, quickly fell back after five bogeys over his first seven holes en route to a 75. The German, one of seven overnight co-leaders, slipped to two over for the championship.
Ryo Hisatsune slipped back from his overnight share of the lead.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy, whose opening 74 left him in danger of missing the cut, recovered on Friday to move safely through to the weekend at one over par.
McIlroy made early progress with birdies at the second and fourth and added another at the 12th, but was unable to get back to level par after missing a birdie chance at the par-five 16th. Still, his second-round recovery was enough to leave him inside the cut line.
"I think this afternoon I had a better understanding of how the course was playing... I think knowing that the field isn't going to get away from you, you can be a little bit more patient, especially this afternoon," the Northern Irishman said.
Jon Rahm also advanced to the weekend and remained on the fringes of contention at one under, three shots off the lead. The Spaniard briefly reached three under after a birdie at the 11th, but bogeys at the 13th and 15th checked his momentum.
Bryson DeChambeau, runner-up at the PGA Championship in each of the last two years, missed the cut at seven over par despite closing his second round with three consecutive birdies.
DeChambeau was unable to fully recover from an opening 76, and his late rally on Friday was not enough to extend his week at Aronimink.
Also at two under with Scheffler were Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, David Puig, Harris English, Si Woo Kim and Ludvig Aberg, leaving a crowded chasing pack two shots behind the leaders heading into the weekend.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris, Pritha Sarkar and William Mallard)
