The 105th Annual PGA Championship is being meticulously tracked by the talented Elias Sports Bureau staff who are keeping an eye on everything that happens. The weather has turned bad, but with the stats provided by the bureau, fans and analysts can still keep up with the action. Scotty Schaeffler, Cory Connors, and Victor Hovland share the lead after 36 holes. Here are ten stats provided by the Elias Sports Bureau relating to the first half of the championship.
Among the 105 players with at least 10 scores in Round 3 on the PGA Tour this season, the player with the highest “move day” scoring average are Tom Hoge, Jon Rahm, Lim Sung Jae, Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley, Victor Hovland, Scotty Schaeffler, and Corey Connors.
Scotty Schaeffler said Friday that the No. 6 was “probably the most difficult hole I’ve ever played.” And, out of the 90 par-5 holes on the PGA Tour this season, Schaeffler played during the week with an average score of less than 4.75.
Victor Hovland recorded the highest average strokes gained on approach (3.71 per round) through his two rounds of the championship.
During the strokeplay era of the PGA Championship (since 1958), 63 of the 65 final champions were ranked within the top 20 on the leaderboard at the end of the second round. Colin Morikawa of TPC Harding Park in 2020 and Padraig Harrington in Oakland Hills in 2008 were the only exceptions.
Seven of the nine hardest holes of the week are on the outward nine of the course, hence the difficulty of the outward nine.
Only two club professionals were in the top 10 of the leaderboard after 36 holes of the PGA Championship in the last 40 years.
Scotty Schaeffler has led a 36-hole lead at least seven times during his PGA Tour career.
Brooks Kepka had an outright lowest score in the second round on Friday when he posted a 4-under 66.
Corey Connors, Scotty Schaeffler, and Viktor Hovland share the lead after 36 holes. It’s only the fifth time in PGA Championship history that three or more of his players tie for the lead at the halfway point of the championship.