Bob MacIntyre feels 'something good is coming' after PGA grind at Quail Hollow

Bob MacIntyre feels “something good is coming” after the Oban man rolled up his sleeves to keep himself in the top ten at the halfway stage in the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas cemented his two-shot overnight lead after following an opening 64 with a 70 at the North Carolina venue in the season’s second major.

Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon are leading the chase heading into Saturday’s third circuit along with Korea’s Si Woo Kim.

Bob MacIntyre of Scotland walks the 12th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina | Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is lurking ominously on five under alongside American Max Homa, with MacIntyre then in a group on four under.

In his opening 68, the 28-year-old had been mighty impressive from tee to green but not so good with the putter in his hands, but it was a complete turnaround in the second-round 70.

Starting at the tenth, he was unable to get up and down from greenside bunker at the 11th but, for the third time in two days, then made back-to-back birdies.

He drove green and two-putted from 24 feet then rolled in a 25-footer at the next before giving one of those shots back after missing the green at the 16th and then being unable to save par from eight feet after a lovely chip.

His only deviation from par on his inward journey came at the par-4 eighth, where he pitched to around three feet from 50 yards and knocked it in.

“It was decent,” said the Genesis Scottish Open and RBC Canadian Open champion of his day’s work. “Yesterday was pretty flawless whereas today was the complete opposite. I had to grind hard, but that’s a part of the game I love to do.

“It’s a bit more stressful, but it is part of it. Yeah, it is difficult when you don’t know where it is quite going to go.”

Mud balls had been an issue on the opening day and Shane Lowry was furious after he’d been forced to play an embedded ball from a fairway in the second round.

“Partly,” replied MacIntyre to being asked if it was still an issue, “but it is drying up now. Yesterday it was bad and today I got one there at the last hole trying to hit a 5-iron from 220 yards. It’s difficult, but you;ve got to knuckle down and get round.”

The left-hander finished joint-eighth behind Xander Schauffele in this event 12 months ago and is excited to be in the mix once again heading into the weekend in the battle for the Wanamaker Trophy.

“Looking at the scoreboard, it is fairly bunched,” he noted. “Just keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully Sunday on the back nine I’ve got a chance and that’s where I want to be.

“The game has been in good shape. It doesn’t feel as comfortable as it has been. I’ve been in a hell of a graft the last couple of weeks. I mean, it’s probably been the hardest I have ever worked.

“The results haven’t been there, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like it is building. I feel something good is coming.

“It’s hard not to see the negatives at times when tee to green has been really good and the putting is letting me down. But today the putting really stood up when tee to green was poor and when you have the putter there to back you up it is always nice.”

Masters champion and career grand slam winner Rory McIlroy bounced back from his opening 74 with a battling 69 to make the cut on one-under, as did title holder and Open champion Schauffle.

But there were early exits for Lowry and last week’s PGA Tour winner Sepp Straka, as well as Jordan Spieth, who was bidding to become the latest player to complete the full set of major titles, and two-time champion Justin Thomas.

Masters runner up Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg were also a surprise casualty while Phil Mickelson missed out as well after a roller-coaster second round that included a flurry or birdies but also a quadruple-bogey 8 after taking four shots to get out of a bunker.