PGA Championship leaderboard LIVE: Latest updates after play suspended due to dangerous weather

Play at the PGA Championship has been suspended after dangerous weather in the Quail Hollow area.

The Masters champion was Tied-62 and nine shots off half-way leader Jhonattan Vegas, with a low round needed to reignite hopes of contending on Sunday.

But McIlroy was stopped close to the first tee with his 1:25pm BST tee time just moments away due to dangerous weather.

Rory McIlroy, in navy blue, strutted across to the first tee and barely a few meters from the tee box… The horn went, play suspended.

We’ll have a little weather delay it seems, more updates as they come.

A statement from the PGA Championship: “Play has been SUSPENDED due to dangerous weather in the area. Please seek shelter immediately. Further updates to follow.”

McIlroy will be heading to the first tee shortly to resume his PGA Championship. He is at least still involved after narrowly making the cut yesterday, but he’s nine shots off the pace and needs the round of his life to be in with the slightest chance come Sunday.

How is he feeling? Well, we don’t really know after he skipped media duties again last night.

Fitzpatrick, who carded five birdies and two bogeys in his 68, said: “The best thing for me is I am just happy to be in this position given the start of the year I’ve had.

“It’s not one of the goals to be where I am but I have 36 holes left and I’m in with a good chance.

“I obviously want to win another major, of course I do, but I’ve already won one, so I feel like there’s less pressure when you’ve already won one definitely.”

Matt Fitzpatrick ripped up the form book to move into contention for a second major title as Masters champion Rory McIlroy narrowly avoided an early exit from the 107th US PGA Championship.

Fitzpatrick has slumped from eighth in the world rankings at the beginning of last year to his current position of 85th and admitted after an opening 68 there were times this season he did not want to be competing.

However, the 2022 US Open champion, who sacked caddie Billy Foster in March in an attempt to turn the corner, added another 68 at Quail Hollow on Friday to lie just two shots off the halfway lead held by Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas.

Matthieu Pavon and Si Woo Kim were alongside Fitzpatrick on six under, Kim making a hole-in-one from 252 yards on the sixth in his 64, with world number one Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa – who also shot 64 – another stroke back.

McIlroy bogeyed the final two holes to add a 69 to his opening 74 and make the cut with nothing to spare on one over par, alongside playing partner and defending champion Xander Schauffele.

Meanwhile, does this help to explain Rory McIroy’s struggles in round one?

McIlroy was forced to use a backup driver when his regular driver was tested and deemed to be nonconforming after he arrived at Quail Hollow, according to a report on XM Sirius PGA Tour Radio.

McIlroy was tied for last in driving accuracy among the 74 players who made the cut on Friday, hitting only 10 fairways in two rounds. The Masters champion made the cut on the number after a bogey on the final hole when he drove left beyond a creek against corporate tents.

For the second straight day, McIlroy left Quail Hollow and declined to speak to the media.

The USGA, which tests clubs to make sure they are conforming at the request of the tournaments in the US and Mexico, confirmed the USGA did testing at Quail Hollow when asked by the PGA of America. All tests are done before the first round.

“That program is consistent with the same level of support that we provide to the PGA Tour as part of their regular program for driver testing,” the USGA said.

Results are confidential.

After sleeping on a two-shot lead following the first round, Vegas returned to Quail Hollow early on Friday and overcame a shaky start before grabbing control of all aspects of his game and reaching the closing par-four 18th hole four shots clear.

But Vegas, from the middle of the last fairway, sent his approach shot into a greenside bunker, watched helplessly as his third shot rolled off the green from where he chipped it close and then missed a pair of short putts for a double-bogey.

Vegas opted to focus on the good, of which there was plenty in his second round.

“It’s easy to hang your head on that, but there were way too many things to keep fresh in the mind,” Vegas said. “Even though it’s never easy to give two shots away right at the end, a lot of golf left, so got to keep remembering the good stuff.”

Vegas is just the fourth player ranked 50 or higher in the world to hold the outright lead at the end of each of the first two rounds of a major championship.

With rounds of 64-70 this week, Vegas also has consecutive under-par rounds for first time in his 17 major championship starts.

Coming into this week, Vegas had missed the cut in 10 of his 16 career major appearances, including at last month’s Masters where the 40-year-old was making his first start in one of golf’s blue-ribbon events since 2022.

“It’s definitely been annoying. It’s been very, very annoying, especially knowing I have the game to compete in these big events. I feel like my game is very complete, but I just haven’t been able to put it all together in a major,” Vegas said.

“I’ve been patient enough to not really get too down on myself for not playing well at majors. I’ve played good at The Players. I’ve played good at some good, big tournaments, but never a major, right?” Vegas added.

“It’s just kind of one of those things that you’ve just got to keep learning about yourself and what it takes to play good here. … Unfortunately, it’s taking me a little bit longer than usual, but I’m glad that I’m in this position right now,” Vegas said.

Leading a major may be uncharted territory for Jhonattan Vegas but the Venezuelan is not intimidated by the prospect of heading into the weekend in search of what would be a career-defining victory.

Vegas is a four-times winner on the PGA Tour but the world number 70 has a dismal history in the majors and was not at all in the conversation in the build-up to the PGA Championship.

“This is kind of what we put all those hours for. You put all those hours to give yourself chances like this,” Vegas said after one-under-par 70 left him with a two-shot lead at the midway point of the year’s second major.

“Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do it throughout my career, but like I said, you never know. You got to keep the pedal down, keep your head down and keep working hard. You never know when things are going to turn your way,” Vegas said.