CHARLOTTE, NC. The experience in playing in any of the four major championships is the ultimate barometer in terms of how far along a player is in his career.

Jhonattan Vegas has four wins in his PGA Tour career – most recently a win in 2024 in the 3M Open.

However, with this week being his 17th major the past record of non-competitiveness in the defining tournaments is startling. Counting this week Vegas has made the cut in just seven major championships with his best overall finish a T22 in the 2016 PGA Championship.

Given that woeful record his performance thus far has been impressive with rounds of 64-70 and a two-shot lead over three players and with world-ranked-number-one Scottie Scheffler just three shots off the pace.

Vegas was in the field the last time the PGA Championship came to Quail Hollow and he missed the cut then. Entering this week’s event he is ranked 70th according to the OWGR.

His assessment is candid on the lack of a meaningful track record.

“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.

“I think 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?”

The stages in becoming a successful PGA Tour player begin when a player first comes out on tour. Making cuts is the first level of success. Then finishing in a top ten and then when circumstances happen to earn one’s first victory.

However, major championship play is the final hurdle in identifying those players fully capable in reaching the ultimate status level among one’s peers.

The concluding double-bogey need not be the final word. Fourteen years ago, Rory McIlroy held the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open at Congressional and he scored a double-bogey when concluding play through two rounds. His ultimate finish? The current Masters champ won the event by eight shots.

Vegas is hoping he plays his cards well for a similar result but realizes the test is only beginning with the weekend rounds ahead.

Nonetheless, Vegas expressed a resolve in not permitting past failures to be the final word on what shakes out at Quail Hollow.

“This is kind of what we put all those hours for. You put all those hours to give yourself chances like this. 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.”

The 40-year-old Venezuelan realizes a grand opportunity is now in front of him and he’s prepared for it in becoming just the third South American golfer to win a major championship.

“Like I said, that I have the game to compete in these big events. I’ve just got to — like I said, I’ve just got to do what I do, and good things could happen.”

Belief can be a powerful motivator. Vegas has played his cards right through 36 holes. The task ahead will show whether he can attain a final winning hand and possession of the illustrious Wannamaker Trophy.

***

Second Round Notes (Compiled by Elias Sports Bureau)

•Both Matthieu Pavon (T2) and Scottie Scheffler (T5) find themselves among the top 5 on the leaderboard, which is somewhat familiar territory for BOTH players of late.

Most times among the top five on the leaderboard over the last four majors (since start of 2024 U.S. Open):

Bryson DeChambeau 8
Rory McIlroy 7
Justin Rose 7
Scottie Scheffler 5 (including today)
Matthieu Pavon 5 (including today)
Ludvig Åberg 5

•Hideki Matsuyama’s streak of 19 consecutive major appearances making the cut has come to an end. The longest current streak now belongs to Xander Schauffele, who has made the cut in each of his last 13 major starts.

•Three players came back to win a PGA Championship after being 20th or worse on the leaderboard after 36 holes:

Padraig Harrington, T-26, 2008 at Oakland Hills CC
Collin Morikawa, T-25, 2020 at TPC Harding Park
Dave Stockton, T-20, 1976 at Congressional CC

•Five players overcame a seven-or-more stroke deficit after 36 holes to win a PGA Championship:

Bob Rosburg, 9 back, 1965 at Minneapolis GC
Bob Tway, 9 back,1986 at Inverness Club
Dave Stockton, 8 back, 1976 at Congressional CC
Don January, 8 back, 1967 at Columbine CC
Payne Stewart, 7 back, 1989 at Kemper Lakes GC

47 players are within 7 strokes entering the third round.

•Si Woo Kim and Max Homa jumped 58 and 68 spots today, respectively, to land among the Top-5 on the leaderboard entering the weekend. It is only the second time in PGA Championship history that multiple players jumped at least 50 spots to get into the top 5 after 36 holes.

In 2010 at Whistling Straits, Vijay Singh and Jason Dufner both jumped 57 spots in the second round to land into a tie for fifth place entering the weekend.

•There are currently two major champions among the Top-10 and ties (Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick). The last PGA Championship in which two or fewer major winners were among the Top-10 and ties after 36 holes was in 2017 at Quail Hollow Club.

That year, Jason Day was T-3 and Louis Oosthuizen was T-5 entering the weekend.

•Si Woo Kim’s 252-yard hole-in-one is the longest ace in major championship history. Kim also had a hole-in-one at last year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. He is the first player with a major championship ace in each of back-to-back years since Scott Hoch did it in 2001 (PGA Championship) and 2002 (U.S. Open).

The previous longest hole-in-one at a major championship was 245 yards, by Gil Morgan at Oakmont CC (Hole #8, final round) in the 1978 PGA Championship. Note that the scorecard yardage was 255 yards that year, but it was playing 245 yards that day.

•Here is the list, entering this week, of the players with the most consecutive major championship appearances making the cut:

Hideki Matsuyama 19
Xander Schauffele 12
Patrick Cantlay 11
Patrick Reed 11
Scottie Scheffler 11

•Dating back to 1990, each of the last 35 PGA Championship winners were either leading or within six strokes of the lead through 36 holes.

•Over the last 14 PGA Championships (2011 to 2024) the eventual winner was among the Top-10 and ties after 36 holes 13 times. The lone exception was Collin Morikawa in 2020 (T-25 after 36 at TPC Harding Park).

•Richard Bland, 52 years & 102 days old, is three-under par through 36 holes. It is just the sixth instance of a player at age 50 or older being -3 or better through the halfway point of a PGA Championship. The others:

•The last 36-hole outright leader of a major championship to make double (or worse) on the 36th hole was Rory McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional CC. McIlroy went on to win by 8 strokes. Jhonattan Vegas made a double on his final hole today.

•Prior to this year, 15 players have been the outright leader at the end of both the first and second rounds of a PGA Championship. Of those 15 players, six went on to win, including Xander Schauffele last year at Valhalla Golf Club. However, there have only been five true wire-to-wire winners of a PGA championship (outright leader at the end of each round):

Bobby Nichols, 1964 at Columbus CC
Jack Nicklaus, 1971 at PGA National GC
Raymond Floyd, 1982 at Southern Hills CC
Hal Sutton, 1983 at Riviera CC
Brooks Koepka, 2019 at Bethpage State Park

(Schauffele is disqualified from this list because he was the co-leader at the end of the third round last year)

•Matthieu Pavon has recorded the lowest major championship round of his career (65, six-under par). His only other two rounds in the 60s at a major championship were at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst (67 in Round 1, 69 in Round 3).

He has matched the lowest score ever by a player representing France at a major championship. Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot 65 in the second round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive CC.

He has also matched the lowest score in relation to par by a player representing France at a major championship. Victor Dubuisson shot six-under par in the second round of the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool GC.

Pavon was among the Top-5 on the leaderboard at the end of all four rounds of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst (T-2, T-4, T-5, 5). He has not been among the Top-5 at the end of any other major championship round.

•Today marked Max Homa’s 70th career major championship round. His round of 64 is a career best by three shots (he shot 67 (-5) in the first round of the 2024 Masters).

Max Homa shot 30 over his first nine holes today (starting on the back nine), which is the best nine-hole score of his majors career.

Homa made back-to-back 2s in today’s round (holes 13 and 14). The only player to card consecutive 2s at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club was Graham DeLaet in the second round.

Entering today, Homa has never shot the outright best round of the day at a major championship.

Homa shot 67 (-5) in the first round of the 2024 Masters. Since then, through yesterday’s first round, he played 18 major championship rounds and averaged 71.56 in those rounds with an aggregate score in relation to par of +5.

He has not been among the Top-10 on a major championship leaderboard in any of his last 15 rounds, entering today.

Homa has been among the Top-10 on a championship leaderboard at the end of a round seven times prior to today:

2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills (Round 3)
2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool (Rounds 1 and 4)
2024 Masters (all four rounds)

•Jhonattan Vegas (world #70) is just the fourth player ranked 50 or higher on the OWGR to hold the outright lead at the end of each of the first two rounds of a major championship. Here are those who have done that:

Justin Rose, 2024 Masters, #67 on OWGR, finished the tournament T-22
Chris DiMarco, 2001 Masters, #58, finished T-10
Gil Morgan, 1992 U.S. Open, #82, finished T-13

Related: Quail Hollow – Round 2 Hole Yardages

Yardages from tee markers to the hole for the second round of the 2025 PGA Championship.