Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners hold the lead at the halfway point in the US PGA Championship, as Jon Rahm struggles to make the cut.
Scheffler and Conners shot two-under 68s and Howland closed out the trio at five-under at Oak Hill after scoring 67s.
Bryson DeChambeau is two back, with Brooks Koepka a further back, while Rory McIlroy looks in better spirits after shooting a 69 to move into par.
Defending champion Justin Thomas bogeyed the putt on 18 to make the cut.
Top 70s and ties are played over the weekend and Jordan Spieth also teased a crucial putt on the last when he signed for 72 to join Thomas at five over.
Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest champion in 2021 at age 50 when he won the title, also reached the final two rounds at the cut mark.
But England’s US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who said earlier in the week how much he relishes this kind of attritional challenge, missed the cut by one after dropping shots on his final two holes.
World number one Rahm, who won the Masters last month, enters the championship with four victories in his last 11 appearances through August.
However, after birdieing his second hole, the Spaniard missed several other opportunities to improve his score in a run of nine consecutive pars and he repeatedly swore as his frustration boiled over.
But three consecutive birdies on the back nine salvaged his round and kept him in the hunt for a third major title.
Tough conditions in the morning saw Justin Rose lead the clubhouse as one of just seven players for his rounds, but rain in the afternoon improved the scoring by taking some off the course – particularly the back nine. On.
Fellow English player Calum Taran, who only made the field on Friday when former champion Martin Kemmer withdrew, was one advantage and had four birdies and just one bogey in his 67 as he finished two over. Under went.
With just nine players par for the tournament, Oak Hill still presents a tough test.
Scheffler contends again; Koepka back in major form
That was especially the case for Koepka, who admitted to choking while leading the Masters last month. But the four-time major winner once again showed his pedigree with five back-nine birdies to help him join Taryn at two under.
Koepka’s round of 66 matched the tournament’s best ever, set by first-round leader DeChambeau, who fell to three-under with Justin Sue after a one-over 71.
While Canada’s Conners has had some good results at the Masters, and Norwegian Hovland has come close at the last two majors, world number two Scheffler already has a major title in his pocket and said he finds himself “in these circumstances.” “Feel comfortable”.
“Those are the positions I want to be in,” added the 2022 Masters champion, who would have held the lead for a bogey on the 18th.
“I want to be close to the lead. I don’t want to go 30th or go home. I come to the tournament to do my best.
“I’m excited to be in a good position for the weekend. I’ll keep my head down and keep doing what I’m doing.”
Howland and Conner both had just one bogey in similarly solid rounds as they made their threat clear.
And things looked much brighter all around for McIlroy, who holed some big putts to struggle off the tee. The four-time major champion feels he has a chance this weekend if he can find some fairways.
The Northern Irishman, who won the title in 2012 and 2014, said, “When I putt on the last putt, I looked at the board, and I thought, I can’t believe I’m five back. “
“I guess that’s a good thing because I know if I can get that in the playoffs, that’s the key to my success at the weekend.
“If I can get the ball on the tee, I’ll hit a shot and at that point I can just get it high and bomb it all over the place.
