McNealy joins Smalley for PGA Championship halfway lead, Scheffler two back

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania, May 15 : 6Maverick McNealy joined overnight co-leader Alex Smalley at the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard on Friday as the American pair reached the halfway stage tied at four under par after a testing second round at chilly, wind-swept Aronimink Golf Club.

McNealy, who had been the on-course leader at five under with five holes to play and later moved as low as six under, dropped shots late before finishing level with Smalley, who earlier carded a one-under-par 69 to set the clubhouse target.

The leaders were one shot clear of Hideki Matsuyama, Chris Gotterup, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee and Max Greyserman, who were grouped at three under, while defending champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler remained firmly in the mix at two under, two shots off the lead.

Smalley, who started on the more difficult back nine, held the outright lead by two shots at one point before falling back with three consecutive bogeys after the turn. He stopped the bleeding with a birdie at the par-four fourth and added another at the par-five ninth where his eagle attempt stopped 14 inches from the hole.

"A lot of really good moments, some not so great moments, and then a lot of just trying to keep moving forward in between," said Smalley. "It was difficult, it was chilly this morning, the wind was up."

McNealy looked set to take control of the tournament when he reached six under, but late mistakes brought him back to the field and he finished tied with Smalley at four under. He had a chance to take the solo halfway lead at his final hole, the par-five ninth, but was unable to convert his birdie putt.

"I didn't feel like I played that great. I somehow got a lot out of my game, and this