Overnight leader Jhonattan Vegas got his second round underway on Friday at Quail Hollow where the world's top players will try to muscle their way into contention after an uninspiring start to the PGA Championship.
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Vegas, the first Venezuelan to hold the lead or co-lead in a major championship, was two shots clear of Australian Cam Davis and little-known American Ryan Gerard after carding a seven-under-par 64 in the opening round.
LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton, who began the day four shots off the lead, went out early and made a birdie-birdie start to grab a share of second place until a bogey at his fifth hole.
Max Homa, who started on the back nine, roared onto the leaderboard as he covered his first six holes in five-under par, a sizzling start that included a tap-in eagle at the par-four 14th that left him five back of Vegas.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler, whose opening 69 was the lowest score from his high-profile group featuring Rory McIlroy (74) and defending champion Xander Schauffele (72) is due to head out at 1:47 p.m. ET (1747 GMT) in the same company.
McIlroy, playing his first major since his Masters triumph last month, freed him from the burden of chasing the career Grand Slam, will need to do some work to avoid missing the cut at the PGA Championship for the first time since 2016.
Cloudy skies greeted the early starters at a hot and humid Quail Hollow, where the forecast for the second round predicts highs near 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius).
Jordan Spieth, looking to breathe life into his hopes of completing the career Grand Slam this week after an opening 76, began the second round with an eagle but was unable to keep it going as he made bogey two holes later.
Former world No 1 Luke Donald, the 47-year-old captain of the European Ryder Cup team who posted the only bogey-free card of the opening round, is part of a group three shots back of Vegas and has an afternoon tee time.
Following the opening round, the leaderboard lacked the usual star power seen at golf's blue-riband events as no major champions were among the top eight players while none of the world's top-10 golfers cracked the top 10 at Quail Hollow.