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Good, Bad and Ugly PGA Round 2: Bryson DeChambeau Exits Aronimink

By Jeff Ritter & John Schwarb Sports Illustrated

Updated May 15, 2026 8:43 PM

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. - Welcome back to Good, Bad and Ugly, where we tip our hat to Donald Ross while thanking our lucky stars we don't have to putt those Aronimink greens for ourselves this week.

Through 36 holes, Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley are co-leaders at 4 under par, but a whopping 44 players are within five shots of them. So while we have almost no idea which way this event is going to break over the next two days, there were plenty of good, bad and ugly moments on a chilly Friday. Here's what we saw:

GOOD: Chris Gotterup fires round of the week

Remember Chris Gotterup? In the springtime of Rory and Cam Young and the Fitzpatrick brothers, one might have forgotten the 26-year-old who won the season opener in Hawaii and, three weeks later, the WM Phoenix Open. But Gotterup re-announced himself Friday with a 5-under 65, the round of the day at windswept Aronimink. On this somewhat motley leaderboard, gotta think a lot of Philly fans will get behind the New Jerseyan. - John Schwarb

BAD: Bryson DeChambeau's trunk slam

While Rory McIlroy battled back to make the cut on Friday, DeChambeau's round carried little suspense on whether he'd play the weekend. He closed with three straight birdies for a 71 that papered over a mostly sloppy 36 holes. On the heels of missing the cut at Augusta, this was another perplexing week, and it's fair to wonder if there's a bit too much going on with him off the course. -Jeff Ritter

UGLY: Whatever you call Shane Lowry's horrendous miss

The 2019 British Open champion had a quintessential "one of us" moment on the 214-yard par-3 17th when he hit his tee shot two-thirds of the distance and into the water. Was it a shank? A cold top? Whatever it was, it was certainly ugly and led to a double bogey, though Lowry got in the house at 4 over and will play the weekend. - John Schwarb

Shane Lowry put it in Cognizant Classic mode pic.twitter.com/D4O9FdzlHd
- Byron Lindeque (@TheModelManiac) May 15, 2026

GOOD: Players seeking their first major victories

Your co-leaders through 36 holes? Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy. Neither player has been in this spot, but both have played steady, patient golf that this Aronimink setup requires. It's a tight leaderboard behind them, with many of the games biggest stars mixed in with other Cinderella stories. This weekend should be a blast. -Jeff Ritter

BAD: Garrick Higgo is going home

Friday for a while was all fun and games around Garrick Higgo, the man who was a minute late for his Round 1 tee time and penalized two shots. ESPN put up a countdown clock for his afternoon tee time and, indeed, Higgo was there plenty early. But the round itself was no fun, as the South African shot 40 going out and made two more bogeys before a too-little-too-late birdie on the 9th (his 18th), which added up to a 76 and missed cut-undoing all the hard work to shoot 69 on Thursday after the penalty. - John Schwarb

UGLY: Robert MacIntyre bogeys final hole to miss cut

One would have thought a windy and cool Aronimink would suit Scotland's Bob MacIntyre, but the world No. 12 double bogeyed the 3rd hole (his 12th Friday) and bogeyed the 9th (his last) to miss the cut by a shot. He also missed the cut at the Masters and this is his first year with two MCs in majors. -John Schwarb

GOOD: A club pro has one of Friday's best rounds

While the most famous club pro in the field heads home (keep reading), a new everyman hero is here: Ben Kern, general manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio. Playing in his third PGA, Kern shot a Friday 67 with six birdies in a round that everyone in the field would have signed up for when waking up Friday. He got the Marty Smith ESPN treatment after the round and nearly choked up a few times, such as when asked how he did it: "Keep your head down and keep going." Seems a likable guy and at 1 over for the tournament, we'll see him this weekend. - John Schwarb

Michael Block missed the cut by one shot at Aronimink. | James Lang-Imagn Images

BAD: The Block party ends early

Give PGA pro Michael Block credit for largely backing up the hype with a strong even-par 70 in his opening round. But his Friday 75 wasn't enough to reach the weekend, ending his chance at a sequel to the magic carpet ride he took at this event three years ago. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of him-oh wait, it was Block himself who said that. -Jeff Ritter

UGLY: Sahith Theegala's fairway bunker luck

It was an ugly break more than ugly shot, but when Theegala took a rip out of a fairway bunker on the par-4 10th, his ball clipped a tree limb about 20 yards ahead and then … nothing. Three minutes passed and no one had a clue where his balled ended up, which is remarkable given this is a major championship with cameras all over the course. Theegala had to play it as a lost ball and replay from inside that same bunker. He triple-bogeyed the hole and is 1-over for the event. -Jeff Ritter

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:31 PM.