Shane Lowry was among a string of European stars whose hopes faded on the second day of the US PGA Championship as Scottie Scheffler battled hard at Aronimink Golf Club.
Ireland’s Lowry began a shot off the lead but a dire six-over round of 76 means he is set to miss the cut, as are Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre after rounds of 73 and 75 respectively.
World number one Scheffler struggled off the tee and he slipped away from the top of the leaderboard after three early bogeys.
He hit back well after the turn to sit two off the clubhouse lead held by American Alex Smalley at four under par.
Rory McIlroy’s quest for a seventh major title started badly with a four-over opening round, meaning his first objective is also ensuring he makes the cut for the weekend.
When he started his round at 2.05pm local time (7.05pm BST), that mark stood at three over.
Lowry started with a bogey at the 10th and it only got worse from there. He inexplicably found the water off the tee at 17 – making a double – and three more bogeys came on his back nine.
Fleetwood has not got going at Aronimink and three bogeys on his front nine ended any hopes.
Defending champion Scheffler was the big name among a seven-way tie for the lead – the first time he has led after an opening round of a major in his career – as the second day began in south-west Philadelphia.
German Martin Kaymer, bidding to recapture major glory, 12 years on from the last of his two successes, was part of that group but five bogeys in his first seven holes soon put pay to that.
Scheffler started on the back nine, alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose, who were both level par.
It was a tough start for the group as Rose double-bogeyed the opener after needing two attempts to escape a fairway bunker, with Scheffler and Fitzpatrick both starting with a dropped shot.
Rose hit back with a birdie at 12 but Scheffler was tumbling with back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13.
The European duo each suffered a double-bogey nightmare on the long par-three 14th, Fitzpatrick needing four putts to get it down while Rose paid the price for a miscued chip as he slumped to five over.
Scheffler was back in the red numbers after a stunning tee shot at 17 left him with a tap-in birdie, while a birdie on 16 dragged Rose back to four under.
Former US Open champion Fitzpatrick is one of the world’s most in-form players, with three PGA Tour wins this season, but he struggled to contend at Augusta last month and cut a dejected figure as he watched more major hopes go up in smoke.
The Sheffield star ditched a beanie hat for a cap and he reached the turn at one over after back-to-back birdies, before another at one had him on the charge. He closed round two at two over.
It took Scheffler until the 18th – his ninth hole – to find a fairway as the players battled breezy conditions and a course which was posing a major challenge.
Scheffler birdied the last to sit two shots back, while world number three Cameron Young made his move to two under.
Rose produced a magical moment at the last, pitching in from the rough for eagle to finish three under and give himself a chance of making the weekend.
A hole behind, American Smalley – who was among the tie at the top after day one – nudged the lead to five under with birdies on 16 and 18.
That lasted one hole as three bogeys in a row brought him crashing back to earth before two late birdies sealed a round of 69.
Former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama’s 67 matched the best round of the championship as he moved into a share of the clubhouse lead at three under.
But that was bettered by American Chris Gotterup, who soared to three under with a superb 65.
