NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — As Chris Gotteurp ambled around Aronimink Golf Club on Day 2 of the PGA Championship, his play gave the impression that he possessed some course knowledge.

In fact, Gotterup had never seen Aronimink before Monday. He just feels at home in this neck of the woods, flighting shots into the wind on a brisk Friday morning.

“I slept in my own bed on Sunday, so I take that as a win when I can get it,” Gotterup said. “You know, it’s nice to be back wearing a sweatshirt and being in the Northeast.”

The native of Little Silver, N.J., less than two hours east of here on the Jersey Shore, carded a 5-under-par 65 to leap up the leaderboard during the second round of the PGA Championship. As of Friday afternoon, no other player has shot better than a 67 this week.

Gotterup will take a score of 3-under 137 into the weekend, very much in the mix for a major title. The 26-year-old, who’s won four times since earning his PGA Tour card in 2024, will make the cut at a fourth consecutive major.

He took many by surprise last summer after going toe to toe with Rory McIlroy to win the Scottish Open, then contending all week at Royal Portrush and placing third at the Open Championship.

“I feel like, if I’m playing well, I can compete anywhere,” Gotterup said Friday. “That’s no different here. But I think it’s just hard to say what (the Open) did for me other than build confidence. I felt like I played some of my best golf maybe ever as a pro that week, and I came in third.

“So like it’s just one of those things where you just got to keep — I feel like you got to keep putting yourself in position, and you hope that one day it breaks through and it was your time. But as long as you can keep putting yourself there, I think that’s all you can do.”

Maybe high winds are the common denominator between the British Isles and the Philadelphia suburbs this week.

Wind gusts of around 30 mph have complicated some already diabolical pin positions laid out by the PGA of America. While Gotterup’s first three birdie putts were bombs from 26 1/2, 23 and 20 feet at Nos. 11, 17 and 3, he dialed in some tight approaches on his way to birdieing the last three holes of his round.

At the par-4 seventh, his 100-yard pitch shot stopped 2 feet from the pin despite the wind. Then came the par-3 eighth, the hardest-playing hole this week. Faced with a sand-protected front-right flag, Gotterup landed his tee shot less than 5 feet away.

“Even if it’s a generic shot, if it’s blowing 30 off the right, you’ve got to be able to craft something that is manageable to get it in the middle of the green,” Gotterup said.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better since turning pro at being OK with hitting it to 30 feet being a good shot, and I think there’s a lot of that out here. So I think there’s a lot of aspects of being patient, and I feel like I’ve gotten better at that, but also just being creative and being willing to execute a shot that might, you know, you might not try and pull off in a normal week.”

Gotterup, a Rutgers grad, said his parents were in attendance Friday and his girlfriend and her family came to each of the first two rounds, along with a few buddies.

“So it’s been fun in that respect. It makes it feel a little bit more like you’re at home,” Gotterup said. “For how much we’re on the road, you don’t get to feel that that much.”

His family and friends can see firsthand how Gotterup is feeling more at home at the top of major leaderboards.

“Every tournament that I’ve won has been a challenge. So hopefully give myself a challenge come Sunday,” Gotterup said. “I’m just trying to put myself there … and if it comes through, great, and if not, I’ll learn from it.”

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

A meteoric rise could place Julian Hall on a short list of surprise roster candidates for the U.S. men’s national team ahead of next month’s FIFA World Cup.

Before any roster decisions are made, however, the 18-year-old home-grown forward leads the host New York Red Bulls against rival New York City FC on Saturday.

Hall became the youngest player in MLS history to notch a regular-season hat trick as he powered the Red Bulls (5-5-3, 18 points) to a 3-2 home win over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday.

“Jules is a great kid,” Red Bulls coach Michael Bradley said. “… He comes in every day ready to work, ready to train, ready to listen. He has a great personality. He has really good starting points as a player. And I’ve enjoyed every second of working with him.”

In 13 matches, Hall leads the Red Bulls with nine goals and also has two assists. He’s tied for fourth in the MLS Golden Boot standings.

Hall isn’t hiding from the dream of playing in a World Cup, but said he remains focused on the Red Bulls’ last two matches before an extended international-competition break.

“Whatever happens, happens, my focus is with the club,” Hall said. “But obviously, it’s a dream of anyone that plays, to play in the World Cup. I hope someday that happens, but if it’s not this year, then I’m going to keep working hard and striving for that goal.”

NYCFC (5-5-3, 18 points) picked up a 1-0 win at Charlotte FC on Wednesday behind a Nicolas Fernandez goal in the eighth minute on a Hannes Wolf assist.

Fernandez leads NYCFC with nine goals and three assists and Wolf has five goals and two assists.

With back-to-back clean sheets, including a 3-0 home shutout of Columbus on Sunday, Pascal Jansen’s club is hitting its stride with two league matches before a pause for the World Cup.

“It’s a big compliment to everybody on the pitch because they worked really hard and showed the character needed to get these games over the line,” Jansen said. “Hopefully we can continue this in the third block of games.”

The rivals played in the U.S. Open Cup on April 29, with NYCFC coming away with a 3-1 victory. They have won three straight and four of five overall contests in the series.

–Field Level Media

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Dustin Johnson is content to compete in the PGA Championship this weekend — and that’s about as far as he’s willing to look ahead.

When asked where he will be in 2027 in the wake of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s announcement that it will no longer back LIV Golf beyond this year, Johnson didn’t have much of an answer.

“I think Scott’s doing a good job,” Johnson said of LIV CEO Scott O’Neil. “I think your guess is as good as mine with what happens next year.”

In January, LIV Golf announced a multi-year extension with Johnson, the 4Aces GC captain and two-time major champion.

A 24-time winner on the PGA Tour, Johnson was one of the first players to defect for LIV Golf and became the Saudi-backed circuit’s first season champion in 2022. Johnson, 41, won the U.S. Open in 2016 and the Masters in 2020.

Johnson carded an even-par 70 on Friday that included three birdies against three bogeys. That followed an opening-round 72 to place him at 2-over-par 142 for the tournament.

“I’m happy with my game, honestly,” Johnson told reporters. “Not very thrilled with my driver. Everything else feels really good. I’m rolling it well, short game is good and obviously it’s difficult around these greens. It’s hard to judge the last few shots I hit, seemed really nice and that I hit better shots than where they ended up.

“But it’s just tough. Everybody’s dealing with it. The wind will be blowing and then all of a sudden all the way down a little bit, and that’s the difference 10 or 15 yards out here and that’s a big deal.”

–Field Level Media