Oak Hill offering stern test as early starters chase leader Bryson DeChambeau

PGA Championship

Oak Hill continued to provide a stiff test as the 105th US PGA Championship got back on track on Friday.

A frost delay of almost two hours meant the first round had not been completed on schedule on Thursday, with 11 groups still out on the course when play was suspended at 8.30pm local time.

American Eric Cole was one of the players involved and had reached five under par after 14 holes to find himself on top of the leaderboard.

Eric Cole
Eric Cole lines up a putt on the fourth hole during the first round of the US PGA Championship (Eric Gay/AP)

However, when play resumed at 7am on Friday the world number 122 hit his first shot of the day into the water to the left of the sixth green to run up a double-bogey six.

Cole parred his final three holes to complete an opening 67 and share second place with Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson and Corey Conners, a shot behind former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

Johnson began his second round with four straight pars to remain three under, with England’s Justin Rose another stroke back.

Rose had completed an opening 69 by chipping in for birdie on the 18th on Friday morning and, after a quick turnaround, picked up another shot on the 10th, his first hole of round two.

DeChambeau was among the later starters in round two along with world number one Jon Rahm, who faced an uphill battle to make the halfway cut.

Seeking back-to-back major titles following his Masters triumph at Augusta National last month, Rahm birdied his opening hole in the first round before slumping to a six-over-par 76.

US Open champion and playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick failed to make a single birdie as he recorded the same score, but Rory McIlroy had fought back from three over par after nine holes to post a 71 despite struggling with an unspecified illness.

Bryson DeChambeau

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