Charlotte, N.C. - The second round of the PGA champion is in the book, and while it seems like a lot of mud balls talking about dominating the first round discourse, many players take action, and the rankings are still the most eclectic in recent memory.

After Thursday’s opening round, some surprising names didn’t offer the right title, but 40-year-old Jhonattan Vegas hasn’t disappeared and now has a 54-hole lead. But the biggest story is that the world does not. 1 Scottie Scheftler shot 3 shots under 3 and put himself in the forefront to secure his third place.

"I think most of me are happy to be close to the lead. If you are going to play 72 hole golf, there will be a few days and a golf extension that you won't be the best waving it," Scheffler said. "There will be some bumps in the road throughout the whole game in a big championship game. It's all about how you deal with that. I did a great job of responding to these mistakes today and leaving myself in the game."

Not only that, Schefler is still where he started: as a favorite with the Wanamaker trophy.

This is something to watch out for this weekend.

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Jhonattan Vegas leads the way. What do you think is his chance to win?

Schrabach: "Johnny Vegas" may not be a champion for golf fans, but considering where he started his career, he has a story. He was a top junior in Venezuela and then moved to Houston in 2004 when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to turn the city golf course into public housing.

When Las Vegas arrived in the United States, he reportedly spoke only 10 English words and had a bag of shabby clubs. He became good enough to win a scholarship from the University of Texas. After getting a professional player, he spent two years on the Korn Ferry Tour before winning his first PGA Tour title in 2011 at Bob Hope Classic. Las Vegas has won three championships since then, most recently at the 3m Open in July.

Vegas said he had a bad sleep before the round ending Friday later the day before. Sleeping under the first leadership of a major may not help either. He will have to sleep 2 more shots before the third round to lead. His last Grand Slam was ranked 57th in the 2021 U.S. Open. Since then, it's just his third inning in the Big Four.

The 18th hole Shuangbai Mountain 6 damaged Vegas' solid second round. He finished 1 with a 70 shot and took the route with a two-stroke lead. After scoring nearly four in the first round, he lost nearly one stroke in the second round. His game from T-shirt to Green is still great.

I would be surprised if Vegas was the PGA champion’s Wire Champion.

Uggetti: Data golf brings a 9.4% chance of winning for Vegas. This means that even with the two-stroke lead to the weekend, Las Vegas is just the second favorite. Scottie Scheffler (23.4% chance, three-stroke guard) and Bryson DeChambeau (9% chance, five-stroke) ranked in the top three.

The fact that Las Vegas not only hovered in the second round, but also shot under par and stayed ahead is impressive. But if I were to hinder his actual chances, I would tend to 5%, or even less.

"I feel like my games are very complete, but I just can't put them in a professional," Vegas said Friday. "I think I'm so patient that I'm not really doing well in a professional game. It's just one of the things you just need to keep learning about yourself and what you need to do here. Unfortunately, it's a little longer than usual, but I'm glad I'm in that position right now."

As Mark explains, it would be a great story, but if Vegas ends up lifting the Wanamaker trophy, it would be one of the most unlikely major wins Jimmy Walker has won on PGA in 2017. Perhaps even more impossible.

Which player do you think can still win outside the top 10?

Schrabach: I chose DeChambeau to win before the game started, and he was still at an amazing distance under 3. The LIV Golf League captain rebounded from an even number of 71 in the first round and fell at 68 on Friday. He was tied for 17th and suffered five strokes behind Vegas.

DeChambeau hits a long way in Quail Hollow. He led by driving distance (331.6 yards) and ran off the tee. Not surprisingly, his putting was solid. But DeChambeau's iron show is still a bit off, just like at the Masters, he is not happy with his chips (he lost nearly two strokes on Thursday, and some are better on Friday).

"You have to put the irons above precision this week, and we all know how good my wedge is, so it's even harder for me," DeChambeau said. "But it doesn't matter.

"It's a good test. I just have to keep working hard and keep playing the way I do. It's easy now to be 7, 8, or I could even be standard. So keep going, I think there are 65, 64 out there today. I almost shot it today, and I definitely saw it, I definitely didn't have it there, I didn't have it."

Uggetti: Outside the top ten, there are a lot of famous people lurking, and when the game still seems to be relatively large, like it is anyone's game, maybe anyone's game.

Still, even with classes like Quail Hollow, I suspect the cream will continue to rise to the top. Despite his recent struggles in some big tournaments, perhaps no one is as good as Jon Rahm. The Spaniard put together two quiet but very solid golf balls and sat under 2 and six strokes behind Las Vegas to enter the weekend.

"I think I'm in good shape," Ram said. "Plus that with the fact that I feel I'm more confident about the improvement in the swing. I've done a lot of good swing there today and given myself a lot of opportunities."

Since winning the 2023 Masters, Ram's words surrounding the Grand Slam have revolved around him that he couldn't compete, but it's easy to forget that at that time, he looked one of the most consistent and dominant players in the game. He continues to score top 10 on LIV, but you want to measure those results and it’s not surprising to see him top the top this weekend. He can use it.

How far back can you not compete for it?

Uggetti: Can anyone who says layoffs can run? Probably, but this setup, like many PGAs in the past, brings the rankings very close. Even in Las Vegas under 8, players like Collin Morikawa (or even PAR), Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele (1 game) may be lowered and run. In my case, the real leader in the tournament is Scheffler's under 5, but that also means Scheffler needs to stop, which doesn't seem likely. Players like Morikawa, Schauffele and McIlroy will need to shoot at low and medium speeds in their 60s to do any shots, but that is not possible.

A more balanced view is that less than 1 may be too far. It was a high task to trail Scheffler four shots and the leader had seven shots behind.

Who is your choice to enter the weekend?

Schrabach: After the first round, I chose Sugarty, who was better off on a game below 3 than 68 was a stroke, which was enough to put him in fifth place in the draw. Apart from driving (6 out of 14 fairways), he made progress in almost every indicator in the second round.

"I love my position going into the weekend," said Schefler. "Obviously, I wish I was a little far on the rankings. I think I've gotten a lot from the game over the past few days. I feel like my swing continues to get better as the rounds go on and I can impress some key opportunities to give myself some chances. Looking forward to the weekend."

2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is the only other golfer in the top ten to win the pros. Las Vegas, Matthew Parvin, Michael Sauberson, Alex Smilly and Sam Stevens did not stop Scheffler when signing.

Uggetti: Scheffler felt inevitable, especially considering that he still didn't play like the world's unquestionable No. 1 player. But, part of me keeps going back to Bryson. He is far from perfect this week, apparently he is still fighting his goal match (Game 77), but it seems like he is going to do it and everything can hit. The drive is still an incredible weapon, and he just needs to keep it on the fairway more often.

Which player missed the layoffs as the biggest disappointment?

Schrabach: There are a lot of reliable options as many of the world's best golfers Justin Thomas (3 beats), hideki Matsuyama (3 on), LudvigÅberg (3 on), Justin Rose (9 more) and Russell Henley and the weekend's Quail Hollow at Quail Hollow.

I'll probably go with JT because I think he's got a chance to make some noise this week. He won three weeks ago in the legacy of Royal Bank of Canada and finished his first place in Quail Hollow's 2017 PGA Championship.

Thomas hit only 13 of 28 fairways (4 of 14 in the first round) and 16 of 36 greens. He made nine birdies, but made too many mistakes.

Uggetti: I went with Amberg. He has been up and down this week, but still seems to be able to do a good job for his game. Instead, he finished 145th in the race: Driving and 86th in the game. The sample size is small, maybe the bar is set too high, but now I have encountered two missed layoffs in Aberg's two PGA championship games.