Stacy Boit,

The second day of the US PGA Championship crystallised what was already becoming clear: Aronimink is a course for the smartest-thinking golfers who adapt quickly.

Maybe there should be little surprise that Maverick McNealy, an intelligent but unheralded American who once considered snubbing golf for a business career, is leading the way.

Just like on day one, the majority of the world’s leading players were again left befuddled and bemused by a punishing course set-up.

Those who were able to think strategically and problem solve were rewarded.

The later starters in round two, including McNealy and Rory McIlroy, also had chance to take advantage of slightly more benign conditions in the late evening sun.

McIlroy’s pre-tournament prediction of being able to take the sting out of the Pennsylvania course by smashing his driver as far as he could proved wide of the mark in a disappointing opening round.

On Friday, the Masters champion demonstrated his ability to reconfigure and recover. He bounced back with one of only two bogey-free rounds – a three-under 67 which left him one over par and five shots behind the leaders with two rounds to play.

Given the volatile nature of this tournament, McIlroy knows the value of his unflustered round.

“It was a day to get back into the tournament and that’s what I managed to do,” McIlroy said.