PGA Championship: Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier make the cut with strong starts

Kiwi duo Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier have pushed through into the weekend rounds of the PGA Championship.

The pair made the cut of the year’s second major championship with plenty of breathing room as Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania has tested the world’s best.

At even par through the first two rounds, Fox and Hiller were tied with six other players in 22nd. American duo Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy lead the field at four-under-par.

With much of the field struggling to find scores through the tournament so far, the cut line was four-over-par and some notable players were on the wrong side of it.

That group included six players currently ranked among the top 20 in the world. England’s Tommy Fleetwood (No 6), American Russell Henley (9) and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (12) were among a host of players to finish five-over. American J.J. Spaun (8) and Austrian Sepp Straka (13) were among those to finish six-over, while American Jacob Bridgeman (19) finished in a group at eight-over.

Fox posted his second-straight round of 70 on Saturday, recovering well after opening his round with three bogeys in his first five holes.

He bounced back with birdies on his seventh and 11th holes of the day, before ending his round with a rollercoaster of birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie to finish the day even.

Hillier, on the other hand, had a better second round than he did his first, going one-under on Saturday to improve to even par at the halfway point.

The 27-year-old carded three bogeys in his round, with two of those coming in the last four holes. However, he did have two birdies and an eagle in his round.

Hillier will tee off alongside American Ben Kern for his third round, at 4.10am NZT, while Fox will play alongside Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune as the group immediately after Hillier’s.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.