Rory McIlroy managed to overcome the congestion that turned the second round of the US PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club into a logjam to negotiate his way back into the title conversation. An impressive bogey-free second round 67 for a midway total of one-over 141 moved him to five strokes behind midway leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley.“I’m right in the tournament. What I wanted to do today was to just get myself back in it, and I feel like I’ve done that,” said McIlroy, who had entered the second round in danger of missing the cut but contrived to jump some 75 places into tied-30th.McIlroy cut a different figure on posting a round of three birdies and 15 pars for his 67 to the one who had finished Thursday’s first round 74 with four straight bogeys, after which he spent a long time on the range in his effort to correct a double miss with the drive, both right and left.The transformation was impressive as the Masters champion got himself back into the championship for a weekend – when warmer weather and a firmer course seem likely – of playing catchup on the two pacesetters.World number one Scottie Scheffler – who posted a 71 for 138 to lie in tied-ninth – had described some of the pin placements as “absurd” in a second round which took players almost six hours to complete.And McIlroy too was critical of a setup that had players waiting on tee boxes time and time again, while pointing to the bunched leaderboard as an indicator of the issues. “The only thing I would say is, I think a bunched leaderboard like this, it’s a sign of not a great setup ... because it hasn’t really enabled anyone to separate themselves. It’s like it’s easy to make a ton of pars, hard to make birdies, and not that it’s hard to make bogey, but it feels like bogey is the worst score you’re going to shoot on any one hole.“The golf course is good, the pins were tough, and the wind was what it was as well. I’ve always felt like really good setups start to spread the field a bit, and not great setups sort of bring everyone together. I feel like that’s what’s happened the last two days,” said McIlroy, who still managed to find the upward momentum that adds some spice to his weekend’s work.Padraig Harrington demonstrated his brilliant approach play during the second round of the US PGA. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images McIlroy was not alone of the Irish players to make an upward move, with another two-time PGA champion in Pádraig Harrington – who plays mainly on the Champions Tour – overcoming some wayward driving with brilliant approach play that had him finding 16 of 18 greens in regulation and posting a second round 69 for 143 in tied-59th.Harrington’s par putt on the ninth, his finishing hole, lipped out for a three-putt bogey but the 54-year-old Dubliner was accepting of the slow pace of play and more disappointed with the finish that left him further removed from contending.“It is purely a traffic congestion problem,” said Harrington of navigating a way around the course, where, due to space, there were a number of bottlenecks. “It’s like you’re driving down the motorway and being in a fender bender. There’s a big tailback, and once you get through, all of a sudden everything opens up, and if you don’t open up, the guy behind you is beeping while you drive. You know, it’s just a pure traffic road rage situation.”Still, Harrington – a winner of the US Seniors Open and the Seniors Open last season – headed into the weekend of a major for the first time since The Open in 2024 and seeking to roll back the years.“It’s going to be a very difficult golf course for the leaders. Somebody who’s three or four shots back going into Sunday has a great chance of winning on this golf course, just because they can build momentum and feel good about themselves,” insisted Harrington.