When is Rory McIlroy playing at the PGA Championship? New tee times and groupings after severe weather delays

The reigning Masters champion arrived at Quail Hollow, a course he loves having won four times there in the past, this week with renewed confidence as the in-form favourite having finally claimed a Green Jacket at Augusta last month to become only the sixth player in golf history to complete a coveted career Grand Slam.

Such a memorable, emotional victory, sealed in a tense play-off with Justin Rose after a wild final day in Georgia, also ended McIlroy’s 11-year wait for a fifth major title, but the lifting of that considerable weight has not had the expected impact so far.

The Northern Irishman – who has also won at both the Players Championship and Pebble Beach Pro-Am so far this year – squeezed marginally under the cut line at the 107th PGA Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, struggling to a first-round 74 before scraping through despite two closing bogeys in a 69 on Friday leaving him one over par for the tournament.

McIlroy, who is looking to win back-to-back majors for the second time, now has a huge mountain to climb to get close to contention for a third PGA Championship crown and first since 2014, with Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas the leader at halfway despite a disappointing last-gasp double bogey in a 70 on Friday that left him eight under.

World No2 McIlroy’s mood this week will not have been improved by having to use a replacement driver after his usual one was apparently deemed as non-conforming by the United States Golf Association (USGA) on Tuesday.

England’s resurgent 2022 US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick is in a three-way tie for second place heading into Saturday’s third round after consecutive 68s, level with Matthieu Pavon of France and South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, who sensationally broke his own record for the longest hole-in-one in major history at the 252-yard, par-3 sixth on Friday.

Also in the hunt a shot further back is reigning world No1 Scottie Scheffler, as well as fellow American Max Homa.