Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

The rest of the field breathes a huge sigh of relief.

Oliver Wilson
Former Ryder Cup player on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra at Quail Hollow

What a reaction that is.

He's absolutely flabbergasted.

It's hit the lip pretty aggressively.

He's in dismay right now - cannot believe it.

Great touch from Rory McIlroy, who makes amends for his rather unsettled shot off the tee by clipping into around two feet.

Scottie Scheffler is up now. Surely this tiddler from three feet won't cause any issues. No.

Oh my, he never misses those and the unflappable American raises his hand to his mouth in shock.

Did he give that too much gas? It lips out. Crikey Rory McIlroy now does the same with a carbon copy of Scheffler's putt.

No birdie at the last for Matt Fitzpatrick but back-to-back 68s around Quail Hollow has turbocharged his challenge this week.

As per stats guru Justin Ray on X, Matt Fitzpatrick has not been in the top 10 of a major after 36 holes since he won the US Open in 2022.

He's in second today - and will probably be in the penultimate group tomorrow.

Super Bob Mac has nailed his drive down the ninth, his last, 302 yards. From the middle of the fairway though he tugs his second left of the green. It would appear there was a little bit of mud on his ball, judging by the words that came out of his mouth.

Image source, Getty Images

While we've been following this big trio, a previous member of the world's top three, Jon Rahm, has been quietly staying in contention.

We're not seeing as much of him as we did in his pomp - and his round has only featured two birdies and one bogey after all - but he remains a world class golfer.

Six back going into the weekend?

He's definitely in the hunt.

The green on the par-three 17th is a decent sized target but just how bold will this trio be here to a pin tucked right at the front of a putting surface guarded by water and a bunker.

Rory McIlroy is up first and pushes his eight iron right. Scottie Scheffler, who opts for a seven iron zings his ball into around four feet. Wow.

Xander Schauffele also goes directly at the flag but with nowhere near the same accuracy as the world number one.

Kim Si-woo has quietly crept up the leaderboard with three birdies and an ace on his back nine.

The third of those birdies has just come on the par-five seventh to get him alongside Matthieu Pavon and Matt Fitzpatrick on six under, and just two behind our leader Jhonattan Vegas.

Matt Fitzpatrick sizes up the 18th green from out of the rough that flanks the fairway at the end of Quail Hollow's most difficult hole today.

Bosh, he's muscled it out and, better than that, he's landed his ball safely on the putting surface.

He'll have a look at a closing birdie to finish his round in style.

It's a par for Rory McIlroy, who taps in after making a decent fist of a 30-foot putt for a three.

Xander Schauffele, who struggled out of the sand on the 14th gets his bunker shot just right here and zips in to three feet.

Pars all around.

Work to do in the 16th green for Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

Masters champion McIlroy zips 35 feet past the pin and the American plops into the right bunker after going driver, nine iron to a 526-yard par four.

Scottie Scheffler just does what he does, stays safe and plays the percentages perfectly. He'll be putting from 21 feet.

An excellent second to the par-four eighth by Bob MacIntyre, hitting a low skidder that checks on the second bounce and leaves him a three-footer for birdie.

In it pops. One to play and the Scot is in contention.

Beautifully judged putt by Matt Fitzpatrick at the 17th after his tee shot overcooks and lands at the back of the green.

He's taken aim down the hill and cosies it up tight. For the second hole in a row, he is looking at a steady par.

Always grateful for those on 16-18 at Quail Hollow.

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele all find the fairway with booming drives down the 16th.

The top three ranked players in the world, who have nine majors between them, played this in a combined 18 shots on Thursday, with each recording a double.

Shane Lowry is standing over a 33-foot birdie putt on the last hole. If he nails it he's definitely in for the weekend. If he misses, it's still in the balance.

That's not an aggressive putt by the Irishman, who opts to nudge the ball to tap-in range. Perhaps he thinks two over will be good enough.

He's in joint 73rd as it stands so would miss out. But lots of players still to negotiate the Green Mile - 16,17 and 18 which are statistically the hardest three on the course.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are something else with a wedge in their hand.

Both clip into within five feet. Both pocket birdies.

As does Xander Schauffele, who can't drain an eagle attempt from downtown but is now inside the projected cut line. Just.

On to the treacherous closing stretch known as 'the Green Mile', we go.

Matt Fitzpatrick has entered the Green Mile and is sizing up a long-range birdie putt on the par-four 16th.

It swings right but that is a steady par for the Englishman to remain within two of leader Jhonattan Vegas with two holes to go.

Si Woo Kim is off scampering down the sixth, whooping and hollering after making the second hole-in-one of the championship.

And he's only gone and done it on the longest par three - just the 252 yards! His ball landed on the front of the green, hopped a couple of times and then rolled out into the centre of the cup.

Great scenes for the South Korean, who also had an ace at Royal Troon at last year's Open Championship.

A decent chip up to the green by Alex Smalley and he confidently knocks in the bogey putt.

He ends where he started after a level-par round.

England's Matt Wallace has been speaking to BBC Sport NI after carding a one-under 70 on day two to safely make the weekend: "That was difficult out there. I've found it difficult the past couple of days - have ground it out. I haven't made as many greens as I wanted to but you can't dwell on the mistakes. You have to move on sharpish and execute the next shot.

"But I'm very happy with how I've ground it out. I want to be in contention at some point come Sunday, so I need to try and buck my ideas up at some point!

"Now I've made the cut, I can free up a little more. I've got to try and climb the leaderboard tomorrow."