CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jhonattan Vegas is in unfamiliar territory: In position to win a major championship.
Entering this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Vegas had played 16 career majors and missed the cut 10 times without posting a single top-20 finish.
Now, after two rounds of this PGA, he leads the tournament at 8-under par after shooting a 1-under-par 70 on Friday.
That, at the time Vegas finished his round, was good for a two-shot lead over Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, who’s 6-under par.
The 40-year-old Vegas, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, held the lead after the first round, becoming the first Venezuelan player ever to hold the lead after any round in a major championship.
Vegas said leading the major “means a lot,’’ adding, “This is kind of what we put all those hours for. You put all those hours to give yourself chances like this. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do it throughout my career, but you never know.
“You’ve got to keep the pedal down, keep your head down, and keep working hard. You never know when things are going to turn your way. I know I have the game to compete in these big events. I’ve just got to do what I do, and good things could happen.’’
Vegas cruised into the 18th hole with a four-shot lead and took a messy double bogey even after hitting his tee shot onto the fairway. It was the only real blemish on his otherwise stellar round.
“It was a great day,’’ Vegas said. “I can’t really get too down on myself for the double on 18, even though I wish I didn’t take that. I managed game really well on a tough day for me. Every chance you get to lead a major and play with the lead is never easy. I feel proud of a solid round today.
“I’ve got to remember all the good stuff and repeat it the next two days,’’ Vegas went on. “Our brains like to scramble and go places that don’t take you to good places. It’s cliché, but we do so much training on taking one shot at time for moments like this. You just hope your brain remembers that.’’
Vegas hasn’t held a 36-hole lead of any sort since the 2019 John Deere Classic, at which he finished tied for 37th with 76-69 on the weekend.
Now comes the hard part.
He said it’s “easy to hang your head on’’ that double bogey on 18 “but there were way too many (good) things to keep fresh in the mind. Even though it’s never easy to give two shots away right at the end, (there is) a lot of golf left, so I’ve got to keep remembering the good stuff.’’
The truth is, Vegas got a massive good break on the 17th hole, a long par-3, when his tee shot that appeared going wayward hit a rake and stayed on the green instead of bounding into the nearby lake. He two-putted for a gift par to keep his round going.
“It was a shock, for sure,’’ Vegas said of the rake break. “One, because once I saw that it hit something. I didn’t know how hard it hit it and where it was going. I know that it was rolling through the green, but I didn’t know immediately if it was going to be too hard and run maybe possibly into the water.
“It was one of those things that happens in this sport. Sometimes you get a sprinkler head that goes out-of-bounds or the cart path that goes out-of-bounds or sometimes you hit a rake that goes on the green. It’s just part of the game, and you’ve just got to enjoy it all.’’
Vegas, with some health issues, including shoulder surgery, has missed some majors because of that, which he termed “very, very annoying, especially knowing I have the game to compete in these big events.’’
“I feel like my game is very complete, but I just haven’t been able to put it all together in a major,’’ he said. “I’ve been patient enough to not really get too down on myself for not playing well at majors. I’ve played good at The Players, I’ve played good at some good, big tournaments, but never a major.
“It’s just kind of one of those things that you’ve just got to keep learning about yourself and what it takes to play good here. Unfortunately, it’s taking me a little bit longer than usual, but I’m glad that I’m in this position right now.’’
