​George McNeill of Fort Myers, Florida, watched his tee shot on the par-three sixth hole as the second round of the Senior PGA Championship took place Friday, April 17, 2026, at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. The event was covered by Mike Lang for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images. In Columbus, Ohio, AP reported that McNeill’s aim was to make the cut in his first U.S. Senior Open. He not only secured a spot for the weekend at Scioto Country Club but shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead. “I’ve never really had a good feel for U.S. Opens. I don’t know if age helps, but this Senior Open is obviously going okay so far,” McNeill said. “There’s a long way to go on the weekend, but making the weekend was my first goal, the first step, and then we’ll see what happens.” McNeill stood at 6-under 134 on the course Jack Nicklaus grew up playing. Defending champion Padraig Harrington was second after a 67. “I seem a little tentative with my approach shots,” Harrington said. “I’m in a nice place, and maybe more of the same would be fine, but it feels like I could loosen up a bit.” First-round co-leaders Charlie Wi and Stewart Cink were three back after rounds of 70, with Miguel Angel Jiménez also three off the pace after a 68. McNeill closed his round with a lengthy birdie putt for the week’s lowest score. “That was unexpected. It veered a bit right of the hole and then broke back at the end,” McNeill said. “I made a long one on 9 yesterday too. It’s a bonus, I’ll take it, because I know there are plenty of bad bounces or whatever that can happen. I’ll take what I can get.” The 50-year-old McNeill is a PGA Tour Champions rookie after winning twice on the PGA Tour. He has two top-five finishes this year, including a tie for second at the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational. He is attempting to become the 13th player to win in his first U.S. Senior Open; Richard Bland was the last to accomplish it in 2024. Cink again started slowly before finishing strong, going from 3 over through 14 holes to birdying three of his final four. “I salvaged the round today,” said Cink, aiming for a third senior major this year. “It’s hard to focus; you just lose concentration a little. It’s a tough track. It punishes you if you’re off. I dug myself a hole, but the last four holes were really solid.” Wi double-bogeyed No. 2 and was 3-over through five before birdying four of the next ten, then bogeying the par-4 16th. “The conditions are getting firmer, so if they keep the greens firm—there’s a lot of undulation on the greens, so you have to miss on the correct side to get up-and-down and have an easy two-putt,” Wi said. Among those who did not advance to the weekend, which would have been at 4 over par for the tournament, were several players.