The American failed to make the cut at last year's Championship on the back of his maiden major victory at the Masters, but appears firmly in contention going into the weekend on the par-70 Oak Hill Country Club course in New York.

He is tied at five-under-par with Canada's Corey Conners and Norway's Viktor Hovland, neither of whom have yet won a major.

Scheffler followed up a bogey-free 67 on the first day with a 68 to leapfrog compatriot Bryson DeChambeau, who led after the opening round.

Scheffler could have taken an outright lead at the halfway stage, but shot his second bogey of the round on the 18th hole.

"I find myself comfortable in these situations," Scheffler, a two-time winner on this year's PGA Tour, including at the Players Championship in March which is considered by some to be men's golf's unofficial fifth major, said.

"These are the positions I want to be in.

"I want to be near the lead.

"I don't want to be in 30th place or going home.

"I show up to the tournaments to perform at my best.

"I'm proud of how I did the first few days, and I'm excited to be in a good position going into the weekend."

Conners followed Scheffler in moving a further two strokes in the right direction after finishing the first day three-under.

He also missed the cut at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa last year, but held a one-shot lead for much of the afternoon on the second day, helped by three birdies.

A bogey on the seventh hole, his third-to-last of the day, meant Conners had to settle for five-under.

Hovland has finished in the top 10 at the last two majors, and had a fine day from an opening round of 68.

He began with back-to-back birdies before a bogey on the third, and further birdies on the 10th and 18th ensured he finished the day with a share of the lead.

After a superb 66 in the first round, LIV Golf rebel DeChambeau had a mixed second day but remains firmly in the mix at three-under.

A bogey on the third and double bogey on the sixth were cancelled out by three birdies in four holes from the 11th, but he dropped a shot on the 18th for a round of 71.

Another American in PGA Championship debutant Justin Suh is also at three-under after three birdies contributed to a second round of 68.

A strong second half of the round featuring five birdies and a bogey from the United States' Brooks Koepka, a PGA Championship winner in 2018 and 2019 who has since switched to the controversial Saudi-backed LIV breakaway tour, moved him up to two-under having begun the day two-over.

Koepka is tied with England's Callum Tarren, who produced a second round of 67 on his debut at the tournament.

Canada's Taylor Pendrith and former Olympic champion Justin Rose of England are one stroke further back, and complete a list of just nine players who finished under-par on what has been billed as a particularly challenging course.

America's Dustin Johnson began the day just one shot off the lead, but a round of 74 meant he dropped to one-over.

World number one Jon Rahm of Spain recovered from a difficult opening round in which he finished six-over to make the cut at four-over, but his frustration was evident as he missed opportunities to further improve his score.

Defending champion Justin Thomas of the US scrambled a bogey on the final hole to card a round of 73 and just evade the cut at five-over.

England's world number seven Matt Fitzpatrick, last year's US Open winner, was among the high-profile players who missed the cut, finishing at six-over with back-to-back bogeys for a level-par round of 70.

The third round at the PGA Championship for the remaining 76 players is due to be played tomorrow.