PGA Championship 2021: Brooks Koepka's continued reign at big-time courses among nine Round 2 takeaways

The four-time major winner is making a run at No. 5 despite plenty questioning his health

Brooks Koepka is not the leader after 36 holes at the 2021 PGA Championship, but he is definitely the favorite -- both on the oddsboard and otherwise -- after lighting up the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island on Friday. Koepka posted a 1-under 71 as his wave's scoring average rose to 76. Wind whipped off the Atlantic Ocean, but Koepka flew a flag few have in their bag: four-time major winner, conqueror of the hardest courses in the world. He finished second in the field from tee to green on Friday and used a pair of eagles to back up his 3-under 69 with a 1-under 71 to get to 4 under on the week, one back of co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen going into the weekend. For a while, it looked like it would be even better than that as Koepka ran off a string of five 3s in eight holes including at two par 5s in the middle of his round while he and his playing partners had the wind at their backs. He briefly took a co-lead with Oosthuizen at 6 under before playing the last four holes in 2 over to fall just back of Saturday's final pairing.