Ludvig Aberg soars, Scottie Scheffler survives at withering U.S. Open

PINEHURST, N.C. – A firm and proper U.S. Open course crowns champions, yes, but it also has a way of humbling giants. Jack Nicklaus missed the cut nine times, after all. Arnold Palmer eight times. And Tiger Woods now five.

So never mind that Scottie Scheffler entered this year’s tournament as the heavy betting favorite and was on the kind of a heater the sport hasn’t seen since Woods was at his peak. Nothing is a given at a U.S. Open.

Friday at Pinehurst No. 2 saw the world’s top-ranked golfer reduced to the world’s most flustered. The most unflappable player on the planet at one point flipped his putter into the air in frustration, turning his back in disgust as it plummeted onto the 15th green.

After posting a 74 in Friday’s second round, Scheffler was stuck at 5 over and left the course fearing he’d miss the cut, injecting the kind of suspense into this U.S. Open that no one expected.

When the day mercifully ended, the hallowed course claimed many of the game’s biggest names, but Scheffler had somehow survived.

His reward: 36 more holes – tougher conditions, faster greens and 10 strokes separating him from the formidable leader, Ludvig Åberg, who’s playing his first U.S. Open and seemed completely unfazed by challenges lurking around every corner here.

Three players enter Saturday’s third round tied for second, just one shot behind Åberg: Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau and Thomas Detry.

The leaders survived a scorching 18-hole gantlet Friday that at times felt like an Indiana Jones action sequence. Åberg, especially, was superb in the conditions, as temperatures hit 92 degrees and the greens felt slick as marble. He posted a second-round 69 and enters Saturday’s round leading the field in fairways and greens hit.

“The guy is like a machine,” said Tony Finau, Åberg’s playing partner who posted a second-round 69 and sits two off the lead.

“Obviously, this being my first one, I think a U.S. Open is supposed to be hard,” Åberg said, “it’s supposed to be tricky, and it’s supposed to challenge any aspect of your game. And I feel like it’s really doing that. But super fortunate with the way that things have turned out over the last couple days, and hopefully we’ll be able to keep it up.”

As impressive as the leaders have been, the measure of a tough tournament is often found further down the leader board.

Scheffler snuck into a Saturday tee time, but the list of those who missed the cut includes some of the game’s biggest names, all humbled by this tough course: Viktor Hovland (6 over), Max Homa (6 over), Woods (7 over), Rickie Fowler (8 over), Jason Day (8 over) Dustin Johnson (9 over), Justin Thomas (11 over), Phil Mickelson (15 over).

Those who survived the first 36 holes know the weekend brings a new tournament. The field is down to 75 golfers now, the pin locations will get tougher, the greens faster. As DeChambeau noted, “This golf course is not going to be the same come tomorrow and the next day.”

“It’s going to continue to evolve,” said the 30-year old DeChambeau, whose 69 Friday has him at 4 under, “especially with the conditions being as hot as they are.”

Maybe that somehow works in Scheffler’s favor because Friday’s version of Pinehurst No. 2 was downright cruel. His second round encapsulates the humbling nature of a challenging course and unforgiving tournament. After shooting a 71 in Thursday’s opening round, Scheffler was looking for a hot start to put him in the weekend hunt.

Each hole felt like a new adventure. A bad chip on No. 15 rolled past the pin to the edge of the green. Scheffler then missed the 17-foot par putt and uncharacteristically tossed the putter into the air. Then on the par-3 17th tee box, Scheffler’s ball was still climbing in the air when he muttered to himself, “Maybe the worst golf shot I’ve ever seen hit.” His ball landed left of a bunker, and he had to chip over the sand. But he then missed a 12-foot par putt, carding a second bogey that left him at 3 over – the worst score he’d held in any round this year.

And then, the par-5 fifth hole, when Scheffler never looked more mortal. His chip from the sand and wiregrass left of the green failed to clear a hill and rolled right back down to his feet. His next chip flew past the pin and well off the green, 54 feet away from the cup. Another chip stopped 15 feet short and after two-putting, Scheffler was left with a double bogey that had him teetering around the cut line. It was an unfamiliar position for Scheffler, who hasn’t missed a cut since August 2022 and has finished outside the top 10 just once in his past 16 starts.

He entered the clubhouse tied for 90th place and thought his tournament was finished. But the afternoon scores kept moving the projected cut line in his favor.

“This golf course can be unpredictable at times, and maybe it got the better of me the last couple days,” he said. “I’ll sit down and think about where we’re going the last few days and figure it out.”

Even the leaders struggled to match Thursday’s numbers – when 15 players were below par and Cantlay and Rory McIlroy both posted 65s. McIlroy posted a 72 Friday, falling to 3 under on the tournament. Just three shots off the lead, he enters the weekend well-positioned as he seeks his first major championship since 2014.

Cantlay was tied for the lead at 6-under Friday afternoon until he got to the tricky eighth hole. He needed three chip shots there before a ball finally stuck to the green. And then he had to sink a 12-foot putt to save a double-bogey. A bogey on No. 16 led to a 71 on the day.

“Being smart and being patient,” Cantlay said of the weekend plan, “it’s inevitable there’s going to be some mistakes made, but that’s just part of playing a U.S. Open.”

For the most part, the top players were pleased with pars. Detry, the 31-year old Belgian, had six birdies on his card, posting a 67, and Hideki Matsuyama played bogey-free golf en route to 66, the day’s lowest score.

While the first 36 holes brought relief to some and disappointment to others, those reporting to the course on Saturday know the toughest is still ahead. Tyrrell Hatton was asked what’s going through his head as he stands over the ball at Pinehurst No. 2. “Internally screaming for the most part,” he said.

“There’s just no rest. There’s no easy shots,” said Hatton, who posted a second-round 71 and sits at 1 under. “It’s quite a stressful 5½ hours, to be honest. I think everyone would say the same thing. But it is what it is.”