Xander Schauffele’s 3 party, Scottie Scheffler in difficulty at US Open 2024

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Jun 14, 2024, 01:14 PM ET

The 124th US Open continues Friday with Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy sharing the lead at No. 2 Pinehurst.

Only 15 players had sub-par rounds on Thursday, underscoring the difficulty of the course.

Ludvig Åberg, Matthieu Pavon and 2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau occupy the remaining top five spots in the rankings under Cantlay and McIlroy.

Here are the highlights from the second round of the 2024 tournament in North Carolina.

The tiger is standing

Three-time US Open winner Tiger Woods is expected to tee off in the second round at No. 1. After struggling to a 4-over 74 on Thursday, Woods will need to clean house if he wants to stay for the weekend. The US Open Cup includes top 60 scores and ties. There are currently 73 players at 3 over or better, although conditions are expected to get firmer and quicker this afternoon, so at least 4 over could be a more likely cut. Tiger struggled at times with his iron play and putting in the first round. He’s trying to avoid missing the cut at a second straight major tournament. –Marc Schlabach

Détry stays hot

Thomas Detry continues to climb the rankings. After making three birdies on his first nine holes, Detry hit it to 3 feet on No. 1 (he started on the back nine) and made an easy birdie before draining a 22-foot putt on the third hole. He is tied with Patrick Cantlay at 5 under after starting the day at 1 under. — Paolo Uggetti

Bairstow turns the tables

Talk about a turnaround. England’s Sam Bairstow posted a score of 14-over 84 on Thursday in his first round at the US Open. A day later, he posted a 3-under 67, a 17-shot improvement and the best round in the clubhouse so far. On Thursday, Bairstow made seven bogeys, one double bogey and one triple bogey. On Friday, he made five birdies and two bogeys. The best improvement between the first and second rounds of the US Open is 19 shots, made by four players, most recently Earl Puckett in 1965 (93-74). — Schlabach

Trouble for the world number 1

If Scottie Scheffler does not reverse the situation and fails to qualify in the last three holes of the second round, he will join Greg Norman (1997, Congressional), Tiger Woods (2006, Winged Foot), Luke Donald (2012, Olympic Club ) and Dustin Johnson (2017, Erin Hills) as the only No. 1 ranked players in the world to miss the cut at the US Open, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Stats guru Justin Ray of Twenty First Group noted on X that Scheffler had never had a birdieless round in a major tournament as a professional. — Schlabach

Chaos on No. 5

When three of the best players in the world play a par 5, you usually expect a birdie or two, maybe an eagle. At worst, we would expect normal. Not at Pinehurst #2, and certainly not on the par-5 fifth hole, with today’s marker location all the way to the left. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele all decided to attack said pin with their approach shots.

None of them held the green, and all watched in horror as their balls rolled off the steep left slope and into the native sandy area below. This is one of the worst spots on this golf course, and it shows. Scheffler and Schauffele’s chips returned to their feet, and McIlroy learned from their mistakes and sent it away from the hole and off the green on the right side. McIlroy managed to get up and down for par, which might be his best par of the day, but Schauffele and Scheffler suffered a much worse fate and came away with a double bogey. Note to yourself – and everyone else in the field – do not go left on number 5. — Objects

A gathering from Hovland

Credit to reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland for not mailing it. After posting an 8-over 78 in the first round, Hovland opened the second with a birdie on No. 1. Then a double bogey on the par-4 eighth brought him down. at 9 o’clock. Hovland finally puts things together with four birdies over a five-hole stretch to get to 5, giving himself a chance to qualify. He made putts of 16 feet and 8 feet on Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, then holed his approach shots to 4 feet on 12 and 2½ feet on 13. — Schlabach

Xand3r Schauff3l3

Talk about throwing up 3s. PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, after making two bogeys on his first two holes on the back nine, made seven 3s in the first 13 holes of the second round. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hunter Mahan recorded the most 3s in a round at a U.S. Open at No. 2 Pinehurst with nine in 2014. Mahan’s round included five bogeys and a double-bogey, giving him caused him to miss the cut. Schauffele is unlikely to do that – he is minus-3 with five holes to play. Schauffele has hit 9 of 13 fairways so far and leads the pack in strokes gained: approach (3.08) in the round. — Schlabach

Straka takes a break

No. 2 Pinehurst took plenty of shots from the world’s best golfers in the second round of the U.S. Open. This ultimately gave Sepp Straka a couple. The University of Georgia alumnus had a terrible break when his approach shot on the par-4 third hole bounced off the pin and leapt into a bunker. He ended up making a triple-bogey 7.

At the par-3 ninth, Straka got two of those shots back when he hit an ace from 194 yards. It was the first hole-in-one of the tournament. He has 2 points on the turn. — Schlabach

Alex runs a race

This is Xander Schauffele. After starting his round with back-to-back bogeys, bringing him to 2 for the tournament, the 2024 PGA Championship winner buckled down and made three birdies in six holes, including a dart that stopped 2 feet from the 18th hole. Schauffele hasn’t had his best performance so far, but he has been working on a tough golf course. He heads into his second nine of the day in excellent position. — Objects

Tough day for Scottie

It was another frustrating day for world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler. He started from the back and made bogeys on both par 3 holes. On the 15th, he missed the green and failed to make a 17½ footer for par. On the 17th, he hit his tee shot into a bunker left of the green and missed a 9-footer. He was 2 in the round at the turn and 3 in the tournament. Scheffler’s frustration is starting to show. After narrowly missing a birdie at No. 16, he launched his putter into the air. When his tee shot on number 18 went far left, he slammed his driver to the ground and launched his tee. — Schlabach

A surprise at the second

Here is the Belgian Thomas Detry. The former University of Illinois star moved into a tie for second place at 4 under after making three straight birdies on Nos. 11-13. After starting on the back nine and reaching par on No. 10, Detry drained a 17½ footer on 11, a 13 footer on 12 and a 16½ footer on 13. Detry was one of the top amateur players of the world, but he is still looking for his first professional victory on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour. His best finish at the US Open was a tie for 49th at Winged Foot in 2020. — Schlabach

Go back in time

German Martin Kaymer, who won by 8 shots at the last US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, is back in the field a decade later. Kaymer got to 2 under with an 11½-foot birdie putt at the par-4 13th, then gave it back immediately with a bogey at the 14th. He is at 1 under par. If LIV Golf League captain Kaymer could win again this week, it would be the third-longest streak between U.S. Open victories. Julius Boros (1952-1963) and Hale Irwin (1979-90) waited 11 years between victories. — Schlabach

McIlroy saves par

For the second day in a row, McIlroy gave the Pinehurst crowd something to cheer about with another chip-in from the green. After McIlroy holed his approach shot on the par-3 17th beyond the pin, his putt sailed past the hole and left the green toward the short grass. A frustrated McIlroy called for the match to be stopped – to no avail – then saved par with his corner. No putter needed. McIlroy, who started the 10th hole Friday, is 2 for the day and 3 for the tournament. — Objects

Rory struggles at first

They are off to the second round of the U.S. Open at No. 2 Pinehurst. McIlroy, who began Friday as co-leader with Patrick Cantlay, went 5-under in the first round while posting a bogey-free lead. 5-under 65. Starting on the back nine on Friday, McIlroy has already posted two. He missed a 12-foot birdie attempt and settled for par at the par-5 10th. At the par-4 11th, his approach shot went off the green. He went about 5½ feet beyond the hole and missed the par putt on the way back. He is 4 under, 1 shot behind Cantlay. —Schlabach





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