We are now halfway through the US Open and we have a close battle at the top of the rankings.
Ludvig Åberg held on late to take the solo lead at 5 under. Åberg, playing in his first-ever U.S. Open, carded a 1-under 69 Friday at No. 2 Pinehurst to take the lead. Matthieu Pavon almost matched his opponent, but two late bogeys sent him back two shots.
Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, who each shot a 65 to open the week on Thursday, both took a step back on a very hot Friday in North Carolina. Cantlay will enter Moving Day at third alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Thomas Detry.
McIlroy, who hasn’t won a major championship in almost a decade now, will start Saturday two shots behind. He scored a 2-over 72 on Friday.
Scottie Scheffler, who has been nothing short of dominant all season, barely made it through. He was watching what would have been his first missed cut in 672 days. Scheffler nailed the number at 5-over.
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, is finished. He fell to 7-over this week in what was his last missed cut on Tour.
Oh, and Sepp Straka made the first hole-in-one of the week at Pinehurst Friday morning. Then Francesco Molinari followed suit to qualify on Friday afternoon.
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Ranking update
With most of the field now done for the day, here’s where things stand heading into Saturday.
Ranking update:
1. Aberg (-5)
T2. DeChambeau (-4)
T2. Detry
T2. Cantlay
T5. McIlroy (-3)
T5. Debate
T5. Pavon
8. Matsuyama (-2)
Other notables:
T9. Schauffele (-1)
T37. Spy (+3)
T57. Scheffler (+5)
T57. Koepka
Notable missed cut:
Tiger Woods
Max Homa
Victor Hovland
Dustin Johnson
Justin Thomas
Phil Mickelson
Ludvig Åberg leads halfway through US Open
No experience? No problem for Ludvig Åberg. He holds the solo lead at the halfway point of the US Open.
Click the photo to learn more about the US Open leader. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Matthieu Pavon steps back
Well, Åberg is once again alone at the top. Matthieu Pavon has just made a bogey at the 17th to fall to 4 under. He has one last chance to join Åberg at the top this evening.
Tiger Woods among those who missed the cut
“It’s frustrating because I’m not here to have a chance to win this weekend.”
Tiger Woods is among those who missed the cut this week at Pinehurst No. 2.
Click the photo to learn more about Tiger Woods’ latest failed edit. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Åberg finishes at 5 under
Although he stalled a bit at the end and made a late bogey at the 16th, Ludvig Åberg will enter Saturday tied for the lead. He finished with a 1-under 69 to get to 5-under, which locked him with Matthieu Pavon.
A hole in one to make the cut
Francesco Molinari chose the perfect moment for his hole-in-one. He sank the second ace of the day at No. 9, which placed him inside the cut line!
Åberg returns to minus-5
Thanks to a bogey at the 16th, Ludvig Åberg is now tied with Matthieu Pavon at 5 under.
Tiger Woods finishes at 7-over
Tiger Woods’ week is now over. Woods finished at 7-over after his 3-over 73 on Friday. This represents two planes outside the projected section line.
Woods has only managed to qualify for the US Open once in the last decade.
Phil Mickelson running out of chances at US Open
Lefty has never won the US Open, and it looks like he never will.
More Jay Busbee on the field at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to learn more about Phil Mickelson’s tough exit at the US Open. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Tiger will miss the cut
Well, that should do it. After landing a left in the trees at No. 16, Tiger narrowly missed a 12-footer for par. He will now drop to 7, which gives him two shots outside the cut line.
After all, he won’t play tomorrow.
Tiger stolen at n°15
Tiger made his birdie putt at the 15th. He even started walking towards the cup early. Yet somehow the ball came out and he had to settle for par once again. Brutal.
He is at 6-over now and running out of time to get into the cut line.
Pavon back in the mix
Matthieu Pavon is there once again. He just made a deep birdie putt at third to join Cantlay at 5 under for the week.
Cantlay gets one
Patrick Cantlay is not going away. He is back to just one shot from the lead after his last birdie.
Åberg’s lead returns to 2
Patrick Cantlay may have made a bogey at the 12th, but Ludvig Åberg played it perfectly. His lead is back to two shots now with six holes to play after his final birdie.
Tiger misses his birdie chance
Well, that might have been Tiger’s best bird look of the day. He barely managed a birdie at the 13th, keeping him at 6 over.
He needs at least one birdie over the next five holes to make it through the weekend.
Åberg alone in front again
Patrick Cantlay has just pulled back after another bogey at the 12th. Ludvig Åberg is therefore once again alone in front at 5 under.
Brooks’ brutal triple
Brooks’ third hole was awful. After dropping his third shot into the bunker around the green, Koepka missed two very makeable putts and had to settle for a triple bogey. He is at 4-overs now.
(USGA)
Another bogey from the Tiger
Tiger narrowly missed a par putt at the 12th, so he’ll drop to 6-over this week. That pushed him just outside the cut line with six holes remaining.
Kuuuuuuch!
This bird was huge for Matt Kuchar. He is now inside the cut line after a perfect chip from the bunker.
Kuuuuuuch! 🐥
One of only two players to have played in all four US Opens at Pinehurst is giving himself some breathing room. pic.twitter.com/Pfb702Mlwy
It took him a few holes after this double, but Patrick Cantlay finally made his birdie. He is tied for the day and shares the lead with Ludvig Åberg at 5 under.
