The stage is set for a spectacular Saturday: what to watch out for at fiery Pinehurst No. 2

PINEHURST, N.C. – Ludvig Åberg is used to accelerated deadlines.

The 24-year-old Swede finished alone in second place earlier this year at the Masters in what was his major championship debut.

Now he’s in an even better position – with a shot ahead of the field heading into the weekend at 124^th US Open.

Åberg leads the field in driving accuracy and regulation greens at Pinehurst No. 2 as he sits at 5-under 135, one shot ahead of a trio of players including the U.S. champion Open 2020 Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 9 Patrick Cantlay.

“It’s my first, I think a US Open is supposed to be difficult. It’s supposed to be tricky, and it’s supposed to challenge every aspect of your game – and I feel like it really does,” Åberg said after a second-round 69. these last few days, and I hope we can continue this momentum.

The last player to win his US Open debut was Francis Ouimet in 1913.

But even the “father of amateur golf” did not have as remarkable a game as Åberg. He hit his first 20 fairways this week, placing him second all-time to start a U.S. Open, and has now become only the third player in the last 25 years to lead both accuracy drive and greens in regulation on 36 holes. Åberg attributed his performance to a tune-up earlier in the week with his Swedish swing coach, and he showed the kind of patience and discipline of an Open veteran.

“This guy is like a machine,” said Tony Finau, who was grouped with Åberg for the first two days. “He makes things look pretty easy.”

Åberg is only making his third major career start, but he has already proven that he is not your average starter. Although he didn’t seriously challenge Scottie Scheffler this Masters Sunday, his runner-up position was validation.

“Augusta proved to me that yes, you can actually be there and compete on a Sunday,” he said. “The golf course was very difficult; it took a lot of patience and discipline, just like this one. These experiences I had in April were great. I hope we draw similarities between these.

Åberg will start with Bryson DeChambeau in the final group at 3:35 p.m. ET.

Here’s what else to watch for Saturday at Pinehurst:

NO MATTER THE LOCATION, DECHAMBEAU IS IN CONTROL

Different month, different test, but DeChambeau is at the top of the leaderboard again.

This is the ninth time in his last 10 major championship rounds that he has finished in the top 10.

A month after pushing Xander Schauffele to the finish at the PGA Championship, DeChambeau carded rounds of 67-69 here to sit just one shot back heading into the weekend.

Valhalla was long, wet and soft, its fairways wide, its pitches rough and juicy, its greens relatively flat and featureless. Pinehurst is a very different exam that requires precision, patience and speed.

DeChambeau, it currently seems, is adept at all of this.

Through two rounds, he ranks third in the field in total driving distance (316.3 yards) and rewarded it with a strong putting performance, including a whopping 125 feet of putts made in the second round. Afterward, he credited a few equipment changes — a crank head, 3D irons, a putter he’s trusted since 2018 — with restoring his confidence and putting him in position to add a second major title to his list of achievements.

“I’m excited about the game I’m playing right now,” he said. “I feel pretty confident and ready to go this weekend.”

CAN RORY KEEP HARD THIS WEEKEND?

Entering the week with five straight top 10s in golf’s toughest major, McIlroy is well-positioned to build on his reputation as a US Open specialist.

Imagine this ten years ago.

McIlroy is the first to admit that his 2011 U.S. Open title at Congress had nothing to do with that test: It was long and sweet, run more like a traditional PGA Championship than an event meant to test all facets of a player’s game. Just 22 at the time, McIlroy battled his way to a commanding eight-shot victory in which he was the only player to finish double figures under par.

Now 35 years old, McIlroy takes on this macho challenge more than ever. He appreciates the architecture of golf courses more and pays more attention to his shots. He enjoys the process of putting together a score, rather than just going on a birdie spree like on Tour. It has a more balanced and well-rounded game that can withstand a five-hour stress fest.

“You just have to have a lot of precision,” he said. “I feel like, for the most part, I did well this week.”

This will become even more necessary over the weekend, when the course configuration is expected to become even more demanding. Leading the pack in strokes gained: tee to green, McIlroy looks ready for the challenge.

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A little-known territory of Cantlay

It’s not the year 2024 that Patrick Cantlay was hoping for, only managing two top-10s while falling in the official world golf rankings.

He also hasn’t posted the type of major league career record one might expect.

Just behind Åberg, Cantlay is in his best ever position at a major after two rounds in what is now his 30th.^th career appearance. His previous best finish was a tie for sixth at the 2020 Masters (he later finished T-17).

That he finds himself in this position now is even more surprising.

Typically one of the most efficient and polished players in the game, Cantlay has actually lost shots on the court with his approach game this season. On Friday night, he said his swing had become too long and he has worked diligently with trainer Jamie Mulligan over the past few months to get it back into better working order.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Cantlay said. “I feel pretty good and I’m going to continue to work on these feelings.”

So far, so good – after two laps he’s fourth in the field near the holeshot.

Post early and hope?

Recent history suggests that, in all likelihood, only eight players still have a chance of winning the US Open: Åberg, DeChambeau, Cantlay, Thomas Detry, McIlroy, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon and Hideki Matsuyama.

That’s because 26 of the last 28 US Open champions were three shots off the lead heading into the weekend.

But with Pinehurst’s domed greens and the forecast hot and dry, those who have secured a weekend tee time have only one goal: Post a number early, then hope for carnage late.

In this camp is world number one Scottie Scheffler, who I managed to reduce the number after a birdie-free 74 in the second round. It was the first time in his major career that he had made the round without a birdie on his card, and when he met with reporters, Scheffler did not expect his two-day total of 5-over 145 to is sufficient.

A 66 is the lowest score achieved here over the first 36 holes. Would anyone be surprised if Scheffler posted this number on Saturday?

Jordan Spieth (+3), Collin Morikawa (+4) and Brooks Koepka (+5) are also among those who will start in the morning, when conditions will likely be more favorable for scoring than late in the afternoon .

QUICK SHOTS

Detry, a 31-year-old Belgian, has been in the top 10 in each of his last six major rounds. He finished fourth, his best finish, at last month’s PGA. There has been a glaring difference of late: After going 34-under in his first 18 major rounds, he is now at a total of 22-under in his last 10. … Pavon, winner earlier this year at Torrey Pines, made bogey on his final two holes to give up a share of the lead. He ranks second in the field in putting this week. … Finau has ranked in the top 5 of the Tour each of the last two seasons in approach play. That continues to be a strength here at Pinehurst: He’s hit 14 greens in each of the first two rounds. … PGA champion Xander Schauffele made five birdies Friday but was derailed by a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 fifth hole, his 14^th of the day. No one hit his irons better in the second round than Schauffele, who won nearly four strokes with his approach game.