Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg shot 1-under par 69 to claim the U.S. Open lead after Friday’s second round at Pinehurst, N.C., where the cutline became a hot topic.
Aberg, a 24-year-old former Texas Tech golfer who turned pro last June, is at 5-under 135 midway through the championship.
Bryson DeChambeau, who had five birdies and four bogeys for a 69, and Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who shot 67, are among the golfers one shot back at 4 under. They’re joined by first-round co-leader Patrick Cantlay (71), who overcame a double-bogey 6 on No. 8.
It was another round with a high degree of difficulty as golfers played Pinehurst No. 2 on a day with rising temperatures and heat advisories.
Nearly among the victims was World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was in danger of missing the cut after a birdie-less 74. He was in the long list of golfers at 5 over, directly on the cutline.
Tiger Woods (73) wasn’t as fortunate, missing the cut. Woods, who shot 74 in the first round, had his only birdie on No. 4, but the three-time U.S. Open champion played the last 14 holes in 4 over to card a 73 and fall to 7 over.
France’s Matthieu Pavon (70) briefly shared the lead before finishing with back-to-back bogeys late in the day and tying for fifth place at 3 under.
First-round co-leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland shot 2-over-par 72, dropping a few spots by the time he finished following his morning tee time. He’s tied with Pavon and Tony Finau (69).
McIlroy had two bogeys by the time his first birdie came on No. 3, the 12th hole of his round. He was bogey-free Thursday.
“Overall, I felt like I did a pretty good job at keeping some of the mistakes off the scorecard,” McIlroy said. “I wish I had converted a couple more of the chances.”
Scheffler took a double-bogey 7 on No. 5. He hasn’t missed a cut since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, keeping that string alive.
“I’m proud of how I fought today,” Scheffler said. “I gave myself a good chance.”
Detry made a big move early in the afternoon to climb to 5 under through 14 holes and briefly held the sole lead. With bogeys on two of his last four holes, he relinquished the top spot.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama had the day’s best round with a bogey-free 66, putting him at 2 under.
“I feel like my short game was on point today,” Matsuyama said. “That really helped my game.”
Xander Schauffele, also starting on the 10th hole, made a move before a double-bogey on No. 5 stemmed the momentum. Last month’s winner of the PGA Championship finished with 69, putting him at 1 under going to the weekend.
Germany’s Martin Kaymer (73), who won the U.S. Open on this course in 2014, is at 3 over and defending champion Wyndham Clark (71) is at 4 over.
Francesco Molinari of Italy shot a 72 that was bolstered by a hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth, which was his finishing hole. That ace made him 5 over for the tournament, allowing him to play the weekend. Sepp Straka of Austria also made a hole-in-one at No. 9.
–Field Level Media
