Ludvig Åberg holds 36-hole lead at U.S. Open after second-round 69; Scottie Scheffler makes cut

By Brody Miller, Hugh Kellenberger and Lukas Weese

U.S. Open rookie Ludvig Åberg will enter the weekend leading the U.S. Open after a second-round 69 put him 5-under-par through 36 holes.

Åberg, 24, hit 26-of-28 fairways through two rounds to set himself up well on Pinehurst No. 2’s difficult conditions. Åberg, a college star at Texas Tech, swept the big three collegiate awards as the best player in the country a year ago. He played so well when he turned pro that Europe made him the first player ever picked for a Ryder Cup spot before even playing in a major. Then, in his major debut, he finished second at The Masters in April.

Right behind is a group at 4-under with Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay and Thomas Detry leading the way. DeChambeau will play in the final group with Åberg on Saturday.

World No. 3 Rory McIlroy also remains right in the mix. He entered Friday tied with Cantlay for the lead at 5-under but shot a 72 in the second round due to a tough day putting to drop to 3-under. Matthieu Pavon, the 31-year-old who broke out with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in February at Torrey Pines, is tied with McIlroy at 3-under. Tony Finau shot a 69 to keep pace at 3-under as well.

After a bogey-free 65 Thursday, McIlroy had two bogeys on his front nine to go out with a 2-over 37. Coming in, McIlroy shot an even 35, his lone birdie of the second round happening at the par-4 3rd hole. McIlroy bogeyed his last hole at the par-3 9th.

McIlroy said after his round that Pinehurst’s exacting demands will mean that no one runs away with the tournament.

“It just requires a lot more thought,” McIlroy said. “Even though I hit a great drive up the eighth hole, I had 151 adjusted to the hole. I’m trying to land it 146. I can’t land it 144 because it’s not going to get up there. I can’t land it 148 because it’s going to go over the back of the green.

“You just need to have a lot of precision. I feel like for the most part I’ve done that well this week.”

Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and reigning Masters champion, shot a second-round 74 sitting at 5-over-par. His crucial par save out of a tough bunker on his final hole turned out to be enough to just barely make the cut.

If Scheffler missed the cut, it would be the first time he hasn’t made the weekend at a major championship since the 2022 PGA Championship. Per Justin Ray, Friday’s second round marked Scheffler’s first-ever birdie-free round as a pro at a major. Scheffler had two bogeys and one double bogey on his card during the second round. He also lost 3.3 strokes on the greens and is ranked 91st in the field in strokes gained: putting.

Scheffler entered the U.S. Open as the betting favorite to win the tournament, per BetMGM. He is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2024, including last week at the Memorial Tournament.

DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, fired a second-round 69. He finished his round by striping his second shot to 15 inches from the pin, resulting in a birdie.

DeChambeau’s birdie putt on 18 got him under par for his second round and in the thick of the race for his second U.S. Open title.

“If the conditions are the same as they were today, 4 under is going to have a really good chance (of winning),” DeChambeau said, who sits at 4 under.

DeChambeau started the day 3 under, lost a stroke early and then bobbled up and down from 2 to 3 under par for most of the day, with five birdies and four bogeys in his round.

Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship last month, shot a second-round 69. After opening the second round with two straight bogeys, Schauffele recorded five birdies in his next 10 holes. A double bogey on the par-5 5th brought Schauffele back to 1-under-par for the tournament, his position entering the weekend.

Thomas Detry, who finished T4 at last month’s PGA Championship, shot a 3-under 67 and is currently at 4-under-par for the tournament.

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What went wrong with Scottie Scheffler

Over and over again this season Scheffler’s poise has been the foundation of his success. When others get rattled, he stays calm. When they get too aggressive, he keeps the golf course in front of him. Find the fairway. Find the green. Make the putt. What, like golf is hard?

Scheffler just did not have that temperament on Friday — the sun was barely over the pines and he was loudly yelling at himself. He flipped his mallet putter into the air after a missed par putt, his first bogey of the day. And all of it just snowballed on him — Pinehurst No. 2 does not let up, and playing with the Nos. 2 and 3 players in the world, both of whom were doing a far better job of managing their rounds, seemed to compound things for Scheffler. No. 5 was the hole he’ll regret if he does miss the cut — like McIlroy, Scheffler’s second shot from the fairway found the green and rolled off into the sand/wiregrass. But Scheffler’s first attempt out of it did not get back up onto the green and rolled to caddie Ted Scott’s feet.

His fourth shot was a much more aggressive wedge play and he promptly rolled off the other side of the green. He walked off the green moments later with a double bogey. As a result, Scheffler will have to sweat out Friday afternoon to see if he misses his first cut since the 2022 St. Jude Invitational, 672 days ago. — Hugh Kellenberger, golf managing editor

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(Photo: Tracy Wilcox / PGA TOUR via Getty Images)