We're now halfway through the U.S. Open, and we've got a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard.
Ludvig Åberg held on late to take the solo lead at 5-under. Åberg, who is playing in his first ever U.S. Open, carded a 1-under 69 on Friday at Pinehurst No. 2 to jump into the lead. Matthieu Pavon nearly matched him, but a pair of late bogeys sent him two shots back.
Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, who each fired a 65 to open the week on Thursday, both took a step back on what was a very hot Friday in North Carolina. Cantlay will enter Moving Day a shot back in third alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Thomas Detry.
McIlroy, who hasn't won a major championship in nearly a decade now, will start Saturday two shots back. He carded a 2-over 72 on Friday.
Scottie Scheffler, who has been nothing short of dominant all season, just barely made the cut. He was looking at what would have been his first missed cut in 672 days. Scheffler made it on the number at 5-over.
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Ryan Young
Leaderboard Update
With most of the field now done for the day, here's where things stand heading into Saturday.
Leaderboard Update:
1. Åberg (-5)
T2. DeChambeau (-4)
T2. Detry
T2. Cantlay
T5. McIlroy (-3)
T5. Finau
T5. Pavon
8. Matsuyama (-2)
Other Notables:
T9. Schauffele (-1)
T37. Spieth (+3)
T57. Scheffler (+5)
T57. Koepka
Notable missed cut:
Tiger Woods
Max Homa
Viktor Hovland
Dustin Johnson
Justin Thomas
Phil Mickelson
Ryan Young
Ludvig Åberg leads halfway through the U.S. Open
No experience? No problem for Ludvig Åberg. He holds the solo lead at the midway point of the U.S. Open.
Click the photo to read more about the U.S. Open leader. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Ryan Young
Matthieu Pavon drops back
Well, Åberg is alone at the top yet again. Matthieu Pavon just bogeyed at the 17th to drop to 4-under. He's got one last chance to rejoin Åberg at the top tonight.
Ryan Young
Tiger Woods among those who missed the cut
"It is frustrating because I'm not here to have a chance to win on the weekend."
Tiger Woods is among those who missed the cut this week at Pinehurst No. 2.
Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods' latest missed cut. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Ryan Young
Åberg finishes at 5-under
Though he stalled out a bit at the end, and carded 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 has him locked up with Matthieu Pavon.
66-69.
Ludvig Åberg 🇸🇪 is the clubhouse leader in the 124th U.S. Open.
Francesco Molinari picked the absolute perfect time for his hole-in-one. He sank the second ace of the day at No. 9, which moved him inside the cutline!
Francesco Molinari HOLE-IN-ONE to move on the projected cut line!! 🔥🤯
Lefty never did get his U.S. Open win, and it's looking like he never will.
More from Jay Busbee on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to read more about Phil Mickelson's rough outing at the U.S. Open. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Ryan Young
Tiger to miss the cut
Well, that should do it. After landing his drive way left in the trees at No. 16, Tiger just missed a 12-footer for par. He'll drop to 7-over now, which has him two shots outside the cut line.
He won't be playing tomorrow after all.
Ryan Young
Tiger robbed at No. 15
Tiger had his birdie putt at the 15th. He even started walking toward the cup early. Yet somehow, the ball lipped out and he had to settle for par once again. Brutal.
He's at 6-over now, and running out of time to get inside the cut line.
Ryan Young
Pavon back in the mix
Matthieu Pavon is right there once again, too. He just sank a deep birdie putt at the third to join Cantlay at 5-under for the week.
Patrick Cantlay may have bogeyed at the 12th, but Ludvig Åberg played it perfectly. His lead is back up to two shots now with six holes to go after his latest birdie.
Well, that might have been Tiger's best birdie look of the day. He just barely pushed a birdie look at the 13th, which keeps him at 6-over.
He needs at least one birdie over the next five holes to make the weekend.
Ryan Young
Åberg alone in front again
Patrick Cantlay just dropped back after another bogey at the 12th. So Ludvig Åberg is out in front alone at 5-under again.
Ryan Young
Brooks' brutal triple
Brooks' third hole was, well, awful. After dropping his third shot into the bunker around the green, Koepka missed two very makeable putts and had to settle with a triple bogey. He's at 4-over now.
(USGA)
Ryan Young
Another Tiger bogey
Tiger just barely missed a par putt at the 12th, so he'll drop to 6-over now on the week. That's pushed him just outside the cutline with six holes left.
Ryan Young
Kuuuuuuuch!
This birdie was huge for Matt Kuchar. He's now inside the cutline after a perfect chip from the bunker.
Kuuuuuch! 🐥
One of only two players to compete in all four U.S. Opens at Pinehurst gives himself some cut line breathing room. pic.twitter.com/Pfb702Mlwy
It took him a few holes after that double, but Patrick Cantlay finally got his birdie. He's at even now for the day, and back in a share of the lead with Ludvig Åberg at 5-under.
It could've been worse. Patrick Cantlay just doubled on the 8th after running into trouble around the green. That's pushed Ludvig Åberg into the solo lead by two shots now — though he missed the fairway on No. 8 behind Cantlay. His lead may not last very long.
The shot of the day goes to Sepp Straka, who had a hole-in-one earlier today. Second-best ... let's give it to Sahith Theegala, who produced this gem for birdie:
Currently the cutline sits at +3, where 61 players sit. With the cut being set at top 60 and ties, if two players slip a stroke, that brings it to +4, which would be huge for guys like Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley and, maybe, Tiger Woods.
Ludvig Aberg takes the outright lead ... for a few seconds
It's another birdie for the 24-year-old Swede. He drained a 10-footer for birdie at the par 5 fifth to take the lead ... that lasted all of a minute.
Because ahead at No. 6, Patrick Cantlay drained a 21-footer at the par 3 to get himself to 6-under.
We have a three-way tie for the lead
Frenchman Matthieu Pavon has worked his way to the top of the leaderboard, in a tie with Patrick Cantlay and Ludvig Aberg, via two birdies on his first two holes. Heck of a start for the 31-year-old.
Prior to this season, he'd never made a cut at a major in four previous starts. He finished T12 at the Masters in April, missed the cut at the PGA in May and now T1 at the U.S. Open
And ... Tiger gives it back
It's a bogey for Tiger at No. 5, which is rough considering it's one of only two par 5s on the course. At +4, he's one shot back of the current cutline.
Tiger Woods gains a stroke
It's a birdie for Tiger Woods at No. 4, getting him to 3-over for the tournament. That's huge if Big Cat is going to stick around for the weekend.
A birdie at No. 2 has Ludvig Aberg in a tie atop the leaderboard with Patrick Cantlay. As mentioned yesterday, if you don't know Aberg, get to know him because he's going to be a fixture in these things.
This quote from Rory McIlroy sums up Pinehurst No. 2
When asked how the course challenges players, Rory McIlroy had this to say:
"It requires a lot more thought. Even though I hit a great drive on the eighth hole, I had 151 adjust 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."
Ryan Young
Detry falls back
Well, Thomas Detry's solo lead was short-lived. He just bogeyed the par-3 6th, which dropped him back to 5-under the week. Patrick Cantlay, who just teed off, is the co-leader once again.
Ryan Young
Scottie Scheffler sweating in the clubhouse
Friday was a rough one for the world's top-ranked golfer. He's now at risk of missing the cut for the first time in what feels like forever.
More from Jay Busbee on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to read more about Scottie Scheffler's rough outing on Friday at Pinehurst. (AP/Matt York)
Ryan Young
Tiger Woods is off
Tiger Woods is off and running at Pinehurst. He's starting right around the projected cut line after his 4-over 74 on Thursday.
Tiger Woods is off the 1st tee and in the fairway to start his second round. 🐅🫡
🇧🇪 From Brussels, Belgium 🏌️♂️ Played college golf at the University of Illinois, earning 2015 Big Ten Player of the Year and winning medalist honors at the 2016 Big Ten Conference Championship ⛳️ Broke the world record for… pic.twitter.com/OBnb8HWSqg
Scottie Scheffler just finished with a 4-over 74, which drops him to 5-over on the week. It was his third straight round over par, which is something that hasn't happened since 2020.
If he can't sneak into the weekend with some help from the afternoon wave, he'll miss his first cut in 672 days.
Rory just pushed a par putt at the 9th, so he'll finish with a 2-over 72 today. Not great, considering what he posted yesterday, but he's still within two shots of the lead entering the clubhouse.
Ryan Young
Sam Bairstow's wild recovery
Sam Bairstow fired a 14-over 84 to kick off the U.S. Open on Thursday.
Today, he jumped up 17 shots with his 3-under 67. That matches the largest improvement from Round 1 to Round 2 at the major in the last 40 years.
It's going to take a bit more, but Viktor Hovland is giving himself a chance to make it into the weekend. He's 5-over now, just outside the projected cutline at 3-over.
After a rollercoaster start, Bryson DeChambeau seems back on track. He's now sank back-to-back birdie putts to get to 4-under, which has him tied up with Rory McIlroy once again.
A sickening dread gripped Stuttgart Arena as the beige sheets were held up, shielding the gravity of the scene from the crowd. In a sense, it was too late: everybody present had recoiled at the sight, beamed here on giant screens, of Hungary striker Barnabas Varga in visible distress on his back after a jarring midair collision with Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn. The host broadcaster dwelt on the pictures for so long that Gabby Logan, anchoring the BBC’s coverage, was forced to apologise.
If Scotland's Euros exit can be blamed on anything it wasn't one moment - the anger at not being awarded a penalty - but the inability to get a shot on target against Hungary. Supporters, though, leaving the Stuttgart stadium in a rage were blaming one person: Steve Clarke. Little appreciation for the 60-year-old leading Scotland to back-to-back Euros.
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