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Best moments from the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open

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June 14, 2024 12:16pm ET

The 124th U.S. Open continues on Friday with Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy sharing the lead after the second hole at Pinehurst.

Only 15 players finished under par on Thursday, highlighting the course’s difficulty.

Ludvig Auberg, Mathieu Pavon and 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau hold the remaining top-five spots behind Cantlay and McIlroy.

Here are some highlights from the second round of the 2024 tournament in North Carolina.

Struggling to become world number one

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, if Scottie Scheffler doesn’t make the cut by overcoming a slump on the final three holes of the second round, he’ll become the third No. 1 player in the world to miss the cut at the U.S. Open, joining Greg Norman (1997, Congressional), Tiger Woods (2006, Winged Foot), Luke Donald (2012, Olympic Club) and Dustin Johnson (2017, Erin Hills). Statistics guru Justin Ray of the TwentyFirst Group said: Listed in X Scheffler has never played a round without a birdie in a major tournament as a professional. — Mark Schlabach

Number 5 Chaos

When three of the best players in the world play a par 5, you can usually expect a birdie or two, maybe an eagle, or at worst, par. But you can’t expect par on the second hole at Pinehurst, especially not on the par-5 fifth hole, with the pin location today being way to the left. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele all decided to aim for that pin with their approach shots.

No one could keep the green, and we all watched in horror as the ball rolled down the steep left slope into the pristine sand below. It was one of the worst places on the golf course, and it showed. Scheffler and Schauffele’s chip shots landed at their feet, and McIlroy, learning from their mistakes, hit the ball wide of the pin and off the green on the right side. McIlroy got up and down for par, which may have been his best par of the day. Schauffele and Scheffler, however, had it worse, leaving with double bogeys. Note to self, and to everyone else in the field: don’t go left on the fifth hole. — Paolo Uggetti

Gathering from Hovland

Reigning FedExCup champion Viktor Hovlan deserves credit for not cutting corners. After shooting an 8-over 78 in the first round, Hovlan birdied the first hole in the second round. He then made a double bogey on the par-4 eighth hole to drop to 9-over. Hovlan finally got his act together by scoring four birdies in five consecutive holes to move to 5-over and earn a shot for the cut. He made putts of 16 and 8 feet on the ninth and tenth holes, respectively, then sank his approach shot from 4 feet on the 12th hole and 2.5 feet on the 13th hole. — Schlabach

Xander Shauf

Three strokes in a row is a big deal. After two bogeys on the first two holes of the back nine, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele went 3-of-7 over the first 13 holes of the second round. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hunter Mahan recorded the most three-of-9 in a single round at the U.S. Open in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2. Mahan’s round included five bogeys and one double bogey, which caused him to miss the cut. Schauffele is not in danger of missing the cut. He is 3-under with five holes to go. Schauffele has hit the fairway on nine of the last 13 holes and leads the round in approach strokes gained (3.08). — Schlabach

Straka gets lucky

In the second round of the U.S. Open, the second hole at Pinehurst took many shots from some of the best golfers in the world before finally giving Sepp Straka two strokes back. The University of Georgia product had it rough on the par-4 third hole when his approach shot hit the pin and bounced into a bunker, resulting in a triple-bogey seven.

On the par-3 ninth hole, Straka hit an ace from 194 yards to recover from a two-stroke deficit and record his first hole-in-one of the tournament. He was two over par at the turn. — Schlabach

Xander runs

Enter Xander Schauffele. After starting his round with two consecutive bogeys to fall to two over par for the tournament, the 2024 PGA Championship winner picked himself up and scored three birdies in six holes, including a dart that came to rest two feet from the 18th hole. Schauffele isn’t in top form right now, but he’s been working hard on a tough golf course, and he’s in great position heading into the second hole of the day. — Ughetti

Tough day for Scotty

It was another frustrating day for world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler. He started off on the back hole, bogeying both par-3 holes. He missed the green on the 15th hole and missed a 17.5-footer for par. On the 17th hole, he hit his tee shot into a bunker on the left side of the green and missed a 9-footer. He was two over par for the round and three over par for the tournament at the turn. Scheffler’s frustration was starting to show. After narrowly missing a birdie putt on the 16th hole, he threw his putter into the air. When his tee shot went wide left on the 18th hole, he slammed his driver into the ground and threw his tee away. — Schlabach

The second surprise

Enter Belgium’s Thomas Detry. The former University of Illinois star made three consecutive birdies on the 11th through 13th holes to move into a tie for second at 4 under par. Starting on the back nine, after a par on the 10th, Detry sank a 17.5-foot putt on the 11th, a 13-foot putt on the 12th and a 16.5-foot putt on the 13th. Detry has been one of the best amateur players in the world but has yet to win his first professional victory on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour. His best finish in the U.S. Open was a tie for 49th at Winged Foot in 2020. — Schlabach

Turn back the clock

Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who won the last U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014 by eight strokes, is back in contention for the title after 10 years. Kaymer made an 11.5-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th hole to move to two under, but bogeyed the 14th to get back to two under. He’s now one under. If the LIV Golf League captain manages to win again this week, it will be the third-longest gap between U.S. Open victories; Julius Boros (1952-1963) and Hale Irwin (1979-1990) were the only two players to have gone 11 years apart since their last win. — Schlabach

McIlroy saves par

For the second straight day, McIlroy thrilled the Pinehurst crowd with a chip-in from off the green. McIlroy hit his approach shot far past the pin on the par-3 17th hole, and his putt rolled past the hole and off the green into the short grass. Frustrated, McIlroy asked to stop putting, to no avail, then saved par with a wedge; no putt was needed. McIlroy, who started on the 10th hole on Friday, was two over for the day and three under for the tournament. — Ughetti

Rory struggles early on

The two began the second round of the U.S. Open on the second hole at Pinehurst. McIlroy, who started Friday tied for the lead with Patrick Cantlay, didn’t take five strokes in the first round, shooting a bogey-free 5-under 65. Starting on the back nine on Friday, McIlroy was already two strokes behind. He missed a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 10th and settled for par. On the par-4 11th, his approach shot missed the green. He hit a chip shot about 5.5 feet out and missed the par putt on the return. McIlroy is at 4 under, one stroke behind Cantlay. — Schlabach




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