US Open: Exasperated Scottie Scheffler tosses and slams clubs but squeezes into weekend as Ludvig Aberg edges ahead

Many have waxed lyrical about the might of Pinehurst No. 2 across its 117-year history, but on Friday the North Carolina course received perhaps its greatest appraisal yet: it made Scottie Scheffler look human.

Many have waxed lyrical about the might of Pinehurst No. 2 across its 117-year history, but on Friday the North Carolina course received perhaps its greatest appraisal yet: it made Scottie Scheffler look human. After exercising a vice-like grip over the golfing realm with an impassive coolness for months on end, the world No. 1’s unflappable brilliance finally buckled during the second round of the 124th US Open on Friday. Scheffler’s run of 168 rounds with at least one birdie went skidding off the sides of Pinehurst’s fiendishly firm and fast greens as he toiled to a four-over par 74, compounding an opening 71. “Yesterday I felt like I did a great job. Today I just couldn’t get the putts to fall,” Scheffler told reporters after his round. “This golf course can be unpredictable at times, and maybe it got the better of me the last couple days. I’ll sit down and think about where we’re going the last few days and figure it out.” How damaging those two days were to Scheffler’s hopes of a sixth win in nine starts was merely a secondary consideration: at five-over overall, the overwhelming tournament favorite arrived at the clubhouse admitting he did not expect to return for the final 36 holes.