After frustrating round, Scottie Scheffler at risk of missing U.S. Open cut

He squandered opportunities, struggled with his putter and seemed lost at times. The most unflappable player on the planet at one point flipped his putter into the air in frustration, turning his back as it plummeted onto the 15th green.

With two bogeys and a double bogey, Scheffler posted a 74 in Friday’s second round, leaving him at 5 over through 36 holes and, shockingly, in danger of missing the cut. He will have to spend the afternoon watching the field to see if his score will be good enough for a Saturday tee time. It’s an unfamiliar position for Scheffler, who hasn’t missed a cut since August 2022 and has finished outside the top 10 just once in his past 16 starts.

“I don’t think 5 over is going to get me into the weekend. But I’m proud of how I fought today,” Scheffler said. “I gave myself a good chance. Really yesterday I felt like I did a great job. Today I just couldn’t get the putts to fall. 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.”

He entered the clubhouse tied for 90th place with a lot of golf left to be played on a scorching Friday afternoon, with temperatures expected to top 90 degrees. The top 60 players (plus ties) after 36 holes make the cut at the U.S. Open. Data Golf, an analytics site, calculated that 4 over par was the likeliest cut line when Scheffler walked off the course, although the odds later shifted to make 5 over the most likely outcome, according to the site.

After Thursday’s opening round saw a pair of sparkling 65s — from Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay — the course seemed to be playing tougher Friday morning. Hideki Matsuyama turned in the round of the morning, posting a 66 that put him at 2 under for the tournament, while 31-year-old Belgian Thomas Detry had a 67 that left him 4 under for the tournament, just off the lead. And Bryson DeChambeau carded a 69 that had him also at 4 under, good enough to put him among the leaders heading into Saturday.

McIlroy, meanwhile, posted a 72, falling to 3 under on the tournament. He’s poised to enter the weekend near the top of the leader board as he seeks his first major championship since 2014, when he won both the British Open and the PGA Championship.

McIlroy and others from the morning wave hit the clubhouse curious how conditions and rising temperatures would treat some of the afternoon players, which included Cantlay, who’s seeking his first major title; Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who posted a 66 on Thursday, and France’s Matthieu Pavon, who opened the tournament with a 67.

Scheffler had an early tee time Friday, starting on the back nine with McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, and after Thursday’s 71, he was looking for a hot start to put him in the weekend hunt. But he missed some birdie putts early and was visibly frustrated before even making the turn.

“I actually hit it really well. I just couldn’t get a putt to fall early,” he said.

A bad chip on No. 15 rolled past the pin to the edge of the green. Scheffler missed the 17-foot par putt and uncharacteristically flipped his putter into the air, turning his back to the green in disgust.

The greens were especially fast Friday morning, and each hole felt like a new adventure. On the par-3 17th tee box, Scheffler’s ball was still climbing in the air when he muttered to himself, “Maybe the worst golf shot I’ve ever seen hit.” His ball landed left of a bunker, and he had to chip over the sand. But he then missed a 12-foot par putt, carding a second bogey that left him at 3 over — the worst score he’d held in any round this year.

He never did card a birdie on the day, the first time he failed to do so in a major round. On the 18th tee box, the 27-year old Texan slammed the head of his driver into the ground and tossed his tee in frustration. He carried the club all the way up the fairway, appearing to strangle it at times.

And then on the par-5 fifth hole, Scheffler’s round went from bad to the stuff of nightmares. His chip from the sand and wiregrass left of the green failed to clear a hill and rolled right back down to his feet. His next chip flew past the pin and well off the green, 54 feet away from the cup. Another chip stopped 15 feet short and after two-putting, Scheffler was left with a double bogey that had him unfamiliar territory, teetering around the cut line.

“Around this place you have to hit such good shots. The golf course is challenging,” he said. “I think personally it’s fun to play, but yeah, it was definitely a grind.”

Scheffler hasn’t missed a cut at a major since the 2022 PGA Championship. He’d turned in top-5 finishes at the past two U.S. Opens and after winning his second Masters in April, he finished tied for eighth at the PGA Championship last month.