OAKMONT, Pa. — There are no places to hide at a U.S. Open, particularly at Oakmont Country Club. There are no crevasses to crawl into or shadows to wait in. There are eyeballs on you the moment you first step foot onto the property. The golf course exposes your every weakness and reveals aspects of one’s inner mettle one may not have been aware of prior to the event.
Three men stood on the driving range at Oakmont on Friday afternoon searching for three different answers. On the near side, a young Italian talked to his small team following rounds of 75-83 that assuredly sent him home on the earlier side of the things. On the far end, a man from the same continent found himself in a polar-opposite position — not only given where he stood physically but where he stood on the leaderboard.
A constant tinkerer and thinker, Viktor Hovland considered where he needed his golf swing to be. The one he used the two days prior produced sizzling results leading to the Norwegian’s name finding a spot on the first page of the leaderboard at 1 under heading into the weekend of the year’s third major championship.
But there were no eyes on either of these men, the grandstands behind them were as empty as some players’ confidence gauges. Action was transpiring all over the golf course as reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and grand slam winner Rory McIlroy battled Oakmont’s fury and the cutline.
Still, one grandstand remained filled to the brim on that driving range because smack dab in the middle of these two men was the man. The man who has drawn comparisons to Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. The man who has been the best golfer in the world for north of three calendar years. The man who seems to know when to pull which lever and call upon which shot at the exact right time. The man who seems to know it all was lost, and there was nowhere for him to hide.
Scottie Scheffler’s second-round 71 was enough to clip the field average by nearly four strokes on Friday. It kept him on the fringes of contention with a chance to win his second straight major championship as he stands at 4 over at the halfway point and inside the top 25 on the leaderboard.
Even that was not enough to squash any his concerns.
The U.S. Open has turned into a bugaboo of sorts the last few of years. Pinehurst No. 2 flummoxed the world No. 1 as he carded four over-par rounds in a tournament for the first time in his PGA Tour career. After two strolls around Oakmont, two more over-par rounds have been added to Scheffler’s streak.
Par is just a concept, this is understood, but it paints a picture of Scheffler’s competitive spirit that his gritty 71 did nothing to put a grin on his face. There was room to improve, and plenty of it; Scheffler was intent on finding out how.
Scheffler’s ball-striking numbers in his first two rounds are the worst since his first two rounds at last year’s BMW Championship, according to Rick Gehman. That doubles as the last time he finished a tournament outside the top 25.
It’s been an atypical U.S. Open for Scheffler, which meant an atypical range session was required. This was not the standard nuts and bolts or a quick look under the hood. Fundamentals were checked off the list, sure, but this was far more than that.
There was no dancing or tip-toeing like a ballerina as he so normally does with a driver in hand. Head scratches, slumped shoulders and grunts of frustration echoed from the player along with his caddie and swing coach. Scheffler swiped his own forehead after a swing and spat at the ground beore steam started to rise.
Swing coach Randy Smith helped Scheffler go to work on his mechanics, a rare move for a player whose game is based on feel. Launch monitor data was poured over, swing videos were filmed and alignment sticks fell to the ground as drops of rain did the same. Scheffler was searching, and everyone was looking with him.
Ball after ball was batted in the air, some from different locations on the range as the bag from which they came from was batted with frustration. It took time and repetition before Scheffler’s search came to its end. He finished his session with a drive that fell left to right, a mid-iron that painted the intended flag stick and a few feelers with a wedge in hand.
Scheffler and his team packed up their equipment and sauntered off the range leaving no evidence but foot imprints and divots from where they were once standing. The threesome must have felt that they found something, but it won’t be until Saturday when all eyes fall back on Scheffler that he will find out whether that’s the case.
Turn on the after burners
It was a round that few imagined was possible this week as Sam Burns signed for a 65 to race up the leaderboard early Friday. Fresh off his playoff defeat at the Canadian Open, Burns has caught fire around Oakmont, banging 11 birdies into the back of the cup through 36 holes. The American has already matched the total put together by Dustin Johnson en route to his victory at this course 2016, and his Friday 65 marked the third-lowest round ever at an Oakmont-hosted U.S. Open.
Outside of playing his final four holes in 5-5-5-5 on Thursday, Burns has largely been blemish-free. While his scoring capabilities pop off the page, it will be his ability to keep the big number off the scorecard that will make or break whether he can convert his first 36-hole lead in a major championship.
“Especially around here, honestly, it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that’s the only option you have,” Burns said. “For this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It’s too hard to try to guide it around here. You’re going to hit some in the rough, you’re going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority. Yeah, it’s going to be a fun weekend.”
Major championship rounds
Not every round be can fun and filled with birdies, especially in a U.S. Open. This tournament is a war of attrition, a fight till the end. Ultimately, those rounds where players can put up a respectable score without their best stuff are the rounds that win ajors.
That was Xander Schauffele’s 72 on Thursday and Scheffler’s 71 on Friday. Hitting only six fairways and seven greens in regulation, Scheffler, the three-time major champion, was able to turn a potentially disastrous day into something that may have provided a shred of confidence to his game.
“Any time you’re not hitting it the way or playing up to my expectations I think it’s frustrating. Mentally, this was as tough as I’ve battled for the whole day,” Scheffler said. “There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favor necessarily, and I felt like Teddy and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch. … Overall, definitely not out of the tournament. Today was … easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there. I’m 4 over. … Around this golf course, I don’t think by any means I’m out of the tournament.”
How far back is too far back?
Thirty-six of the last 40 U.S. Open champions have been among the top 10 on the leaderboard after the second round, according to Justin Ray. In order words, there’s only a 10% chance someone other than the group below will claim the national championship.
If this trend indeed bears true, your U.S. Open winner will be one of Burns, Hovland, 18-hole leader J.J. Spaun, Adam Scott, Ben Griffin, Victor Perez, Thirston Lawrence, Thomas Detry, Russell Henley, Brooks Koepka or Si Woo Kim. Something in me says it isn’t going to be that easy this weekend, especially when one considers some of the other names lurking from 11-25.
Scheffler headlines a pack at 4 over that consists of Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Daniel Berger, Robert MacIntyre, Cameron Young and Denny McCarthy. Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Tyrrell Hatton are one better at 3 over. With some overnight rains softening this golf course, don’t be surprised if someone off early Saturday puts together a performance that puts them out on the golf course a little later Sunday.
Rory’s rut
It may ultimately go down as the least-inspiring run following a completion of the career grand slam. McIlroy has made no significant noise with his play since slipping on the green jacket — other than when he smashed a tee marker late Friday — and unfortunately for the former U.S. Open champion, that continued this week at Oakmont.
Following a fine start to his tournament that saw him turn in 2 under, McIlroy signed for a second-nine 41 Thursday before stumbling out the block Friday. A pair of double bogeys in his first three holes put him squarely on the cutline, but to his credit, he hung touch to assure himself a weekend tee time thanks to two birdies in his final four holes to get in at 6 over.
McIlroy has noted he has struggled to find some motivation since achieving his lifelong dream of winning the Masters. He was also irritated about news of his non-conforming driver being leaked at the PGA Championship. Could this finish be what he needed to climb out of this little rut? We’ll find out early Saturday as he aims to make the most of his Moving Day.
Cutline drama
There’s nothing better. Nothing. Champions are crowned Sunday, sure, but everyone has to get through Friday first. At Oakmont on this Friday, the cutline was pure cinema. Crowds exited the property, rain started to fall, thunder was rumbling in the distance and Oakmont kept giving these players everything they could handle. There was almost a purity to it.
How bad do you want to be around for a weekend that will almost certainly consist of Oakmont punching you in the face two more times?
The best in the game were getting their butts handed to them with DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas all failing to earn a spot on the weekend tee sheet. While they struggled, soon to be 55-year-old Phil Mickelson tried to conjure together one last magical hole in what may have been his final U.S. Open.
After making a bogey on the par-4 17th, Mickelson needed to score birdie on the difficult closer to skirt inside the cutline. He split the fairway, hit his second inside 15 feet … and then a vintage Phil moment occurred.
With thunder echoing through the property, Mickelson’s playing partner, Brian Harman, backed off his putt and asked if everyone in the group felt safe to continue. Lefty replied almost immediately, “Do you want me to go? Because I am going to finish anyways.”
Classic Phil.
How hard is Oakmont playing?
The birdie well ran dry fast! Only three players find themselves in red figures heading into the weekend — the lowest total since 2018 at Shinnecock Hills — as Oakmont has played to an average just shy of 5 over in each of the first two rounds. More than 10 players finished their tournaments at 20 over or higher, including George Duangmanee, who fired rounds of 86-89 to exit at 35 over.
PGA Tour rookie Will Chandler turned in 47 Friday, while James Nicholas turned in 45 and still made the cut! Shane Lowry barely broke 80 Thursday and barely broke 80 Friday. Justin Rose went 77-77. There were more rounds in the 80s than there were in the 60s.
“I guess I would have expected to be in this position if you said even par through two rounds,” Scott said. “It’s just hard out there. It’s hard to keep it going when guys have got on a run. It seems like they’ve come back a bit. I’m playing old-man-par golf at the moment.”