Scottie Scheffler insists he remains in the hunt for back-to-back major titles despite a frustrating opening two rounds at the US Open.
Scheffler arrived as pre-tournament favourite after three wins in his last four starts, including a dominant major success at the PGA Championship and a Memorial Tournament title defence, only to make a slow start in the third major of the year.
The world No 1 stuttered to an opening-round 73 before mixing four birdies with five bogeys in a one-over 71 on Friday, the first time since that Scheffler has started with back-to-back over-par rounds since last year’s US Open.
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Scottie Scheffler was disappointed with an approach during his opening round at Oakmont and smashed the ground in anger
Scheffler struggled with his driver and with his approach play during his second round, finding just six fairways off the tee and seven greens in regulation, leaving him proud to fight his way through to the weekend.
“I feel like I battled really hard,” Scheffler said post-round. “It’s challenging out there. I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it. Felt like me getting away with a one over today wasn’t all that bad – it could have been a lot worse.
“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.
A close look at Scottie Scheffler’s scorecard from his second round at the US Open
“There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favour necessarily and I felt like Teddy [Ted Scott, caddie] and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch. Overall, definitely not out of the tournament.
“I think with the way I was hitting it, it was easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there. I’m not in the position I’d want to be after two days, but by no means am I out of the tournament.”
Scottie Scheffler has remained top of the world rankings since May 2023
‘Plenty to look at’ for Scheffler
Former major champion Rich Beem, commentating for Sky Sports: “Even the best players in the world are going to struggle at a US Open. Not everyone is going to come out and dominate like we saw Tiger Woods did in 2000 – it’s just not possible.
“I think Scottie has some things to clean up – his ball-striking was not there. He struggled with the driver, he struggled with the irons and there’s plenty to look at.
“This golf course is intimidating for a lot of players and it could be for the world No 1, but he understands the nuances of how to play hard golf courses really well. It wouldn’t surprise me to watch him come out tomorrow and shoot something under par.”
Scheffler has top-10 finishes in 10 of his last 14 major starts
Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, commentating for Sky Sports: “Very simply, he’s not playing very well. There’s no part of his game that’s anywhere near the standards that he displays week in and week out on the PGA Tour, particularly his driving. He’s missing so many fairways and you can’t do that around Oakmont.”
Scheffler on slow play: ‘It felt long to me’
Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa took five and a half hours to complete their opening round and closer to six hours for their second, with the three-time major champion expecting long rounds during this week’s tough test.
“It felt long to me,” Scheffler admitted. “Both the par-fives, we basically walked up on the group in front of us. I’m just trying to play. I’ve got too many concerns other than the pace it takes to get around this place.
Viktor Hovland carded a two-under 68 on Friday
“Going into a golf course like this with this many players and this tough of a golf course, you know it’s going to take a while. If we’re playing threesomes at Travelers next week, the scores are obviously going to be a bit different. There’s not nearly the distance in between holes.
“Look at the ground we’ve got to cover out there to walk 18 holes. That’s a big piece of property. It just takes time. It just takes time to hit that many golf shots.”
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Scottie Scheffler, famed for his unique footwork, almost fell over when hitting a tee shot during round two of the US Open
Burns relishes major contention
Scheffler’s 2023 Ryder Cup partner Sam Burns charged up the leaderboard with a brilliant second-round 65, carding six birdies and one bogey to set the clubhouse target on Friday morning.
Burns raced to the turn in 31 and recovered from a bogey at the first – his 10th hole of the day – to birdie two of his next three holes, with a 22-foot par-save at the last seeing last week’s RBC Canadian Open runner-up head into the weekend on three under.
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Highlights from the final round of the RBC Canadian Open, where Ryan Fox edged out Sam Burns in a play-off
“I didn’t really think of much of a score,” Burns admitted. “The golf course is really too difficult to try to figure out what’s a good score and what’s not. You’re really just shot by shot and trying to play each hole the best you can.
“There’s obviously a lot of golf left on a very tough golf course, so I think really this afternoon just getting rest and getting ready.
“I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it’s one under, you’ll take it.”
Who will win the US Open? Watch throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 4pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream no contract on NOW.
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