It’s a story you heard in fourth grade, but golf fans know it well: “Rory McIlroy and the Inevitable Quest for a Fifth Major,” now in its 10th printing, dating back to 2015, when McIlroy was pursuing a career Grand Slam and fifth major title at Augusta after winning the 2014 British Open and PGA Championship.
Nearly a decade later, he’s still chasing both. Of course, it’s still a story today, and he started the second round of the U.S. Open with a shared lead. McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay each shot 5-under 65 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over the field.
McIlroy, like many of the players who entered early on Friday, hung in there until the end, finishing with a 2-over 72 after reaching the clubhouse just two strokes behind the leader thanks to a bogey on the final hole.
McIlroy stumbled a bit, but Thomas Detry stayed focused. He tied with Cantlay at five under after the turn thanks to some great putting, then briefly took the lead on the back nine. Bryson DeChambeau also stayed in the mix after a rollercoaster start, hitting his approach right next to the cup on the 18th hole for a final birdie to move to four under for the week.
Now that the afternoon rounds have begun, Ludvig Oberg and Matthew Pavon have joined the fray. Oberg is also in a tie for the lead with Cantlay at 6 under after the first nine holes. Of course, the talk is about who will and won’t make the cut. Scottie Scheffler, who has been so dominant all season, will miss the cut for the first time in 672 days. Tiger Woods is in danger.
Oh, and on Friday morning, Sepp Straka got the first hole-in-one of the week at Pinehurst.
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Mathieu Pavon falls behind
Now, Oberg is back in sole possession of the lead. Matthew Pavone, who bogeyed the 17th hole to drop to 4 under, has one final chance tonight to tie Oberg for the lead again.
Tiger Woods misses the cut
“It’s frustrating because we’re not coming here for a chance to win on the weekend.”
Tiger Woods was among the players who missed the cut in the second round at Pinehurst this week.
Click on the photo to read more about Tiger Woods’ latest qualifying failure. (Alex Suritz/Getty Images)
Oberg finishes at 5 under
Ludvig Oberg slowed down a bit late, including a late bogey on the 16th hole, but he still entered Saturday tied for the lead. He finished with a 1-under 69, putting him at 5-under overall and tied with Matthew Pavon.
Qualifying with a hole-in-one
Francesco Molinari picked the perfect time for a hole-in-one when he hit his second ace of the day on the ninth hole to move inside the cut line.
Oberg falls to 5 under
Thanks to a bogey on the 16th hole, Ludvig Oberg is now tied with Mathieu Pavon at five under par.
Tiger Woods finished 7 over par
That’s it for Tiger Woods this week. Woods finished at seven over par after a three-over 73 on Friday, two strokes outside the projected cut line.
Woods has qualified for the U.S. Open just once in the last decade.
Phil Mickelson’s chances of qualifying for U.S. Open run out
Lefty was ultimately unable to win the U.S. Open and it looks like he won’t be able to do so again in the future.
Jay Busby, who is on-site at Pinehurst, said:
Click on the photo to read more about Phil Mickelson’s struggles at the U.S. Open. (Sean M. Hafey/Getty Images)
Tiger misses the qualifying round
Well, that would be it. After hitting his drive into the trees left on the 16th hole, Tiger narrowly missed a 12-foot shot for par, putting him at 7 over par and two strokes off the cut.
After all, he won’t be playing tomorrow.
Tiger lost on the 15th hole
Tiger made a birdie putt on the 15th hole and started to walk towards the cup, but somehow the ball missed and he had to settle for par again.
He is currently six over par and time is running out to get inside the cut line.
Pavon back in the mix
Mathieu Pavon is there again, sinking a deep birdie putt on the third hole to tie Cantlay at 5 under for the week.
Cantlay gets one back
Patrick Cantlay isn’t running away, and his latest birdie puts him back within one stroke of the leader.
Oberg’s lead is back to two
Patrick Cantlay bogeyed the 12th hole, but Ludvig Oberg played flawless and his latest birdie extended his lead to two strokes with six holes to go.
Tiger misses birdie chance
Well, that might have been Tiger’s best birdie chance of the day. He barely managed to convert a birdie chance on the 13th hole and is now six over par.
He needs at least one birdie in the next five holes to make it through the weekend.
Oberg is back in the lead
Patrick Cantlay dropped back with another bogey on the 12th hole, so Ludvig Oberg is back in sole possession of the lead at five under par.
Brooks’ brutal triple
Brooks’ third hole was, well, terrible. After dropping his third shot into a bunker around the green, Koepka missed two good putts and had to make do with a triple bogey. He’s now four over par.
(United States Golf Association)
Another bogey for Tiger
Tiger narrowly missed a par putt on the 12th hole, dropping him to 6-over for the week, which put him just outside the cut line with six holes to go.
Aaaaahhhhh!
This birdie is Huge Matt Kuchar hit a perfect chip shot out of the bunker to land within the cut line.
Kuuuuuu! 🐥
He was one of just two players to play in all four U.S. Open tournaments at Pinehurst, comfortably within reach of the cut line. pic.twitter.com/Pfb702Mlwy
Patrick Cantlay was a few holes removed from that double score before finally getting a birdie to put him back in the lead with Ludvig Oberg at 5 under today.
Leaderboard Updates
With most of the afternoon group halfway through their rounds, here’s how things stand at Pinehurst.
Leaderboard Updates
1. Oberg -5 (9)
T2. Cantlay -4 (9)
T2. DeChambeau -4 (F)
T2. Pavon -4 (7)
T2. Detri -4 (F)
6. McIlroy -3 (F)
T7. Matsuyama -2 (F)
T7. Finau -2 (8)
T7. Thompson -2 (4)
Brooks hanging with E
Well, that’s one way to make a turn. Brooks Koepka is back to even par.
