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Best moments from the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open

Jun 14, 2024, 12:16 PM ET

The 124th U.S. Open continues Friday with Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy sharing the lead at Pinehurst No. 2.

Only 15 players shot under-par rounds Thursday, highlighting the difficulty of the course.

Ludvig Åberg, Matthieu Pavon and 2020 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau hold the remaining top-five spots on the leaderboard under Cantlay and McIlroy.

Here are the highlights from the second round of the 2024 tournament in North Carolina.

Trouble for the world No. 1

If Scottie Scheffler doesn’t turn things around and make the cut in the final three holes of the second round, he would join Greg Norman (1997, Congressional), Tiger Woods (2006, Winged Foot), Luke Donald (2012, Olympic Club) and Dustin Johnson (2017, Erin Hills) as the only No. 1-ranked players in the world to miss the cut at the U.S. Open, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Stats guru Justin Ray of Twenty First Group noted on X that Scheffler has never had a birdie-free round in a major as a pro. — Mark Schlabach

Chaos on No. 5

When three of the best players in the world play a par-5, you usually expect a birdie or two, maybe an eagle. At worst, you’d expect par. Not at Pinehurst No. 2, and certainly not on the par-5 fifth hole, with today’s pin location all the way on the left. All three of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele decided to attack said pin with their approach shots.

None of them held the green, and all watched in horror as their balls trickled off the steep left slope and into the native, sandy area below. It’s one of the worst places to be on that golf course, and it showed. Scheffler’s and Schauffele’s chips came back to their feet, and McIlroy learned from their mistakes and sent it long of the pin and off the green on the right side. McIlroy was able to get up and down for par, which might be his best par of the day, but Schauffele and Scheffler suffered a far worse fate and walked off with double bogey. Note to self — and to everyone in the field — don’t go left on No. 5. — Paolo Uggetti

A rally from Hovland

Give reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland credit for not mailing it in. After posting an 8-over 78 in the first round, Hovland opened the second with a birdie on No. 1. Then a double bogey on the par-4 eighth dropped him to 9 over. Hovland is finally putting things together with four birdies in a five-hole stretch to get to 5 over, giving himself a chance to make the cut. He made putts of 16 feet and 8 feet on Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, then hit his approach shots to 4 feet on 12 and 2½ feet on 13. — Schlabach

Xand3r Schauff3l3

Talk about throwing up 3s. PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, after making a pair of bogeys on his first two holes on the back nine, carded seven 3s in the first 13 holes of the second round. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hunter Mahan recorded the most 3s in one round in a U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 with nine in 2014. Mahan’s round included five bogeys and a double-bogey, which caused him to miss the cut. Schauffele isn’t in danger of doing that — he’s 3 under with five holes to play. Schauffele has hit 9 of 13 fairways so far and leads the field in strokes gained: approach (3.08) in the round. — Schlabach

Straka catches a break

Pinehurst No. 2 has taken plenty of shots from the world’s best golfers in the second round of the U.S. Open. It finally gave a couple back to Sepp Straka. The University of Georgia alum got a terrible break when his approach shot on the par-4 third hole bounced off the pin and bounded into a bunker. He ended up making a triple-bogey 7.

On the par-3 ninth, Straka took two of those strokes back when he made an ace from 194 yards. It was the first hole-in-one of the tournament. He is 2 over at the turn. — Schlabach

Xander makes a run

Here comes Xander Schauffele. After starting off his round with back-to-back bogeys, taking him to 2 over for the tournament, the 2024 PGA Championship winner buckled down and made three birdies in six holes, including a dart that stopped 2 feet from the 18th hole. Schauffele hasn’t had his best stuff so far, but he’s been grinding on a tough golf course. He heads to his second nine of the day in great position. — Uggetti

Tough day for Scottie

It’s been another frustrating day for world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler. He started on the back and carded bogeys on both par-3 holes. On the 15th, he missed the green and couldn’t make a 17½-footer for par. On the 17th, he hit his tee shot into a left greenside bunker and missed a 9-footer. He was 2 over in the round at the turn and 3 over in the tournament. Scheffler’s frustration is beginning to show. After narrowly missing a birdie putt on No. 16, he tossed his putter into the air. When his tee shot on No. 18 went way left, he slammed his driver into the ground and threw his tee. — Schlabach

A surprise at second

Here comes Belgium’s Thomas Detry. The former University of Illinois star has moved into a tie for second place at 4 under after making three straight birdies on Nos. 11-13. After starting on the back nine and making par on No. 10, Detry drained a 17½-footer on 11, a 13-footer on 12 and a 16½-footer on 13. Detry was one of the best amateur players in the world but is still seeking his first professional win on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour. His best finish in the U.S. Open was a tie for 49th at Winged Foot in 2020. — Schlabach

Turning back the clock

Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who ran away with an 8-stroke victory in the last U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, is right back in the mix a decade later. Kaymer got to 2 under with an 11½-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th, then gave it right back with a bogey on the 14th. He’s at 1 under par. If Kaymer, an LIV Golf League captain, could somehow win again this week, it would be the third-longest stretch between U.S. Open victories. Julius Boros (1952-1963) and Hale Irwin (1979-90) waited 11 years in between their wins. — Schlabach

McIlroy saves par

For the second day in a row, McIlroy gave the Pinehurst crowd something to cheer about with another chip-in from off the green. After McIlroy hit his approach shot on the par-3 17 way past the pin, his putt ran past the hole and off the green to the short grass. A frustrated McIlroy asked for it to stop — to no avail — then proceeded to save par with his wedge. No putter necessary. McIlroy, who started on the 10th hole Friday, is 2 over for the day and 3 under for the tournament. — Uggetti

Rory struggles early

They’re off and running in the second round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. McIlroy, who started Friday as the co-leader with Patrick Cantlay, didn’t card a 5 in the first round while posting a bogey-free 5-under 65. Starting on the back nine Friday, McIlroy has already posted two. He missed a 12-foot birdie try and settled for par on the par-5 10th. On the par-4 11th, his approach shot rolled off the green. He chipped about 5½ feet past the hole and missed the par putt coming back. He’s 4 under, 1 stroke behind Cantlay. — Schlabach

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