We’re now halfway through the U.S. Open, and we’ve got a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard.
Ludvig Åberg held on late to take the solo lead at 5-under. Åberg, who is playing in his first ever U.S. Open, carded a 1-under 69 on Friday at Pinehurst No. 2 to jump into the lead. Matthieu Pavon nearly matched him, but a pair of late bogeys sent him two shots back.
Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, who each fired a 65 to open the week on Thursday, both took a step back on what was a very hot Friday in North Carolina. Cantlay will enter Moving Day a shot back in third alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Thomas Detry.
McIlroy, who hasn’t won a major championship in nearly a decade now, will start Saturday two shots back. He carded a 2-over 72 on Friday.
Scottie Scheffler, who has been nothing short of dominant all season, just barely made the cut. He was looking at what would have been his first missed cut in 672 days. Scheffler made it on the number at 5-over.
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, is done. He dropped to 7-over on the week in what was his latest missed cut on Tour.
Oh, and Sepp Straka pulled off the first hole-in-one of the week at Pinehurst on Friday morning. Then Francesco Molinari followed suit to make the cut on Friday afternoon.
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Leaderboard Update
With most of the field now done for the day, here’s where things stand heading into Saturday.
Leaderboard Update:
1. Åberg (-5)
T2. DeChambeau (-4)
T2. Detry
T2. Cantlay
T5. McIlroy (-3)
T5. Finau
T5. Pavon
8. Matsuyama (-2)
Other Notables:
T9. Schauffele (-1)
T37. Spieth (+3)
T57. Scheffler (+5)
T57. Koepka
Notable missed cut:
Tiger Woods
Max Homa
Viktor Hovland
Dustin Johnson
Justin Thomas
Phil Mickelson
Ludvig Åberg leads halfway through the U.S. Open
No experience? No problem for Ludvig Åberg. He holds the solo lead at the midway point of the U.S. Open.
Click the photo to read more about the U.S. Open leader. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Matthieu Pavon drops back
Well, Åberg is alone at the top yet again. Matthieu Pavon just bogeyed at the 17th to drop to 4-under. He’s got one last chance to rejoin Åberg at the top tonight.
Tiger Woods among those who missed the cut
“It is frustrating because I’m not here to have a chance to win on the weekend.”
Tiger Woods is among those who missed the cut this week at Pinehurst No. 2.
Click the photo to read more about Tiger Woods’ latest missed cut. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Åberg finishes at 5-under
Though he stalled out a bit at the end, and carded a late bogey at the 16th, Ludvig Åberg will enter Saturday tied for the lead. He finished with a 1-under 69 to get to 5-under, which has him locked up with Matthieu Pavon.
A hole-in-one to make the cut
Francesco Molinari picked the absolute perfect time for his hole-in-one. He sank the second ace of the day at No. 9, which moved him inside the cutline!
Åberg drops back to 5-under
Thanks to a bogey at the 16th, Ludvig Åberg is now tied up with Matthieu Pavon at 5-under.
Tiger Woods finishes at 7-over
Tiger Woods’ week is now done. Woods finished at 7-over after his 3-over 73 on Friday. That’s two shots outside of the projected cut line.
Woods has made the cut at the U.S. Open just once in the past decade.
Phil Mickelson running out of U.S. Open chances
Lefty never did get his U.S. Open win, and it’s looking like he never will.
More from Jay Busbee on the ground at Pinehurst:
Click the photo to read more about Phil Mickelson’s rough outing at the U.S. Open. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Tiger to miss the cut
Well, that should do it. After landing his drive way left in the trees at No. 16, Tiger just missed a 12-footer for par. He’ll drop to 7-over now, which has him two shots outside the cut line.
He won’t be playing tomorrow after all.
Tiger robbed at No. 15
Tiger had his birdie putt at the 15th. He even started walking toward the cup early. Yet somehow, the ball lipped out and he had to settle for par once again. Brutal.
He’s at 6-over now, and running out of time to get inside the cut line.
Pavon back in the mix
Matthieu Pavon is right there once again, too. He just sank a deep birdie putt at the third to join Cantlay at 5-under for the week.
Cantlay gets one back
Patrick Cantlay isn’t going away. He’s back within just a single shot of the lead again after his latest birdie.
Åberg’s lead is back to 2
Patrick Cantlay may have bogeyed at the 12th, but Ludvig Åberg played it perfectly. His lead is back up to two shots now with six holes to go after his latest birdie.
Tiger misses birdie chance
Well, that might have been Tiger’s best birdie look of the day. He just barely pushed a birdie look at the 13th, which keeps him at 6-over.
He needs at least one birdie over the next five holes to make the weekend.
Åberg alone in front again
Patrick Cantlay just dropped back after another bogey at the 12th. So Ludvig Åberg is out in front alone at 5-under again.
Brooks’ brutal triple
Brooks’ third hole was, well, awful. After dropping his third shot into the bunker around the green, Koepka missed two very makeable putts and had to settle with a triple bogey. He’s at 4-over now.
(USGA)
Another Tiger bogey
Tiger just barely missed a par putt at the 12th, so he’ll drop to 6-over now on the week. That’s pushed him just outside the cutline with six holes left.
Kuuuuuuuch!
This birdie was huge for Matt Kuchar. He’s now inside the cutline after a perfect chip from the bunker.
Kuuuuuch! 🐥
One of only two players to compete in all four U.S. Opens at Pinehurst gives himself some cut line breathing room. pic.twitter.com/Pfb702Mlwy
It took him a few holes after that double, but Patrick Cantlay finally got his birdie. He’s at even now for the day, and back in a share of the lead with Ludvig Åberg at 5-under.
