US Open golf 2024: second round – as it happened | US Open

And that’s all folks! Thanks for reading today and we’ll leave you with a final leaderboard. It looks beautifully poised for a weekend of drama.

-5: Åberg
-4: DeChambeau, Detry, Cantlay
-3: McIlroy, Finau, Pavon
-2: Matsuyama

Pavon has made two sand saves out of three so far today but it becomes two from four as his seven footer misses left. A bogey-bogey finish is frustrating but at just two off the lead he’s right in the hunt.

Pavon pulls the trigger at 9 having watched playing partners Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im hit excellent tee-shots that landed near the flag but somehow ended up trickling off the back of the green and finishing 50 feet away. Pavon, wary of a similar fate, ends in the front bunker.

Just the par-3 9th to go for Pavon. Birdie will tie the lead while a repeat of Molinari’s hole-in-one would give him top spot on his own!!

Bogey for Pavon at 17 and he falls into a four-way tie for second.

-5: Åberg (F)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Cantlay (F), Pavon (17)
-3: McIlroy (F), Finau (F)

Pavon opts for Kaymer 2014 style and goes with putter. It’s the safer option and takes double out of the equation. His ball rolls up the slope to about 10 feet. As the week’s best putter statistically, he’ll have a fair chance of saving par.

Joint-leader Pavon is in the middle of the 8th fairway after a 322-yard drive. He hits his approach to 30 feet so he’ll have that to nudge in front of Aberg. Well, forget that. The app telling porkies there as the TV coverage shows the Frenchman’s approach bounding off the back edge. Not where you want to be.

Ouch, that’s a costly one for Nicolai Hojgaard at the 8th, his penultimate hole. A double bogey spirals him down from -1 to +1. A total of 15 players are under par now.

Who says Patrick Cantlay lacks a touch of charisma? Here he is post-round. “My game feels like it’s in a good spot. Just need to hit a few more fairways and leave myself some more looks.” Hot content. Right there!

Ludvig Aberg shoots 69 to post clubhouse lead

Scottie Scheffler makes the cut on the number

Rich Beem points out that Tiger won’t automatically qualify for the US Open next year as his five-year exemption for winning the 2019 US Masters would have run out. Fair point, although it’s not hard to see Woods being given a special exemption if he hadn’t made it in and wanted to try his luck.

Hmmm. This isn’t exactly definitive is it!

Report: Tiger says this is last US Open

Cantlay pars the last to get in the hutch at -4. Right now, that’s a share of the clubhouse lead with DeChambeau and Detry. Worth noting that the two joint-leaders after round one – Cantlay and McIlroy – couldn’t break par today after shooting 65s on Thursday. Still, both men are right in the hunt after follow-up rounds of 71 and 72 respectively.

Here’s that magical moment from Molinari. Surely that’s a record: making the cut thanks to a hole-in-one on your final hole.

A defensive two-putt from Åberg secures par at 17. A smart play there. No point in any heroics there when putting down a baked-out green from 25 feet. Playing partner Finau is more aggressive with his slightly longer effort but manages to clean up to remain at -4.

-5: Åberg (17), Pavon (15)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Cantlay (17), Finau (17)
-3: McIlroy (F)

Francesco Molinari hole-in-one!

Aberg can’t make that nine-footer so he drops back into a tie for the lead with Pavon at -5, who pars the 596-yard 5th hole. The Frenchman, who won at Torrey Pines earlier this year, is four from home. Pavon is ranked the best putter so far this week with Aberg third.

Tiger looks away sharpish as he hits his second to 18, the result of sand flying up into his face. But he won’t like the result when he sees it, his approach just staying on a patch of land above the bunker. Tiger had to hole that to make the cut and it ain’t happening now. It’s been a brave effort but ultimately not enough and the only cuts he’s made in majors since 2020 have both come at Augusta (47th in 2022 and 60th in 2024).

Three bogeys against a single birdie in the last nine holes and Cantlay is down to -4 and two behind Aberg after a dropped shot at 16. But the Swede could be losing one himself at the same hole after finding sand at the back of the green. This is a scary bunker shot but he plays it into a slope to take the heat out and, although nine feet away, has a fair chance of saving par.

Big fist pump from Sergio at 7, his 16th, as he holes a 15-footer for birdie. A double bogey at 2 had dropped him over par for the tournament but he’s back in red numbers again after gains at 3 and now 7. He gives it another little clenched fist after retrieving his ball from the hole and he’s all set to make his 20th US Open cut, the most by any player in the modern era. Just five off the lead now, he’ll certainly be aiming higher than that.

Tiger’s race is run but, oh my, he nearly kept it alive with a moment of magic on 17. He finds the left bunker on the par 3 and will have to hole out to make the necessary birdie. It’s a great try and at one point looks in but, like Woods himself, his ball runs out of steam. The tap-in par is no good at this stage. Tiger will miss the cut, well, unless he holes his second for eagle at the 450-yard par-4 18th.

It’s also going wrong for another former US Open winner, Brooks Koepka. A costly triple bogey at 3 following a dropped shot at 4 has rather wrecked his scorecard and left the five-time major champion at +4 with three to play. But while Woods and Koepka struggle, Aberg is in cruise control. A slightly iffy chip onto the green after he comes up short at the par-3 15th ends 12 feet away but from there he drops a right-to-left curler deadweight into the hole. The Swede retains the solo lead at -6. Finau almost aces the same hole but his eight footer back for birdie stays right. They both walk of with a pair of 3s when a minute or so ago a two-shot swing that would have seen them meet on -5 looked possible.

-6: Åberg (15)
-5: Cantlay (15), Pavon (13)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Finau (15)
-3: McIlroy (F)

Tiger hasn’t had the breaks today and his tee shot at 16 looks good but bounds off the back of the green. But his putt back up the hill is, let’s be honest, fairly terrible, an apologetic effort that never has the hole on its radar and drifts 12 feet away. If he misses this he’ll have to birdie 17 and 18 to make the weekend. He studies the putt, gives it a confident hit but, nope, it catches a little bit of the hole but drifts by on the left. Bogey.

Ludvig Åberg isn’t the only Scandinavian presence on the leaderboard. Swedish compatriot Tim Wilding, a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, is -1 with a hole to play while Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard is on the same mark. Hojgaard, who helped Europe to Ryder Cup glory in Rome last year, really has it going today. He’s -3 for his round with five to play. Åberg, meanwhile, clobbers a 371-yard drive down the 14th but his wedge to 18 feet is rather 7-out-of-10 quality and his putt won’t drop.

-6: Åberg (14)
-5: Cantlay (14), Pavon (13)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Finau (14)
-3: McIlroy (F)

Tiger is giving himself looks and fires his approach to a slither of green right of the hole at 15. From the apron, his 15-foot right-to-left breaker looks good. Tiger sets off to walk it in but, no, the ball catches a good chunk of the hole and lips out! Agony for the galleries and millions of TV viewers willing him on. The window is closing. Tiger has to play the final three holes in 1-under to make the projected cut of +5.

Simon McMahon writes: “Evening David. Well that didn’t go to plan for Scotland in Munich. I need cheering up now. How did Oban’s finest Bob MacIntyre do today?”
Erm, more bad news I’m afraid Simon. He shot 76 and looks all set to miss the cut by a single shot.

You have to love Tyrrell Hatton. Here he is being far more self-deprecating man than angry man.

DeChambeau’s reverse curse continues but he’s still all laughs and giggles as Pavon moves ahead of him with birdie at his 12th hole. Time for a leaderboard update.

-6: Åberg (13)
-5: Cantlay (13), Pavon (12)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Finau (13)
-3: McIlroy (F)

And now Finau is on the march, red numbers at 10 and 12 elevating him to -4 and tied third. Now in the middle of the 13th fairway, this is another birdie chance but Finau rather balloons his short iron from 144 yards and it lands 30 feet away. Bryson is still in the commentary box and wills Tiger’s lengthy putt at 14 into the hole but it just stays on the high side. Woods remains outside of the cut line by a shot. Four to play.

Bryson is interviewed live by NBC underneath an umbrella at a pop-up interview desk in the trees. He’s all charm as he analyses his round of 69. “Well, I’m glad I’m not playing right now,” he chuckles, “it was certainly softer conditions in the morning. I didn’t drive it particularly well but that’s okay, I scrambled quite well and … thanks for having me on the show by the way, this is a lot of fun.” He even has a go at live commentary, watching Aberg’s birdie putt at 12. “Looks a little short … ooh, he made it, right in the heart. Dang!” Bryson, still in great spirits, continues his commentary stint and then sees Cantlay birdie 13! He better get out of there before the leaders pull further clear of him!

Tiger’s little dance around the cut line continues and he threatens to hop the right side of it again at 13 but can’t convert his birdie try from seven feet. Arghhh. He needs to play the final five holes in 1-under to make it into the weekend.

Cantlay’s second to the 12th ends in a ‘native area’, otherwise known as a clumpy bit of scrub in sandy wasteland to the right of the green. He can only chunk it forward short of the putting surface and ends up making what the pros call a ‘good bogey’ as he gets up and down from there. The American drops back to -4 and is over par for the day again.

-5: Åberg (10)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Cantlay (12), Pavon (10)
-3: McIlroy (F), Finau (11)

As they sit at home and watch the TV coverage, what do players past and present make of Pinehurst No.2? Here are a couple of takes from 1989 Open winner Mark Calcavecchia and current Tour player Michael Kim.

Oh Tiger! A sloppy bogey at 12 and he slips to +6. The cut is most likely +5. Can he respond? At least he’s in the fairway at the short par-4 13th so this could be a chance to get his head above water again.

Contrasting fortunes for Tony F and Toni R. In North Carolina, Finau rolls in his birdie at 10 to climb to -3 alongside McIlroy in tied sixth while, in Munich, Antonio Rudiger heads into his own goal to give Scotland’s fans something to cheer at Euro 2024. Although, as I write this, former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can makes it 5-1 to Germany on the stroke of full-time. Oh dear.

No birdie for our leader Åberg at the par-5 10th. But tap-in pars are invaluable currency on this course. He remains out in front by a shot but Cantlay, from the middle of the fairway at 11, could soon join him after a smooth draw from 181 yards plonks down, takes a little hop and rolls to within five feet. It’s a great chance for just his second birdie of the day and he takes it. We’re all tied at the top again.

-5: Cantlay (11), Åberg (10)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Pavon (9)
-3: McIlroy (F), Finau (10), Thompson (7)

Tyrrell Hatton (-1 and tied 10th after a 71 today) speaks to Nick Dougherty at the Skycart and says, with a pause, that he’s “pretty happy”. The Englishman adds: “It’s just so hard out there, it’s so easy to make bogeys … little mistakes are costly … yeah … it’s just hard work.” The famously combustible Ryder Cup star is smiling though and, as noted earlier, seems almost happy that the course is messing with everyone’s head. In fact he’s even recalling decent breaks he got yesterday despite his huge dollop of bad luck today when his approach hit the flag at 13 and rebounded into sand from where he made bogey. “That was hard,” Hatton says through gritted teeth, letting out a little sigh as he watches a replay.

Cantlay was making a mess of 10 but shows some sharp short-game skills to save par and remain at -4. In Munich, Scotland are also -4 against Germany. The hot player at Pinehurst No.2 right now is Davis Thompson. The resident of St. Simons Island – home of the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic – has gone birdie-birdie-birdie at 3, 4 and 5 to join Rory McIlroy in tied sixth. A mention too for Tony Finau, who is bowling along nicely at -2 for the tournament after an outward nine of even par. What a popular winner Big Tone would be and he certainly has the right mix of power, finesse and temperament to be a big factor on the weekend. It’s the putter that never quite convinces though and he’s 62nd in Strokes Gained: Putting to this point so isn’t exactly convincing anyone otherwise.

If we can agree that +6 won’t make the cut, here are some familiar names who will be leaving the property after 36 holes.
+6 Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Max Homa
+8 Jason Day, Alex Noren
+9 Victor Perez
They’ve all finished for the day. Two major winners almost certain to join them are Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson. Both are at +10 after 10 and nine holes respectively. Phil Mickelson is +12 with nine to play.

Åberg nearly manages one against the head at the tough par 9th, his lengthy birdie try just running out of gas as it approaches its final destination. A par there is just fine though and he turns in 1-under 34, his tally of -5 currently one clear of DeChambeau, Detry and Cantlay. The latter is playing military golf at the par-5 10th though, his drive going into the scrub down the right before he pulls his second way left. It’s in the lap of the golfing gods that one but he may be okay despite his ball hitting a tree and Rick O’Shea-ing 30 yards backwards. Tiger can’t get up and down after pulling an awkward lie so he’ll head to the 11th tee at +5 and his place in the field this weekend still hanging by a thread.

Tiger has a par 5 to go at for his opening hole of the back nine and shows he can still hang with these young ‘uns by launching two meaty blows at the 621-yarder, the second lash careering over the back of the green. An up-and-down birdie would be very handy here with Woods still bang on the projected cut line.

Åberg’s par putt at 8 is always turning away from the hole and that’s his first bogey of the day. The Swede’s lead is reduced to one. It’s almost wiped out completely as Cantlay’s birdie putt at 9 seems to be tracking towards the hole but it doesn’t quite turn enough and that’s a par. An opening nine of 1-over 36 for the American, who is still searching for his first major. Right now, that applies to four of the top five, Bryson DeChambeau the only man in that leading quintet to have tasted victory at this level.

-5: Åberg (8)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Cantlay (9), Pavon (7)
-3: McIlroy (F)

Another of the fancied horses this week, Collin Morikawa, is enduring a bit of a struggle. Starting out at even par, he’s played his first eight holes today in +2 after successive bogeys at 14 and 15. That’s left him eight off the pace and tied 31st. Work to do for Åberg at 8 though as his chip from short of the green doesn’t have enough welly and finishes 14 feet short. Koepka shows how it’s done when holing a lengthy one – with a putter – from off the putting surface at 18. He’ll start his second nine at even par, six behind right now but possible just five very shortly.

Tiger’s chip up the slope to the right of the 9th green suffers a fate we’ve seen numerous times this week: it lacks pace and rolls back to his feet. And the same thing happens to joint-leader Patrick Cantlay at the 8th. Well, at least they’re not Scotland, who are 3-0 behind and down to 10 men at half-time against Germany. In fact, Cantlay now has a 12-footer for double bogey but he avoids the huge number with a gutsy putt that dribbles in. Two shots gone though and young Åberg leads on his own by two with Pavon giving one back at 6. Tiger, despite sweating profusely in the hot North Carolina sun, calmly gets up and down with his second attempt to limit the damage at 9 to bogey. Now +5, he probably needs to play the inward nine in even par to make the cut.

-6: Åberg (7)
-4: DeChambeau (F), Detry (F), Cantlay (8), Pavon (6)
-3: McIlroy (F)

What of Brooks Koepka, the back-to-back winner of US Opens at Erin Hills in 2017 (-16) and Shinnecock in 2018 (-1)? The five-time major winner can’t find a change of gear today and six pars and a bogey from the 10th, his opening hole, see him at +1 and seven off the pace.

Tiger did manage to clean up for par at 8 but at 9 he’s in trouble. His tee shot takes what on first glance seems a favourable bounce off the apron to the left of the flag but it’s actually more of a fling and his ball hurtles away and off the other side of the green.