Scottie Scheffler Beefing with Coach after U.S. Open Struggles
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Although Scottie Scheffler will comfortably make the cut at the 2025 US Open, he's far from pleased with his performance. After the first 36 holes at Oakmont, the World No. 1 holds a score of 4-over and sits tied for 25th place, with the second round still to be completed.
Scheffler's dissatisfaction with his game was evident after Friday's round. The three-time major champion hit the practice range, where he was seen chatting animatedly with his lifelong coach, Randy Smith.
While the television broadcast couldn't capture what Scheffler was saying, his gestures were visible. Judging by his body language, he's not happy at all with the trajectory that the ball is following with his swing.
Scottie grinding it out on the range with coach Randy Smith after a 71 on Friday. pic.twitter.com/esgJpHkCHq — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025
Scheffler had another rollercoaster round on Friday, carding four birdies and five bogeys. However, his performance improved from the previous day when he carded three birdies and six bogeys for a 3-over.
"I feel like I battled really hard. 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 1-over today wasn't all that bad. It could have been a lot worse," he said after de second round.
His stats are reporting values that have nothing to do with the level he has demonstrated over the past few seasons, and particularly over the last month. Scheffler even posted a negative number in terms of strokes gained off the tee (-0.42).
This is extremely unusual behavior for him, considered one of the best ball strikers in the world.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States looks on from the ninth green during the second round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 13, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States looks on from the ninth green during the second round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 13, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.The flaws in his driving affected his accuracy, hitting only 6 of 14 fairways and reaching only 7 of 18 greens in regulation. If his performance wasn't worse, it was thanks to his putting, which performed above average for him (1.57 putts per hole).
"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," he said.
However, Scheffler still feels alive and issued a subtle warning to all his colleagues in the US Open field:
"Overall definitely not out of the tournament. Today was I think with the way I was hitting, it was easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there."
"I'm 4-over. We'll see what the lead is after today, but around this golf course I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament."
This will be the sixth cut Scheffler has made in eight US Open appearances. He has finished in the top 10 three times, with his best result being a second-place finish in 2022. He won low amateur honors in 2017, one year before turning pro.
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CNN
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It's the first time he's had at least a share of the lead at this point in a major championship and was just two shots shy of the course record 63, set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 edition of this tournament. Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour but has only finished in the top 10 at a major once – at last year's US Open at Pinehurst. He's known as one of the best putters on the tour but is coming off a week where his putter failed him at a critical moment. On the first playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open last week, Burns had a five-foot putt to win the tournament. Instead, his ball hit the lip of the cup and rimmed out; on the second playoff hole he three-putted and would finish in second. This week, there has been no sign of a hangover. 'I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have,' Burns said Friday of playing Oakmont. 'I think for this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.' The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub Burns will start Saturday with a share of the lead and will have the eyes of the many spectators at Oakmont on him, a stark contrast to Friday when the biggest crowds only paused to watch his shots when Scottie Scheffler's group was passing by a nearby hole. Scheffler and Burns are good friends and often travel together on tour, but it's the No. 1-ranked Texan who is usually in the spotlight. Such was Burns' play on Friday that Scheffler was answering questions about his buddy after his round was over. He plays golf very freely, and he's got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,' Scheffler said, 'and a lot of it is just very reactionary. He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it, it's as simple as that.' That's the lesson that Burns learned at Pinehurst No. 2 last year when he finished tied for ninth. It's counterintuitive, especially on such a big stage, but Burns said his whole mindset is based on allowing Oakmont to be the beast that it is. He told reporters he had no real goals for a score he'd like to shoot. He wasn't obsessing over the putts that didn't go in because he felt like doing so would be greedy. And, as one of the players in the tournament without a major championship to his name, the most important thing was taking the pressure off. 'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times. Sos trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me,' Burns said. Oakmont has so far rewarded the players who take a patient approach with it. It has a way of humbling players who try to impose their will on this monster of a track. Take Thriston Lawrence for example. The South African started Friday with a par and then three straight birdies. Playing with confidence, he let his driver hunt after that, going for the big drives that he likes to hit and playing aggressively as he played himself into a three-stroke lead. Oakmont rewarded that confidence with three straight bogeys. Then another. Then two more. Then a double bogey. And when he was about to finish up his round, the skies opened up and USGA officials suspended play for the night, much to his chagrin. This course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, isn't rewarding many players this week – let alone forgiving their mistakes. Burns' short game, and willingness to take what he gets, is helping him get to the top. 'Look, this golf course is very tough and you're going to get the ball out of position and you're going to get in some spots that are tricky. I think being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important,' he said. The question now coming into the weekend is how long will Burns stay atop the leaderboard. He's put himself in historically good position – 11 of the last 12 US Open champions were in the top five after the first two rounds. He's sanguine about it all. 'It's a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it's 1-under, you'll take it,' he said, adding, 'I'm looking forward to the weekend.' His friend Scheffler hinted there might be a bit more fire underneath that calm exterior. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' Scheffler said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again.
CNN
40 minutes ago
- CNN
Sam Burns is playing free at Oakmont's treacherous course. It's put him atop the US Open leaderboard going into the weekend
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It's the first time he's had at least a share of the lead at this point in a major championship and was just two shots shy of the course record 63, set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 edition of this tournament. Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour but has only finished in the top 10 at a major once – at last year's US Open at Pinehurst. He's known as one of the best putters on the tour but is coming off a week where his putter failed him at a critical moment. On the first playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open last week, Burns had a five-foot putt to win the tournament. Instead, his ball hit the lip of the cup and rimmed out; on the second playoff hole he three-putted and would finish in second. This week, there has been no sign of a hangover. 'I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have,' Burns said Friday of playing Oakmont. 'I think for this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.' The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub Burns will start Saturday with a share of the lead and will have the eyes of the many spectators at Oakmont on him, a stark contrast to Friday when the biggest crowds only paused to watch his shots when Scottie Scheffler's group was passing by a nearby hole. Scheffler and Burns are good friends and often travel together on tour, but it's the No. 1-ranked Texan who is usually in the spotlight. Such was Burns' play on Friday that Scheffler was answering questions about his buddy after his round was over. He plays golf very freely, and he's got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,' Scheffler said, 'and a lot of it is just very reactionary. He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it, it's as simple as that.' That's the lesson that Burns learned at Pinehurst No. 2 last year when he finished tied for ninth. It's counterintuitive, especially on such a big stage, but Burns said his whole mindset is based on allowing Oakmont to be the beast that it is. He told reporters he had no real goals for a score he'd like to shoot. He wasn't obsessing over the putts that didn't go in because he felt like doing so would be greedy. And, as one of the players in the tournament without a major championship to his name, the most important thing was taking the pressure off. 'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times. Sos trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me,' Burns said. Oakmont has so far rewarded the players who take a patient approach with it. It has a way of humbling players who try to impose their will on this monster of a track. Take Thriston Lawrence for example. The South African started Friday with a par and then three straight birdies. Playing with confidence, he let his driver hunt after that, going for the big drives that he likes to hit and playing aggressively as he played himself into a three-stroke lead. Oakmont rewarded that confidence with three straight bogeys. Then another. Then two more. Then a double bogey. And when he was about to finish up his round, the skies opened up and USGA officials suspended play for the night, much to his chagrin. This course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, isn't rewarding many players this week – let alone forgiving their mistakes. Burns' short game, and willingness to take what he gets, is helping him get to the top. 'Look, this golf course is very tough and you're going to get the ball out of position and you're going to get in some spots that are tricky. I think being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important,' he said. The question now coming into the weekend is how long will Burns stay atop the leaderboard. He's put himself in historically good position – 11 of the last 12 US Open champions were in the top five after the first two rounds. He's sanguine about it all. 'It's a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it's 1-under, you'll take it,' he said, adding, 'I'm looking forward to the weekend.' His friend Scheffler hinted there might be a bit more fire underneath that calm exterior. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' Scheffler said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again.
USA Today
2 hours ago
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US Open live leaderboard updates: Round 3 tee times, pairings, how to watch
US Open live leaderboard updates: Round 3 tee times, pairings, how to watch Show Caption Hide Caption J.J. Spaun calls it his best putting day of the year J.J. Spaun navigated Oakmont's tough setup with sharp putting and gritty play in round one of the U.S. Open. USGA It could be a long day for several golfers competing in the U.S. Open on Saturday after the second round did not finish on Friday due to weather. Thirteen players did not complete their second round after heavy rainfall and lightning in the area forced event officials to suspend play. The second round will resume at 7:30 a.m. ET. When cuts become official, the third round will begin with Sam Burns (-3 for the tournament) and J.J. Spaun (-2) at the top of the leaderboard. Viktor Hovland (-1), Adam Scott (E) and Ben Griffin (E) round out the top five. Bryson DeChambeau will not defend his 2024 U.S. Open crown any further as he's slated to miss the cut. DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Akshay Bhatia all finished 10-over-par. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry are among the other big names who will seemingly miss the cut (projected at 7-over). USA TODAY Sports will provide complete coverage of Saturday's third round. Follow along for live updates here: U.S. Open 2025 live leaderboard 1. Sam Burns: -3 (F) (F) 2. J.J. Spaun: -2 (F) (F) 3. Viktor Hovland: -1 (F) (F) T4. Adam Scott: E (F) (F) T4. Ben Griffin: E (F) (F) T6. Victor Perez: +1 (F) (F) T6. Thriston Lawrence: +1 (through 17) (through 17) T8. Russell Henley +2 (F) (F) T8. Brooks Koepka +2 (F) (F) T8. Si Woo Kim: +2 (F) (F) T8. Thomas Detry: +2 (F) Click here to see the complete U.S. Open leaderboard When will U.S. Open second round finish today? Thirteen golfers were still on the course when the second round was suspended for inclement weather. All 13 had completed at least 16 holes, and each will pick up exactly where they left off on Saturday, June 14, beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET. South Africa's Thriston Lawrence, who is tied for sixth on the leaderboard at +1, is among the golfers that still need to complete the second round. Two other golfers – Chris Gotterup (+5 through 17) and Philip Barbaree Jr. (+6 through 16) are hovering around the projected cut line of +7. Where to watch the U.S. Open: TV channel, streaming Saturday The 2025 U.S. Open is being broadcast by NBC and USA Network, with the two networks splitting coverage for the third and final rounds. All rounds of the U.S. Open will be live streamed on Peacock, the USGA app and Fubo, which offers a free trial. Peacock will also broadcast U.S. Open All-Access, its whip-around style offering, for every round. Third round: Saturday, June 14 10 a.m.-Noon ET on USA Network, Fubo Noon-8 p.m. ET on NBC, Fubo Watch the U.S. Open on Fubo (free trial)
