No.1 Scheffler, four-over, says don't count him out at US Open
Scheffler, coming off three wins in his past four starts including his third major at the PGA Championship, fired a one-over par 71 in Friday's second round to stand on four-over 144 for 36 holes.
"Mentally this was as tough as I've battled for the whole day," Scheffler said. "There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favor necessarily.
"I felt like Teddy (caddie Ted Scott) and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch."
Scheffler said that he could have missed the cut with the struggles he faced but instead has himself within reach of victory with a weekend fightback.
"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," Scheffler said.
"I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament."
Scheffler made five bogeys and four birdies in a roller coaster round.
"I feel like I battled really hard. It's challenging out there," he said. "I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it.
"Felt like me getting away with one-over today wasn't all that bad. It could have been a lot worse.
"I anticipated to hit it better... any time you're not hitting it the way (you want), or playing up to my expectations, I think it's frustrating."
Scheffler won't be trying to impose his will upon Oakmont as he tries to mount a fightback.
"I bounced back really well to a lot of the mistakes that I made," he said. "Forcing it around this place is probably not a good recipe to play too much good golf for me.
"You've got to be hitting fairways, you've got to be hitting greens, and hopefully I'll be able to do that on the weekend."
Rounds were dragging well beyond five hours with waits on certain holes a factor adding to the tension.
"It felt long to me. Both the par-fives we basically walked up on the group in front of us," Scheffler said. "I'm just trying to play. I've got too many concerns other than the pace it takes to get around this place."
Scheffler said the delays are not a shock.
"With this many players and this tough of a golf course, it's going to take a while," he said. "That's a big piece of property. It just takes time to hit that many golf shots."
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France 24
16 hours ago
- France 24
No.1 Scheffler, four-over, says don't count him out at US Open
Scheffler, coming off three wins in his past four starts including his third major at the PGA Championship, fired a one-over par 71 in Friday's second round to stand on four-over 144 for 36 holes. "Mentally this was as tough as I've battled for the whole day," Scheffler said. "There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favor necessarily. "I felt like Teddy (caddie Ted Scott) and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch." Scheffler said that he could have missed the cut with the struggles he faced but instead has himself within reach of victory with a weekend fightback. "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," Scheffler said. "I don't think by any means I'm out of the tournament." Scheffler made five bogeys and four birdies in a roller coaster round. "I feel like I battled really hard. It's challenging out there," he said. "I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it. "Felt like me getting away with one-over today wasn't all that bad. It could have been a lot worse. "I anticipated to hit it better... any time you're not hitting it the way (you want), or playing up to my expectations, I think it's frustrating." Scheffler won't be trying to impose his will upon Oakmont as he tries to mount a fightback. "I bounced back really well to a lot of the mistakes that I made," he said. "Forcing it around this place is probably not a good recipe to play too much good golf for me. "You've got to be hitting fairways, you've got to be hitting greens, and hopefully I'll be able to do that on the weekend." Rounds were dragging well beyond five hours with waits on certain holes a factor adding to the tension. "It felt long to me. Both the par-fives we basically walked up on the group in front of us," Scheffler said. "I'm just trying to play. I've got too many concerns other than the pace it takes to get around this place." Scheffler said the delays are not a shock. "With this many players and this tough of a golf course, it's going to take a while," he said. "That's a big piece of property. It just takes time to hit that many golf shots."
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Scheffler opens with birdie as US Open leader Spaun starts late
Spaun's four-under par 66 opening round on Thursday matched the lowest first-round score in a US Open at Oakmont and was only the eighth bogey-free first round ever conjured at the iconic layout. The American's career-low major round put him one stroke ahead of South African Thriston Lawrence with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka and South Koreans Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo sharing third on 68. Spaun, Lawrence and Kim were set for late tee times while early starts were made by Koepka, Im and Rahm, a two-time major winner lurking three adrift after a 69 on Thursday. Koepka opened Friday with a bogey at the 10th hole, finding right rough and coming up short of the green then missing a 10-foot par putt, but answered with a birdie at 11, sinking an 11-foot putt to return to two-under. Im also stayed at two-under with a par on the first hole. Rahm found a right fairway bunker off the first tee then left greenside rough and missed an 18-foot par putt, settling for bogey. Scheffler opened Friday off the back nine by sinking a birdie putt at 10 from just beyond 20 feet as he tried to rebound from an opening 73, his worst first-round score relative to par in 24 major starts. Scheffler has won three of his past four starts, including last month's PGA Championship, and hopes to become the first back-to-back major winner since Jordan Spieth in 2015. Other US stars struggled at Oakmont with third-ranked Xander Schauffele, the reigning British Open champion, on 72, defending champion Bryson DeChambeau on 73 and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson on 74. England's Justin Rose was on 77 with Ireland's Shane Lowry on 79. World number two Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, was set for an afternoon tee time following an opening 74 including four bogeys and a double bogey in his final nine holes. The five-time major winner from Northern Ireland shared 62nd after round one, with only the top 60 and ties set to make the 36-hole cut. Only 10 players cracked 70 in the first round, but 11 of the past 12 US Open winners broke 70 in their first rounds.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Scheffler hopes to solve sloppy bogeys, silly mistakes after 73
Scheffler, whose three wins in his past four starts included last month's PGA Championship, is trying to become the first back-to-back major winner since Jordan Spieth in 2015. But after his worst first round at a major compared to par, and seven strokes adrift of leader and US compatriot J.J. Spaun, he has a lot of work to do. "I made some silly mistakes out there," Scheffler said. "I just need to give myself some more looks at birdie. That's really all it came down to. "I'll clean up some of those mistakes and I think tomorrow will be a better day." Scheffler struggled with six bogeys against three birdies, a six-foot birdie putt at the second followed by three bogeys in the next four holes. "I felt like I did a pretty good job after the start, had kind of a sloppy bogey on three, sloppy bogey on four, and then another bogey on six and all of a sudden I'm a few over par," Scheffler said. "On this golf course, when you get over par early, it can feel like a daunting task. I did a good job of battling, and if I'm a little sharper tomorrow, I think I can score a bit better." Scheffler paid the price for getting even a little out of position. "It's just really hard to get the ball in play and it's really hard to get the ball close," he said. "Anytime you're out of position the golf course just gets really challenging. "It's not overly complicated. It's just difficult." A birdie at 11 was followed by bogeys at 13 and 15 to doom any hope of a late charge. "I would have liked to have finished a little better. I felt like I was battling back pretty well," Scheffler said. "The greens just got challenging out there late in the day. There's so much speed and so much pitch and then with the amount of guys going through on these greens, they can get a little bit bumpy. "But you know that's going to be part of the challenge going in. You've got to do your best to stay under the hole and stay patient." Scheffler will be set for a morning start on Friday. "I felt like I did a pretty good job of executing," he said. "I've just got to be a little bit sharper tomorrow. I've probably got to give myself a few more looks." He hopes to go a bit faster also. © 2025 AFP
