It’s a story as old as a fourth grader, one golf fans know well: Rory McIlroy and The Search for the Elusive Fifth Major. It’s in its 10th printing, dating back to 2015 when, after winning the 2014 Open Championship and PGA Championship, McIlroy took aim at the career Grand Slam and a fifth major victory at Augusta.
Nearly a full decade later, he’s still in search of both. That, of course, was the narrative again today as he started the second round of the U.S. Open with a share of the lead. McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay each posted a 5-under 65 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over the field.
McIlroy, like plenty of others in the early wave on Friday, just hung in there. He finished with a 2-over 72, thanks to a bogey at the last, which kept him within two shots of the lead as he hit the clubhouse.
Though McIlroy stumbled a bit, Thomas Detry was locked in. He matched Cantlay at 5-under quickly after making the turn thanks to a huge putting day, and then he briefly took the solo lead on his back nine. Bryson DeChambeau remained in the mix after a rollercoaster start, too. He stuck his approach at the 18th right next to the cup for a final birdie, which moved him to 4-under for the week.
Cantlay went off in the afternoon wave. Tiger Woods is in the late wave, too, though he’ll need a solid day to make the cut after a rough opening start. The top 60 and ties will make it into the weekend. Scottie Scheffler, who has been nothing short of dominant all season, is looking at his first missed cut in 672 days.
Oh, and Sepp Straka pulled off the first hole-in-one of the week at Pinehurst on Friday morning.
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Live36 updates
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Tiger Woods gains a stroke
It’s a birdie for Tiger Woods at No. 4, getting him to 3-over for the tournament. That’s huge if Big Cat is going to stick around for the weekend.
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Ludvig Aberg jumps to the top
A birdie at No. 2 has Ludvig Aberg in a tie atop the leaderboard with Patrick Cantlay. As mentioned yesterday, if you don’t know Aberg, get to know him because he’s going to be a fixture in these things.
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This quote from Rory McIlroy sums up Pinehurst No. 2
When asked how the course challenges players, Rory McIlroy had this to say:
“It requires a lot more thought. Even though I hit a great drive on the eighth hole, I had 151 adjust to the hole. I’m trying to land it 146. I can’t land it 144 because it’s not going to get up there. I can’t land it 148 because it’s going to go over the back of the green.”
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