Yahoo News Rory McIlroy's rollercoaster round keeps him in the hunt at US Open as Scottie Scheffler faces anxious wait
Rory McIlroy has kept his hopes alive for a first major title since 2014 at the US Open in Pinehurst, despite a rollercoaster second round. Adding a round of 72 to his opening 65, McIlroy is just one shot off the early clubhouse lead, while his playing partner Scottie Scheffler anxiously waits to see if he'll avoid his first missed cut since August 2022.
Scheffler, who was a 3/1 pre-tournament favourite and this year's Masters champion, failed to record a single birdie for the first time in 169 rounds, finishing five over par with a 74. In stark contrast, Bryson DeChambeau made five birdies, including a tap-in on the 18th, setting the halfway target on four under after an eventful 69.
McIlroy had hoped to take advantage of ideal conditions and fresh greens on Friday morning, but a mediocre chip from short of the green on his opening hole, the par-five 10th, left him unable to convert the birdie putt from 12 feet. This marked McIlroy's first five of the week he had birdied both par fives on Thursday and another soon followed on the 11th when he couldn't get up and down after a slightly pulled approach span back off the green.
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He also bogeyed the par-three 15th, and it seemed like the Northern Irishman's day was about to worsen when his birdie putt on the 17th rolled past the hole and off the front of the green. However, he promptly chipped in for an unorthodox par. McIlroy finally scored his first birdie of the day on the third hole, and made a crucial save on the fifth after witnessing both Scheffler and Xander Schauffele double-bogey with sevens, having needed two attempts to reach the putting surface from the native area left of the green.
McIlroy's approach also landed in the same area, but he smartly minimised his losses with a more cautious third shot across the green, followed by a two-putt for par. A bogey on the ninth cost McIlroy a share of the lead. However, with weather warnings posted around the course and temperatures soaring above 90 degrees, those teeing off in the afternoon were expected to face increasingly challenging conditions.
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