Sweden's Ludwig Aberg took a one-shot lead into the third round of the US Open on Saturday as he aimed to become the first to win the match in 111 years.
Aberg fired a second-round 69 at Pinehurst for a total of five under par, with Belgium's Thomas Detry and American duo Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay all four under.
Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau and Matthieu Pavon shot back, with the entire field separated by 10 shots after being cut to five over par.
Masters champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler survived the mark following a 74-birdie, while former Open champion Francesco Molinari birdied one hole on the ninth – his final hole – to enter the weekend at five. .
The last player to win the US Open in their first tournament was novice Francis Ouimet in 1913, but Aberg repeating that wouldn't be surprising following an incredible start to his professional career.
Aberg joined the professional ranks last year but quickly won on the DP World Tour, helping Europe reclaim the Ryder Cup in Rome – including a record 9&7 win with Viktor Hovland over Scheffler and Brooks Koepka — and tasted victory on the PGA Tour in November. .
Such performances have catapulted the 24-year-old to a major role at the Masters and pushed Scheffler in April before the world number one went out for a second green jacket at Augusta National.
“I think the US Open should be tough,” Aberg said. “It has to be tricky and it has to challenge any part of your game and I feel like it really does that.
“But I'm very lucky with the way things have gone in the last few days and hopefully we can continue.”
Quote of the day
“Kind of internal screaming for the most part” – Tyrrell Hatton's response when asked what was going on inside his head during the US Open.
Statistics of the day
Senior statistician Justin Ray has good news for those players who are two years younger or better.
Shot of the day
Sepp Straka had already birdied a hole in one on the ninth, but Francesco Molinari surprisingly matched him with his final shot in the second round to cut to five over.
The cycle of the day
Former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama posted the lowest score of 66, but England's Sam Bairstow got the nod after shooting a 67, an impressive 17-shot improvement from his opening 84 on his US debut. Open.
A simple hole
None of the par fives were an easy hole, and that honor goes to the short 13th. A total of 32 birdies, 15 bogeys and just one double bogey resulted in a 3.900 rating.
A very difficult dungeon
Overnight joint leader Patrick Cantlay was one of 12 players to make a double bogey on the most difficult hole, the eighth green also resulting in 47 bogeys and just 10 birdies for a 4.410 average.
Selected playing times (all BST)
1501 – Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler
1951 – Tyrrell Hatton, Tom Kim
2002 – Hideki Matsuyama, Matthieu Pavon
2013 – Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy
2024 – Patrick Cantlay, Thomas Detry
2035 – Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg
The weather
After a 40 percent chance of showers overnight, a front passes through Saturday morning with north to northeast winds gusting to 18mph. After a very warm start to the week, temperatures will climb back past 90 degrees around 2pm.
Source link
