By Alexander Vafeas, Sports@CJC

PINEHURST, N.C. — The U.S. Open has been known as the major championship that doesn’t care if you are world’s No. 1 golfer or an amateur making his first career start. The 124th edition of the Open this week at Pinehurst No. 2 has been no different. 

Out of the world’s 10 best players, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, two missed the cut, three are over par for the week, one withdrew and four are in contention heading into Sunday’s final round. 

Here’s a breakdown of how the Top 10 golfers in the world have fared this week at the Open.

No. 1: Scottie Scheffler

In a shocking turn of events, things have not been going Scheffler’s way this weekend. The 28-year-old is in the midst of another historic PGA Tour season, winning five tournaments all before the middle of June. That success did not translate this week in Pinehurst, however.

Following Saturday’s round of 71, Scheffler has now played four consecutive rounds over par for the first time in his career. Scheffler sits at T42 and, barring aliens abducting half the field, he will have to wait until next month’s Open Championship to try to win another major. 

“[I] wouldn’t be using me as a bearing for what’s good right now,” Scheffler said. ”Pretty mediocre at best right now.” 

No. 2: Xander Schauffele

Schauffele came into this tournament riding a major high after outlasting the field for his first major title at the PGA Championship in May, but he has returned to Earth a little bit at Pinehurst. Schauffele shot a 2-over 72 Saturday, moving back to T12, eight strokes behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.

“I was able to battle back on the back nine there to salvage something, but looks like it’s pretty far back and [I’m] going to need something really, really special tomorrow,” Schaueffele said.

No. 3: Rory McIlroy

McIlroy will play in the second-to-last pairing with Patrick Cantlay in Sunday’s final round, a twosome that is sure to get fans to tune in after their Ryder Cup scuffle last fall. 

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McIlroy enters the final round three shots off the lead after Saturday’s third-round 69.

No. 4: Wyndham Clark

For a defending U.S. Open champion, Clark has had a very under-the-radar tournament, making the cut at 4-over and sitting around around the field average in most major statistics. 

No. 5: Viktor Hovland

Hovland missed the cut due in large part to an abysmal Thursday, when he shot an 8-over 78. After a long range session that started after the conclusion of his round and bled late into the evening, Hovland would get a few strokes back, shooting a 68 on Friday. His 2-under round was too little, too late, however, as the cut line stayed at 5-over, leaving Hovland high and dry. 

No. 6: Ludvig Åberg

The Swedish national woke up Saturday morning with the solo lead, but after his third-round 73, he’s now tied for fifth and five shots off the lead. Åberg was even through 12 but fell apart on the 368-yard par-4, where three approach shots and three putts would turn into a catastrophic triple bogey. 

“Obviously what happened to me on 13 is not ideal.” Åberg said. “It doesn’t necessarily change the way that you try to approach this golf course. I think there’s only a certain way you can play it. If you don’t play that way, you’re going to get punished. That’s what I did.”

No. 7: Collin Morikawa

Morikawa had the best day out of anyone on this list Saturday, jumping from T51 to T12 thanks to a bogey-free 66. Feeling rejuvenated, Morikawa has one goal.

“To win,” Morikawa put simply. “I mean, look, if I play the way I did today, who knows what could happen. This course is only going to get tougher. I know it’s not going to be easy. Today was not easy by any means. I just put it in the right spot, kept the ball in front of me, really just played very simple golf.”

He enters the final round seven strokes off the lead.

No. 8: Jon Rahm

Everything looked good for Rahm to make his 13th straight major start until last week, when the LIV Golf star was forced to withdraw from an event in Houston due to a “lesion in between his pinky toe and fourth toe that had become infected.” After trying to play through the discomfort leading up to the U.S. Open, Rahm announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the tournament. 

No. 9: Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay had a pretty uneventful round Saturday, carding two birdies and two bogeys for an even-par 70. The first-round leader will now tee off in the penultimate grouping tomorrow with Ryder Cup foe McIlroy.

No. 10: Max Homa

Homa, a fan favorite for his witty humor, has played worse in majors as this year has gone on. Homa finished T3 at the Masters, then T35 at the PGA Championship.

Along with Hovland, Homa was the only other golfer inside the top-10 to fall short of the 5-over cut line.

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There is still one round left in this year’s edition of the U.S. Open, which means that the world’s best still have one more chance to show Pinehurst what they are made of. 

The first tee time Sunday will be 7:30 a.m. featuring Seonghyeon Kim and amateur Gunnar Broin and the 124st U.S. Open will end with the 2:21 p.m. pairing of Matthieu Pavon and Bryson DeChambeau. 

Posted: June 16, 2024
Category: Covering the U.S. Open
Tagged as: 2024 U.S. Open, Covering the U.S. Open