DeChambeau, McIlroy Chase Ludvig Aberg into the Weekend – 2024 U.S. Open Round 2 | The First Cut

Rick Gehman, Greg DuCharme and Patrick McDonald recap Friday action at the 2024 U.S. Open from Pinehurst No. 2.

0:00 Intro + the hot weather at Pinehurst
2:33 The Super Group – McIlroy, Schauffele, Scheffler
16:33 Bryson is one off the lead heading into the weekend
19:26 Hideki’s impressive bogey free round on Friday + Thomas Detry’s 67
25:44 Afternoon Wave: Patrick Cantlay, Ludvig Aberg, Tony Finau, Matthieu Pavon
41:02 Missed Cut Notables + Betting Favorites

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ABOUT THE SHOW: The First Cut brings you everything you need to know in the world of professional golf. Nearly every day Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman, Greg DuCharme, Sia Nejad and Patrick McDonald bring you the best analysis in the game. From DFS to betting previews, interviews and recaps… everything golf is on the table when you listen to The First Cut.

[Music] freaking first cut golly welcome to the first cup podcast I’m Rick ging this is your round two recap for this week’s United States open joining me to break it all down Greg duch charm is here Greg hey buddy D we’re halfway through uh I I can’t believe it it’s it’s been quite a test so far Rick uh you’re seeing some great ball Strikers migrate their way to the top of the leaderboard um at the same time it’s been very challenging but very fair this has been so far at the halfway point this has been a great championship and very compelling to watch it has been maybe a little difficult to watch if you’re there in person the the weather advisory says as follows extreme heat today please take precautions and drink plenty of water yeah those guys looked like they were a little warm out there on Friday yeah it’s warm but you know what um I think it’s important to note a lot of these players grew up in climates and in areas where it’s it’s very warm and you’re playing if you grow up in Florida and you’re playing golf in Florida in the summer and it’s very hot same is true in Texas so from a player’s standpoint it’s warm and you got to stay hydrated and it’s difficult and it’s fatiguing but they’re also used to it um it’s interesting that some of the guys near the top of the leaderboard are not from climates that are extremely hot uh but they are for the most part used to it um and when you’re in that compet I mode sometimes the heat can if you’re if it’s going well and you’re locked in it it’s awesome uh it’s just you feel like an athlete when you’re when you’re sweating like that finally finally feeling like an athlete out there on the golf course well let’s jump into this because the guys that played in the afternoon yesterday got out early with the quick turnaround this morning so let’s start with the super group the top three players in the world all together and they’re all through the cut line but on various parts of the leaderboard we’ll start here Greg with Rory mroy uh on a day that played about 2.8 Strokes over par Rory mooy’s 72 did indeed pick up shots to the field he made just a single birdie that was on number three which was his 12th hole of the day he then had three separate bogeys on the card and while it wasn’t uh the the greatest round we’ve ever seen him put together he he drove it well uh he picked up Strokes everywhere but with the flat stick in which he gave back basically two and a half to the field which is really the story of this round I mean to to play around in the US Open and make three Bogies is not a it’s not a bad thing right it’s it’s hard to avoid Bogies and and in some cases you know like what happened at number nine you get a bad break and you you plug it in the bunker and you’re going to make aogi iogi is actually a good score at that point um so you know the shot he hit into 11 wasn’t very good he he pulled it his iron play wasn’t as sharp as it was yesterday but all in all this was a very wellplayed round and there were a lot of similarities between his round yesterday and today the big problem is he couldn’t get anything to fall he couldn’t make anything uh and and he gave himself plenty of looks in that 20 foot range he gave himself some even closer looks uh at at number 11 he had six feet per par and missed it just seemed like a lot of there was a lot of opportunity for momentum to get started in this round and and he couldn’t do it he couldn’t gather it the one highlight was was that on six um the the two putt where he only hit one putt yeah so he uh if I remember correct so he hits he hits the green he’s above the hole it’s a part three he putts it off the green pulls out a wedge or I don’t know what he used but chips it in from there for par yes it was not on six was it 17 I think it was 17 let’s see yeah it was 17 it was 17 oh this is what I wanted to check out too did he get uh yeah they gave him a two putt on 17 see that’s wrong yes so uh on the the shot tracker that I use it has all these stats and you can look at them it’s great it’s just fantastic so it has two putts putt distance of putt made is the column right next to it like you made a six-footer the putt you made how long was it there’s nothing there but it’s two putts so it’s just wrong it was a one Putt and he didn’t make a putt right which I guess the way that they code that that they don’t expect a lot like once you start putting uh they like you like they assume you’re not going to stop putting right because you shouldn’t right that’s a code that’s just simply a code and issue uh I hate to break it to Josh so Josh ask us in the chat like what like what shot tracker is that Greg like you gonna give that one up I I think Greg and I have the same one so yeah it’s the you know it’s shot link it’s a PGA Tour yeah shot tracker it’s the shot it’s the shot link it’s access to shot link it’s awesome it’s unbelievable the it’s so easy to use um a lot of the data is on the USGA site as well yeah they do a good job yeah it’s very good uh I’m just much more familiar with the uh shot tracker so I’m glad it’s on there too yeah sorry Josh um okay the maybe my favorite N I don’t know if it’s favorit is the right word but I’ve really enjoyed Xander schley’s rounds this week so yesterday and we talked a lot about this just miserable off the team and grinds himself through uh what was an even par 70 I was very impressed by that okay and he starts today by bogeying each of his first two holes and maybe that’s an opportunity for him to just punt this thing away he grinds through it Bird’s 13 and 14 he birdies 18 so he turns at one under and gets as deep as three under with birdies on two and three Now Greg it wouldn’t be a turbulent Xander round without a double on the par five fifth add it all up it’s a one under 69 so he has gone 7069 he is one under he is four shots off the lead he’s in a tie for ninth and I am one I think that’s like the worst he like well maybe I don’t know I don’t know how to frame this I’m just impressed with how he’s been able to get get through these last two days and he is very much in the mix yeah it’s very US Open right you’re you’re you’re four shots back you’re you’re right there and this could have very easily gotten away from you and at the same time you could have been right there touching the lead you know both of those things were very much in play which Xander’s first two rounds highlights the difference between a miscut and a win it’s like just a couple of shots you got to just dig deep the one on five was fascinating because he hit his t-shot uh 184 yards and they had such a good camera angle of it where the ball was kind of coming at you and it like just nicked the first tree and in that like Split Second I thought did that just hit the tree and then it smacks the tree like the next like the next branch and drops straight down I’m like yeah it definitely did just hit that tree yeah it did it did um not good I didn’t see anybody else do that so then he’s got to lay up I mean he had 390 yards in on his second shot he he lays it up to 200 yards and misses the green and ends up missing a nine-footer for bogey so he makes double there kind of made a mess of it but this is the cool thing about Xander BR today um yesterday we were very positive on his ability to grind and rightfully so my concern going forward was well you know before the memorial I probably would have said well Xander’s been hitting it as well as anybody in the world so like like right there with Scotty that kind of he’s hitting it like the second best player in the world and so it’s likely that he hits it better tomorrow but he did the same thing at the memorial he’s hanging on with just short game and putting but didn’t never really found his stride with his full swing so I was kind of worried if he was struggling and he comes out today and leads the field and strokes gain approach right he hit a lot of really high quality shots and also um I we haven’t talked about Scotty yet but Rory completely had a lid on the hole Scotty completely had a lid on the hole and Xander actually made some putts it was not consistent he didn’t putt as well as he did in round one but he made some putts and and so it feels like things are going in and heading the right way for Xander this is a very encouraging round I I agree with you uh Josh if you want to share my screen we’ll really we’ll really rub this in here I’ve got this I’ve got the shot tracker up so this is this is Xander’s shot 184 yards into the left trees and there were others in there there were Brian Kim hit one 204 uh Andy saot 223 there was one over here that actually Sam Bennett got it out to 273 but xanders was the shortest of all of them and just sat there and less than 190 yards H it it’s so funny when you see that kind of thing um just especially if you don’t see the shot wait what what what happened here um but you’re right on that camera angle it was fascinating it was sick all right the uh the final man of that group is Scotty Sheffer here and this has not been Scotty sheffer’s week uh he has struggled he has shown frustration that we have not seen he he he Greg and dare I say this he threw his putter yeah he threw a club Scotty Sheffer Scotty sheffler threw a club on the putting green now it was a more of a club toss and flip but he did not catch it and it landed on the ground which makes it a a club throw um well The Slammer can change you yeah I thought we sent people to to jail for rehabilitation clearly this guy is not ready to be back out in society oh man I it’s just it’s so funny um because I love the way Scotty handles himself and in all seriousness he swung the club way better today you know I was asked on Twitter um and I just saw this I haven’t responded there yet but is it harder for Scotty when it doesn’t have it going when he doesn’t have it going to correct himself because of his footwork and no like like I I don’t think that’s the case I think he corrected his ball striking today he’s bird list because of his putter I mean he he hit five shots inside of 15t he had good looks for he had good looks for birdie all day he couldn’t make a thing he’s 150th today in Strokes game putting yeah he missed from everywhere I mean I’m looking at these especially on his second nine which was the front nine right he hits it to 12 feet at number one 8 feet at number two 10et feet at number three six feet at number four um and on his first nine he hit it to seven feet at 14 doesn’t take advantage of either of the par fivs he’s he’s birdless he doesn’t make a single birdie and he had plenty of really high quality looks so this is obviously maddening it’s extremely frustrating for Scotty sheffler but round two there was a 67 68 pretty easily on on the with the way he hit the ball he he could have shot a couple under par pretty easily um and I may even be more aggressive than that i’ say he could have I mean he made a double at number five right Scotty Sheffer could have probably shot 67 today without uh this round looking a whole lot different yeah number five which uh played just about even par but it was one of the easiest on the golf course he made a double there he was 30th off the T 15th on approach 113th around the green and as Greg mentioned 150th with the putter so he coughed up basically four shots on and around the green now um I mean he’s gonna be Greg he’s 10 back it’s it’s it’s over right yeah it’s it’s over um there’s one advantage that he has is he’ll have an early tea time in the morning and if you were watching the coverage late today the golf course did get very tough I mean I saw siiu Kim and Sun Jim hit beautiful shots into number nine were they were perfect they but sunj had his putter out on the T box he thought it was like he was gonna go tap it in a high cut right at the flag barely covers the bunker and it’s 40 yards over the green right there’s no stopping it so could this golf course get to a place in the afternoon where it’s Mayhem for the leaders and Scotty goes out in the morning and the golf course is more receptive shoots 65 gets back to even it could get him in touch um but I I think realistically you’re looking at the only Avenue for a victory for Scotty Sheffer is 65 65 and I even for Scotty Shefler I think that’s likely a stretch yes I uh think so as well and I had something else I wanted to say about that uh oh those I mean those greens were getting yellow by the end of the day it was it’s it’s getting a lot more Brown yeah it’s getting and the runout areas too yes which have been very green starting to see a little brown start see a little brown all right we are going to continue this conversation we got a lot more guys to get to but first we’re going to take a quick break and hear a word from our partners end of USL newcomers battle it out for the first time in league history Sunday on CBS Sports Network keep your eyes on and we’re back Greg so a lot of the guys who uh played well and were at the top of the leaderboard went out this morning that includes Bryson D Shambo who followed up his Thurs 67 with a Friday 69 this was a little bit of everything he made five birdies he had four Bogies on the card if you look at the stat sheet Greg for round number two he was just about even off the te he was a big positive on approach he putted well he actually um he praised his putting after the round he he said he was he was very proud of it uh I thought he was a bit tentative early in the rounds but then he did start to get that pace and start to get the flat stick rolling a little bit he is going to enter the weekend one shot off the lead in pursuit of his second US Open title yes um and boy is he looking really he’s in a very good spot um we won’t talk about the you know who’s above him on the leaderboard just yet but um I think Bryson’s got to be feeling really good the driver did not go his way today uh but I I think you see you still see the advantage of his distance um it it’s a huge advantage and there’s going to be some holes that he’s able to take advantage of over this weekend that nobody else can uh but the biggest advantage in his distance is being shown with the height he can hit the ball and when he has this ability to launch it way up in the air and stop it on the green quicker than everybody else and the battle that Bryson will have to face is can I do that flush it straight up in the air stop it as quick as I can but in the middle of the green you know and avoid some of these squares because the birdies are just going to come for Bryson to Shambo especially when he’s putting like that so the big question is can you just keep the squares off the card especially on par fives can’t he can’t be playing the par fives one over um but all in all it’s a 69 this kind of feels like the bad round um I’m very impressed with his chipping which was a big area of concern uh and the putting which on greens that are this fast was an area of concern and and I think those two things have been kind of a strength so his strategy is really starting to show through and I could see a world where this is a Bryson runaway it kind of kind of has that feel right now um but we’ll see what the weekend has in store for him yeah really impressive seriously I mean he’s been he’s been he’s been great he’s uh very confident the game’s in phenomenal shape and he’s in a great spot on the leaderboard around a bunch of guys um who haven’t broken through for that first major yet so so we’ll we’ll see the round of the day goes to Hideki matuyama and this was a 66 Greg that was bogey free uh he got through this uh the Highlight was the the stretch of holes from three four and five where he birdied all of them the were not a lot of Birdie streaks actually he might had the only birdie streak of the day I’d have to go through and and look but he gets it done here and now hii flies up the leaderboard he’s to underpar for the tournament which is three shots off the pace this is why pre-tournament we were all so high on him especially Patrick uh but we all loved Hideki heading into this week uh and this round is exactly why um he has the ability to string together birdies like that he has the ability to fire at flag sticks he he only hit 10 greens but led the field in proximity to the hole in round two and that’s the kind of thing that Hideki matama brings to the table um but what was so impressive about this round and really the supercharger for Hideki maama is what he does on the greens he was third in Strokes game putting today um but he wasn’t filling it up with crazy long putts what he did is made his eight 10f Footers he poured those in I mean the number of putts that he made from outside of 6 feet today was it was like nine like you know half of his round is spent kind of grinding in that six to 10 foot range where the round can completely turn around um or it can go the other way right you’re on that that Tipping Point on that knife’s edge and and he he made them all so that was what impressed me most today the other stuff the ball striking uh the the driving an iron play and even the short game is stuff we know about but when hidek is making those knee knockers um he’s he becomes a factor yeah he does and he is uh vying for his second major championship we’ll see there’s a good mix of first timers or or excuse me zero time major Champions who are some of the best players to not have majors and then guys who have one or have four or something like that so there’s a good mix at the top of the board let’s uh let’s change the mix of of of the uh analysis here let’s add Patrick McDonald to the conversation Patrick good day looks like I came at a great time talking about the uh future 2024 US Open winner hadim Matsuyama did you get all your writing done no there there’s still uh one more thing left on the docket might have to uh bomb out of here if uh if needed but uh everyone knows where I’m at which is great and uh man round of the day from Hadi tastes sweet dinner is gonna be good tonight well let’s get you in here on the second best round of the day that was Thomas dietre 67 and there was at least one more uh birdie streak because dietro did it 112 and 13 he made six birdies out there Patrick he played well at the PGA Championship are we should we be taking this guy a lot more seriously maybe we should but then again I I’ve I’ve watched my fair share of DP World Tour and Rick you know better than anyone some of those finishes get really ugly if you think if you think you’ve seen some bad beats and some meltdowns on the PGA tour you’ve seen nothing nothing and I’ll be honest last week this past week I almost did bet Sebastian Soderberg and I W I woke up day thinking thank goodness I did not do that last week’s was an alimer the DP World Tour put out like tweets pretty much saying how much is he gonna win by is he gonna break the record and then just implosion and dri he is a he’s always been a very good player right coming out of Illinois he’s got the the Mike small connection there great head coach one of the best at the college ranks and the talent’s always been there I mean he has a silky smooth golf swing great action great Action Thomas te he has but he has somehow not just run into a tournament win it’s happened on the DP World Tour it happened kind of earlier this year at Tory Pines Saturday late hitting that one into the water and kind of giv up his chances there but the talent’s always been there it’s just really the mental side which he’s been pretty open about but today the the putter was just humming gaining over four strokes The Putter’s been in a really good spot ever since uh the Florida swing it seems like so maybe we uh we are overlooking him he hit 13 Fairways as well which is always a recipe for Success at a US Open but man if you can’t get it done on the DP World Tour you can’t get it done at some of these PGA Tour events it’s hard to look at this leaderboard and say you know what Thomas dietry is gonna get it done this weekend Of All Times I’d love to be proven wrong but well you might be two rounds away but I I tend to agree with you Vegas tends to agree with you there are a lot of other guys who have shorter odds for him to win this golf tournament there’s a lot of other guys with better pedigrees or uh seemingly more talented or better formed so yes it would be difficult for dietre to win this yet he is uh they pay a lot for T2 they pay a lot for T3 it’s still lifechanging stuff so Thomas dietry very much here in the mix jents we’re going to take it to the afternoon wave uh and get to some names like ludvic and Patrick and Tony and Matthew you know just just the first name guys but first we’re going to take a quick break and hear a word from our partners we you need your sports news anywhere we’ve got breaking news to bring you then get your sports anytime you want them big trade news overnight to discuss because we know you need Sports all the time a lot of movement in the rankings this week a legend adds to their legacy we’re bringing you that breaking news right here on H Q CBS Sports HQ anywhere anytime all the time and we’re back how about that afternoon wave how about that Patrick Klay who opened up with a 65 and Greg it was been it’s been well documented his struggles outside of the first round here in 2024 it was a six shot difference in the wrong direction a 71 one overpar for Patrick Klay which had three birdies two boies and a double bogey uh what did you take away from Patrick klay’s second round action well I thought he swung the club really quite nicely for most of the day I think he hit a lot of really high quality Iron shots um he he looks to be in much better form with his game I I think it’s also very clear that the new putter he has in play is working a whole lot better for him and I think that’s the most important thing like when when Patrick Klay is playing well the thing that really opens up his game is the putter so kind of looking past just what he did in this round um I I think what Patrick Klay brings to a US Open uh should be some some accuracy off the te which has been okay um it should be some very wise decisions and and high quality shot making into the centers of greens which you get a lot of today um and then and then the putter is what allows him to kind of run away the problem is he made some mistakes around the greens in this round um especially number eight and if he doesn’t make double at number eight which is his second to last hole of the day um this this whole leaderboard looks very different and this round looks a whole lot different the difference between 69 and 71 for Patrick Klay is huge uh but he he goes long of a and then misses that misses the Green from long of eight and then misses the green again um and it I think it was a one putt double it was a great putt yeah he made like a 12-footer for double yeah um so look that that’s he got Pinehurst in a way welcome to Pinehurst but all in all while while that’s disappointing it’s a disappointing finish I think Patrick Klay played really well and it’s clear to me he’s SW a whole lot better is Patrick hlay the best player in the world without a major in totality I would say yes has to be right even if you just look at like uh like PGA Tour wins versus and zero major wins and for how consistent he has been for the last half decade and given his pedigree coming into professional ranks as as well it’s got to be him it’s got to be him and then you can throw behind I mean Victor’s still younger than him obviously you could throw Fe now and there I’m sure yeah and probably a few guys I’m missing he’s got I mean he’s got a FedEx Cup yeah right he’s got uh he’s won the memorial he’s won some big time events and has been the top 10 player in the world for you know the whole second part of his career ever since he got healthy yeah well at this rate uh ludvig oberg is never going to leave the top 10 of the official world golf rankings because he’s unbelievable and Patrick this was a one under 69 from ludvig to follow up his Thursday 66 uh the default word I’ve been using for the last year is clinical he has now missed well he finally missed a fairway today which thank goodness it he is he is human but uh he said something after his rounds like oh yeah I golf’s a lot easier when you’re playing out of the Fairway it’s like yeah buddy like especially around here and he is just giving himself such an edge off the tea it’s it’s awesome to watch I’m convinced he doesn’t really realized that he’s in a a US Open like at the Masters when he was just chomping on food in between holes and everything just having a happy go-lucky time on the fourth hole today he chunks his approach it’s like one of the worst swings I’ve ever seen him make and he hands the club to Joe scoffin and they just start cracking up in the middle of the Fairway they’re just laughing and then what does he do he pitches the ball to 10 feet knocks in the par putt like nothing happened I I thought uh it was it I it was it’s it’s been unbelievable so far it took until 4 PM Eastern Friday afternoon at the US Open for L oberg to miss a fairway which is ridiculous does see ball hit ball play golf and not think about much else does he have a pulse Greg like he just does not even seem remotely rattled by anything no it’s a fascinating place because he’s just so darn good um and it’s clear that as the test gets more difficult his his skill sets kind of they seem to shine but you know when I watch lud MC Goldberg I don’t put any pressure on him if he has a complete meltdown over the weekend it’s it’s his third major championship right we it doesn’t affect how good we think he is so he’s at this place where there’s absolutely no pressure um but he doesn’t feel normally the player feels the pressure I I don’t I mean I I enjoy watching you but I don’t necessarily expect anything of you the way Patrick Klay we may expect something out of Patrick Klay uh we may expect something out of Rory mroy we don’t expect anything out of lud big he missed the cut at the PGA and we never we didn’t talk about it you know it’s it’s a second major it’s okay and he seems to almost have that attitude but at the same time he he doesn’t he he’s playing like there’s nothing to lose um but I know that he still cares very much it’s just it’s it’s incredible incredibly impressive to watch well on his third major championship he is the solo leader heading into the weekend he sets the pace at five under par everybody else is chasing so zooming out just a bit because we’ve talked about all of these guys the trio at four under one shot back is Bryson dampo Thomas dietre and Patrick Klay the three unders Rory mroy who we’ve discussed and two others who we are going to discuss right now Tony fenal Greg is one of them 68 and 69 for big Tony he’s doing it in a very similar fashion that ludvig is doing it so Fairways hit ludvig is number one he’s hit 26 out of 28 fow is second he’s hit 2 out of 28 Green’s in regulation ludvig is first 30 out of 36 phenow is tied for second 28 out of 36 so Fairways and greens for these two yes very clearly the recipe and a lot easier said than done because you start getting outside the very centers of these greens and the ball just wants to find its way off of it you know there’s there are a lot of golf courses where there’s a little back stop and the ball gets past the flag and then it starts getting better it never seems like the ball is getting better at Piner it always seems like if it’s on the ground it’s getting worse a great Point yeah everything’s going away yeah very challenging That’s Tony Tony has dotted the middle of greens it’s been it’s been he’s flushing it and what what has really impressed me when he has missed a green his chipping with the wedges has been phenomenal he had a terrible one on 18 which led to a disappointing bogey terrible maybe strong it was weak he had it’s like 20 feet but all in all I mean he he’s six of eight in scrambling you know he’s 17th around the green he’s sixth approaching the green 10th off off the T this has been a very well-rounded performance and he lost a little more than half a stroke on the greens in in this round but it’s not a con it’s not a concern he’s not putting a whole lot of pressure on his Putter and I do think the putter looks a whole lot better so this is I think if Tony feno came into this with a game plan what he’s doing right now looks a whole lot like that game plan yeah yeah hasn’t he hasn’t been punched in the face yet right Everybody’s Got A Plan until you get punched in the face he has not been punched in the face yet everything going just as expected for Tony now the third man tied for fifth at three under par is Matthew Pavone Patrick and we we this for the vast majority of the day was much better than three under in fact uh he was at he was in the lead for a portion of the day because he started on the back nine and immediately bir 10 and 11 unfortunately he ended his day with consecutive Bogies to drop him off that under number and put him to the three under number that he currently sits yeah I was getting a lot of love on Twitter for this one a few tweets at me since I proclaimed him a top five player in the world at one point this year because technically he was inside the top five of the FedEx Cup at one point he was I believe a top two player in the world going on those standings so really easy to see just right the best players in the world tend to pop up at the biggest tournaments but uh a lot of putting for him hitting a lot of Fairways I think he only missed one I don’t have the numbers in front of me if I had to guess this guy is leading the field and strokes game putting as well seems like he he’s making everything I thought for sure he was going to get up and down after launching it long of eight but uh ultimately did not and then yeah obviously the bog on nine isn’t great either so it’s interesting this is a guy journeyman not a ton of success early in his career pretty much none until this past year right one on the DP World Tour birdied what was it like three out of his last five holes in Dubai to steal the PJ card Rasmus hoard spot right oh yeah he’s not invited to the Hoy guard uh Thanksgiving that is for sure he steals the spot from Rasmus steals the trophy from Nikolai at the farmers and I don’t think we can underestimate the grit factor in a US Open and I’m willing to say even though he is French Matthew Pon has a lot of grit he’s got a lot of grit I’m not sure what even though he’s French what what that part mean Patrick are the French not known for their grit no you guys I don’t like the French just because I was pickpocketed in Paris I’ve told this story before yeah that I that’s you’ve told that story it sounds like your fault no it’s my fault that someone else committed a crime yeah oh You Gotta Be You Gotta you gotta have your head on a swivel why weren’t you wearing why weren’t you wearing your uh your breast were CH they were children Rick they were asking me to sign a petition to save a river of course yeah come here I will sign anything you need no I hate hate Rivers I hate children and I hate Rivers shame I I guess you’re right shame on me I should have known I was I was 22 at the time next time cargo pants cargo pants I I am in that phase now um but that being said despite my differences with the French I think honestly pavon everyone there are two guys on this leaderboard who everyone in the world’s like okay they’re gonna go away it’s Thomas dietry and it’s Matthew pavon let’s be real let’s call it a couple Spades Spades I think pavon Could Be Frisky I’m not gonna lie I don’t know I he just has kind of like old man strength right journeyman house money plays the right shot shape too right he’s fading everything he’s very clean it’s it’s very much in front of him it’s never like Out Of Reach from him and he’s also like you said Patrick he’s doing a lot on the greens he’s kind of used to that so yeah it’s not the worst thing in the world no no because everybody’s going to have to lean on their putter at some point and he’s ready for it I love I love scrolling through like the total birdies stats at us opens so Thomas diet’s Made 10 birdies this week that’s tops in the field handful of guys have made nine Russell Henley top 10 player in the world Patrick Klay Bryson D shimbo Xander Schley ludvig lud VI o Berg Scotty sheffer’s only made two birdies this week there are four golfers who ha who are birdless who have not made a birdie this week and that made the cut oh I don’t think they made the cut oh I was like that is impressive I will say uh top 10 player in the world Russell Henley will gray put this one out three over on par 3es four over on Par Four uh par fives he’s seven under on the par fours that’s oh my gosh man like imagine oh I think and someone can correct me if I’m wrong here I think the fewest number of birdies for a guy who’s made the cut and I’m doing this off my brain cam Smith’s made two and he so is Scotty Sheffer yeah okay Che okay yeah damn cam Smith cith he’s in 37 and he’s made two birdies that is like the last guy I would have guessed yeah that guy he definitely made like 16 bogeys and 20 birdies or something the four who have who did not make a birdie all week Jim Herman utto black and then the most surprising is Ben on benan made zero burries this week wow one of the most surprising one of the most surprising the the last one is Phil Mickelson who made zero burries he’s birdless bir terrible hate to see it that’s a bummer uh that is a bummer I’m gonna ask each of you the same question and I’m gonna read you the notables who missed the cut and we’ll start with you Greg uh which of these golfers surprises you the most or really just you want to talk about so here are the notables who will not be around for the weekend Victor havland Max hom Justin Rose Tiger Woods Jason day will zures Dustin Johnson Sun JM Justin Thomas yeah um look what in all honesty when it comes to a US Open missing the cut is rarely surprising it is such a fine line between good and bad so I I don’t it’s hard for me to say that one of them is truly surprising had Scotty Sheffer missed the cut I would have been surprised um but I think the guy to talk about is really Justin Thomas um because I I I don’t think think his game was in this bad of a place and to go out and shoot 7774 to finish 154th I I mean he hit 13 greens Thomas dietry Made 10 birdies through two rounds he had 13 Greens in regulation Justin Thomas what you know he’s been a top two iron player in the in the world for a majority of his career and he can’t do anything there’s another putter change gone away from some coaches and while some things have felt a whole lot better this feels just ter downright terrible he didn’t he he was also the worst Justin in the field he got beat by both low and Rose which notable not even top Justin honors I’m not even sure STP JT that goes to Poston um there should be a like the nationality bets first name c like Cameron Justin this would be great the Cameron Market the Cameron Market would be a difficult one yeah Patrick which one of those names surprises you the most uh top of my head it would be Alex noren because he ruined the perfect grid first off Tim Ving and ludvig obber tough tough customers to go against this week dude bad Lu bad luck for Patty first and first and and Ninth okay so this must have turned because there was a moment yesterday where noren was under par he was under and he had a short birdie look somewhere he really tripped up coming and he whiffed it and he was not the same after that yeah I think the pressure got to him if he rolls completely different story yeah I I will say Alex Meyers of golf golf Digest who’s been having a week with the whole in one being on Sports Center and all this yeah I had never seen it before but he called him dust Ben Johnson on Twitter and I actually I I let out an audible laugh I had never I’d never heard of it I thought it was hilarious ious 7475 for DJ nine overp par yeah he he’s just uh I’ve heard he’s not practicing a ton shipnuck put out there shipnuck tweeting again he unblocked me so I can see his tweets uh that the the routine has really gotten to him he’s a cre creature of habit and uh he’s not quite in in his habit on live golf when it comes to Major prep even though he he played well at the US Open last year if I had to say who I’m disappointed in I would probably say Max hom to tell you the truth because he had he had a good opening first round right Victor I thought was it was very admir admirable to battle back and almost make the cut like that hom he he just made some dumb decisions out there he took a fairway wood from The Wire Grass on the par five fifth oh awful what are what was he doing I was like as soon as he did that I just thought there’s no way this sends well and of of course it does it’s like we’re panning to him because he’s about to hit a bad shot yeah and uh so I’m disappointed to him I know he’s been struggling with the driver and he’s been working at it really hard with Blackburn on the ranges at these events they are grinding like crazy pre-tournament trying to fix it and the driver is just not in a great spot uh but yeah I’m disappointed in maxom because I think uh he he made a nice move up in his major career with a top 10 at the open and the run at the Masters where I think I’m allowed to be upset with him missing a cut in a major now yeah he’s been kind of teetering on that line of like what his expectations are and and all that stuff so yeah it’s only a compliment when we say you should have been making cuts it at yes it’s a backhanded compliment form yeah I mean this is what I would have done it’s so stupid did uh did you guys talk about the fifth hole from the Marquee group uh where uh the they just were all greenside and just like Xander left it at his feet Scotty left I can’t believe all three of them went there I know all three the three best players the in the world that’s right yeah Rory Rory makes par and he he walked off that green like he got away with stealing cookies from the cookie jar like he never would have done what he did yeah right uh so so my uh my my buddies played Pinehurst number two in February and some of them are very bad at golf very very bad golf and so one of our friends who probably shoots like 125 straight on a regular course on a regular course played and his third shot was down there and like the group chat’s just blowing up watching it they go Seth went down there in three shots he escaped with a 10 but was seven years older so so the USGA has a has a championship handicap calculator I don’t know if you guys have seen that this week so they released you know what you what your target score would be at any of the USGA championships and they they’re it’s supposed to be under Championship conditions so they I they put in uh so you put in your handicap or whatever and you say what Championship do I want they have my target score as 85 at Pinehurst I would not break 120 at Pinehurst rick8 what are they that does not there’s no chance in the world I I don’t think that you’ve ever putted on greens that are rolling at a 13 and a half no chance 13 and a half it’s it’s largely unplayable like most courses at that kind of speed is unplayable I liked your point about if your balls like every time your ball’s on the ground it’s getting worse yes it is so true it is literally so true most of the time you see there’s Banks you can use and you play away and get a clo you could feed it there’s no feed in it it was like a f now hit an approach when Bryson was on the call and it came back a little bit and the announcers were like this was this is the the one hole at Pinehurst where you might be able to use that back stop a little bit it came back maybe an inch was it was that on nine no it was uh one of the par fours up the hill it was the tucked pin left Tiger missed the birdie putt late I remember I remember it I just don’t remember what hole Yeah F now was F I mean he’s playing great but even on the par five fifth he went left and deep of that low area he was on the next got up and down got I actually think that’s the right way to do it be he like I would play it so 60 yards left so you have like a full shot coming it like I just could not you could so you could spin it a little bit Yeah like like 15 yards is way worse than 50 there you would just have to get a shot Rick that’s like a you know a three-wood or a hybrid that you just practice for like three days and just get the feel and you’re goal is on the green and then if you really got the touchdown you’re not trying to make birdies you’re not trying to like get up and down if you miss a green you make a bogey that’s fine but it’s so hard would you go strictly putter you think do you have the hands no no I would putt everything no I I I I would putt everything I’ve saw so many people putt from off the green to on the green than off the green today like more than ever it seemed like more Kawa kka that triple bogey well you know the other thing is it just doesn’t you think when you’re watching well just get it up there but the other side is brutal and like uh was it the part 3 15th I believe where if you came up short you were going to have 15 feet for par from the other side Rory had 10 feet he barely got it up on top of the hill had 10 feet for par Scotty went long 15 feet over and and nobody could get it close you cannot get it close from there that’s been rocked oh it was so hard that fow shot in there late too and he missed the pot oh my God yeah oh I don’t know how feno did that ludvig almost hit the same shot comes up short makes bogey no no ludvig made the putt ludvig made the putt that’s where he kind of gave a look like like I’m not human yeah that was a cool that was cool I think my heart just beat do we want to talk about who were most disappointed in who made the cut Oh you mean like like people were out of it give me an examp saying well I’m not saying Scotty’s out of it but there’s other guys at five like kka today shot at 75 and was playing he was even par through 10 yeah played his last eight holes five over col morawa disgusting round today horrible uh Jordan Speed dude spe T green today I was watching that group because I was invested in Hadi obviously oh my goodness I’ve never seen him hit his irons this good in 2024 and then even with the wrist injury which I’ve been hearing is really really bad obviously he slammed one Club so hard in frustration into the ground and I’m just thinking to myself like why the hell are you doing this with that wrist because he well I’m not I probably because he’s gonna get surgery on it soon yeah that is that is fair that is a fair um on the Hideki thing because I B how are you feeling about Hideki versus Bryson genuinely I’m not trying to I’m not trying no genuinely uh so he was one under through 11 having hit four Greens in regulation the iron play was concerning he he missed a lot left and it seemed they were kind of on it in the feature group broadcast where every time he tried to squeeze a little bit more out of a club he’d short sight himself left like it was like routine like every time it’s like oh he’s really got to step on this one left and so hopefully that birdie run late hit some really nice approach shots late hopefully he found something but if he didn’t I’ll admit it I am concerned I I I like I like bur Bryson is much better because well it’s always funny when you get the guy like you take the risk and you get the Hideki as your one and done play and he’s he’s right there and then you’re kind of like I don’t like yeah I’m here I’m right where I wanted to be but I don’t like it anymore yeah like that was a lot of smoke in mirrors today yeah yeah but look he’s got that short game couple other things uh sep Shaka got rejected by a pin hit the pin on his approach flies off the green he ends up Making triple also made an ace which is kind of sick and then Franchesco Molinari playing the ninth hole last hole of the day two shots off the cut line makes an ace to make the cut that’s unreal unreal he did he did the reverse Faxon was on the call and I don’t know if it was one of those situations where it was live it was one of maybe one of those things they pan to but he goes oh or like unless he makes or Faxton was like yep he’s going home this weekend and then Sans was like or Taro was like unless he makes a hole in one and then he made a hole in one that might have been live because they were saying a lot of that they were they were doing that with tiger a lot where it’s basically like okay he’s going to have to ha this out and birdie his next one yeah so I would not be super surprised if that if that um there’s still a chance he’s got to go seven under in his last two holes I think he’s got this yeah exactly um let’s see the betting odds Josh oh his third his third major championship ever he’s the favorite going into the weekend lud viig is plus 330 Bryson dambo 7 and a half to one last night now 4 to one Rory melroy it’s gonna have basically 24 hours between tea times hopefully got rested up got ready to rock and roll four and a half to one Patrick can’t L nine Xander 12 fenal dri Matsuyama Pavone at 14 16 16 and 45 respect wow so Patrick if you if you want disrespect if you want the grit he you can get it at 45 to one what’s what’s Scotty 60 no way he’s only 60 to one I know he should be like 600 to one oh my god well I’m gonna find somebody else five five over okay so like what is Tommy Fleetwood and cam young not listed Fleetwood is a thousand to one at the same odds that that Scotty is 60 to One cam is two 2,000 to one at the same odds that at the same score that Scotty sheffler is Lowry is 1500 to one yeah you get the point how do they decide like why is why is Fleetwood a thousand different like double Cav young I it’s double I don’t know a bip because who cares at that point right Scotty’s at 60 10 back that is that’s actually the most ridiculous stat of the C open I think he is only he Matthew pavan’s 45 to1 on the first page of the leaderboard two back and Scotty Sheffer is 11 back no 10 back and he’s only 60 to one that’s right okay let’s do a little game within the game Who finishes higher on this leaderboard Matthew pavon or Scotty shuffler oh crap um I hate I hate that game pavon I mean it’s eight shots over two rounds he’s gonna beat him by four each round I like where Pavone is yeah he’s got got the how okay let’s play Let’s play the other game how far back is too far back um even par EV EV are live or evens are out uh evens are in the one over overcrowd it’s lacking except for Frankie Sapp in the third and Sam Bennett yeah Sam Bennett he looks like he’s going on a fishing trip right after he finished up 18 actually multiple PGA Tour winners in the plus one group and we named Frankie sappin and Sam Bennett as the two threats to come out of that come out of that group um the evens are Billy horel Sam Burns stevenh joerger Sergio Garcia and Russ bus andley yeah they’re they’re alive yeah so the one one overs are out one overs are out Burns five over in his first six holes of this Championship yeah so did you he was like number one off the tea and putting today I saw that that’s crazy yeah that’s a crazy stat line that’s what he did when he first came out on tour yeah yeah not that he led but you know that they the strengths I guess they’re playing out strong what’s about Zack Blair man let’s go one under awesome there’s always good stories of Pinehurst if I had to bet if I had to bet this tonight I would reup my bet from last night on Bryson yeah I think that’s the right thing to do I was gonna say hopefully he took Rick’s advice last night and got in on Bryson when you could he looks really good just feels like feels like a Bryson Bryson week yeah whoops uh it uh let’s go let’s go uh score by score and who everyone would pick from from the evens Billy hoe Burns Jager Garcia or Henley Burns Henley yes it’s definitely Henley good call Greg okay one unders Zack Blair Corey Connors Tim Ving Oe how you doing Xander Hatton Global uh Global Superstar Tom Kim it’s it’s Xander but Xander and Xander and Hatton would be able to yeah Xander found something today that part five I I’ll tell you what man he’s had his D minus stuff and he’s one under yeah Zander at 12 not a bad one on that back to that betting board not looking bad okay and then at two under it is Hadi m who’s everyone taking I’ll take AI um I’m gonna stick with my AI pick although Bryson smart I think Bryson’s going to win this uh US Open the three unders are Pavone FAL Rory I mean come onit the the THS are kind of it it’s Bryson dietro KL I mean just I just don’t I I just have zero trust that K wins this golf tournament God but it it would be almost too on on par to win the one right after Xander shafley I know we doing this that would be ridiculous it’s like oh I’ll do it if you do it wait wait we could have won major championships this whole time they will if if if KL won on Sunday he he don’t live by Monday wait is is Greg Frozen for you Rick yes we can hear Greg he’s just so happy in that Frozen shot yeah he looks great look and now he’s a robot so we might be all right drop that that mean that means lv’s gonna win all right we are uh it’s a perfect time anyway wait until the last minute all right we will be back Saturday and Sunday night uh to to get you winner break it all down for the US Open big thanks producer Josh’s all the hard work behind the scenes Greg du who is gone is available on Twitter at the real gfd Patrick McDonald P McDonald CBS and you can find me at rickrungood this has been the first cut we’ll catch you next time [Music]