Round two is complete at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. U.S. Open rookie Ludvig Aberg holds a one stroke lead at 5-under par but 15 players are within four shots, include Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele. The Golfbet crew is on site at Pinehurst with thoughts on who they think still has a chance and what needs to happen on the weekend for each contender.
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round two is in the books at Pine Hurst and the greens were oh so slick they had him running so fast and world number one Scotty Sheffer barely and I mean barely made the cut clearly did not have his best stuff it didn’t matter Scotti plays the weekend what about everybody else who probably has a better chance than Scotty sheffler will gray and Ben evil are back there out on the grounds at Pinehurst boys round two was ludvig Aber Berg’s coming out party from major championships true or false uh he’s well in his way I’m not ready to go true yet but he’s trending in the right direction uh I think that I remain impressed with what he’s able to do I was impressed by the runner up at the Masters then he injures the knee and you’re not sure what to make of it now all of a sudden Ben you were out there with him for that back nine steady steady steady really impressive stuff even with two rounds to go stinking hot day out there today will it was absolutely steaming look at the tan line I’ve got going on here it’s happening all because out there following old Li big I I was very impressed let me tell you this he played like a seasoned veteran not a kid who’s been in his absolute first US Open and what how many majors that just the third major just his third major he looked like the the the veteran player out there he looked like he was measured ready to rumble on the weekend he made me a believer I’m telling you that I know we have 36 holes to go and that’s going to be a tough battle uh but he really really impressed me and it’s going to take a lot for someone to go over over the top of he keeps playing that measured and keeps cutting that well I mean what do you what about the guy’s demeanor because we can talk all we want about a 36o lead it means nothing until he gets really on that back nine on Sunday they say he doesn’t start till the back N9 Sunday uh ludvig oberg has a long way to go will but he’s the favorite on the odds boards for a reason why is that uh because he has two red figures next to his name I look immediately to you know Roy mroy Patrick kley certainly Bryson Des Shambo deserves to be in that mix given what he has done and how he has performed over these first two majors this year but you know mooy with a 72 Patrick Klay with a 71 both of them seemed like they were holding on with chewing gum and bobby pins at certain points today if either one of those guys if that’s the highest score they shoot this week they’re going to win and that’s just you know everyone is going to have that stretch where things go a little sideways like with Patrick kley start hitting trees off the Rory had a tough time buying any putts if that’s if that’s the worst of it they’re going to be in great shape it’s a question of do those guys follow an overpar round with a 73 or 74 tomorrow when it’s again going to be hot it’s going to get even crispier the course is probably going to play as difficult at any point tomorrow as it will during the rest of the week uh so those guys have a chance maybe to bounce back from today but listen lud has been steady steady there’s a reason that he’s there he and Bryson both of two rounds in red figures this week I mean that is so so impressive around this place when the margins are raised within you talked about demeanor out there Chris I’m just going to say as I said when he did find himself in a little bit of trouble today he just seemed to break it off Shake it off like it was nothing uh he made an incredible par on the uh par three what’s that 14 15 15 on the back there when he you know was short got sucked back down into the valley of sin then had to chip up uh he puted it up went way long and that was a curling curler that everyone in the group ahead of him had butchered nowhere near getting it that put to go in he was expert drifted in made made the par there still had some adversity on the next hole went long again on 16 that’s where he had his bogey but then stood up played 17 and 18 brilliantly as I said very measured very stoic uh and that was the part that impressed me the most he didn’t let those little things bug him and and send him sparing out like you just look at Matthew pavon right right there in the lead and then bogey bogy at the end as he was starting to think about it that didn’t happen with ludig he stayed steady and that’s going to put him in great stead for the weekend the fact that he is the odds leader in his first ever Us open his first Majors ever this year says something one shot lead over a handful of guys that includes Patrick kley and guys think about what I said yesterday kentley had the lead yesterday his odds were the exact same yesterday as they are right now at the end of today not in the lead which means his numbers are going to continue to be very enticing but Klay Still Remains in the mix is that really accurate though will is he in the mix yeah I mean certainly he’s in the mix I mean he’s one shot off the lead heading into Saturday and he’s going to be in one of those last two groups um looking at the board he’s going to play with Thomas dietry so uh in the penultimate group with Bryson and ludig in the last group listen I I was skeptical about Patrick Klay both because of his form coming into this tournament because of his major record which is is not is as strong as you would think for a player of his stature and the fact that yesterday he was just hooping it from everywhere 23 putts and 18 holes is unsustainable across four rounds anywhere let alone pin her so there was going to be some regression you know again if if this was his worst effort he’s going to be in in the mix and he’s going to be in good shape he was able to keep it on the rails you know this is one where you want to make sure you’re not losing the tournament you’re not going 6575 he did not do that he got it in with 71 he’s certainly within Striking Distance I think that he’s going to go out as you said with a similar game plan you know tomorrow as he did the first two days I I think the odds remain true I mean like 89 to1 feels about right both given his major record and given the players around him that are so so decorated between Rory and Bryson and ludig even F now you want to throw him in there it feels about right but yeah Patrick Klay can win this tournament he can win it but I I I still go back to what we said yesterday four only four top 10 in majes and three of those were T8 or T9 never really contended uh since way way back when he had a tee read near he debut in majes I think somewhere uh I mean he was in he was in the mix at the 2019 Masters and ended up with like a T9 that that was a worse result than where he really was on Sunday but we’re we’re splitting hairs now yeah and I just think well I just think I said I was out there obviously watching him a lot today he’s in the group ahead of leig uh he was scratching it around and as you said earlier will if this is his worst round of the tournament he’s definitely still in this thing but if he continues to be a little off it’s going to be too hard basket for him to keep Pace or to stay where he is he can’t keep making those you know Miracle putts or those great scrambles scrambling efforts as it even gets crispier harder bigger you know the stage gets bigger it’s going to be interesting and look there’s no doubt that temperament is going to be a big part of this for all of these guys I mean it’s also stinking hot it’s hard it’s energy sapping out there it really is so every part of your mental game has to be on one mental mistake could end up with a double or triple we saw many examples of that out there today that if you just were a little off was it Klay who said yeah one yard difference could be the difference between a birdie Putt and a double b well I love that Rory had a great quote he talked about it he said on his on the eighth hole he had 151 yards in he was trying to land at 146 he said if I land at 144 it’s going to spin off the front if I land at 148 it’s going to bounce and roll off the back so that’s literally a four yard window that these guys are trying to hit from 150 out I mean they’re Pros he hit it he had a birdie putt but that just speaks to you know gives him Quantified evidence to just how thin the margins are and continue to be out here at fers how many yards would you have missed that far will 17 exactly I just go back to can’t l and a couple of those holes he could have really had disasters today and he reeled them in that double bogey putt I forget the hole was massive if he can eight no it was the same it was the same hole that that Rory had mentioned that he was having trouble on and and that’s what happened to K he hits it over the green then he hits it back to the front he tries to chip it rolls back I mean that was that’s how quickly it can bite you here on number two and it’s going to come for everyone at some point it’s how do you manage your misses and how effective are you at keeping the the Bogies from becoming doubles and the doubles from becoming triples for Klay it feels like it’s going to be it’s not going to happen until he proves it’s going to happen and those disasters those near debacles are going to keep happening for the next two days is what everybody assumes now you mentioned Rory mroy people are assuming well Rory is going to fall off and round two and technically he did guys I mean he had the bad start but then he jumped right back up got back up to four under par and flirted with the lead then went back down to three under he’s two shots back of ludig right now was round two a concern for you Ben did you feel like round two needed to be one where Rory showed he could put a strangle hold maybe or at least stay in the lead get in the lead or is lurking a few shots back not a big deal I would have liked him to play well but here’s the facts he always has one bad round in Majors if this was it then he’s in this up to his eyeballs if that was the bad one he is ready to rumble for the weekend okay so it comes down to whether we think this was that eject potential eject round or whether he just struggled like everyone else struggled uh I think it’s better for him that he’s actually a little behind I don’t know about you will but I I I like the fact that he’s coming from a shot back or or two shots back rather than being the front runner at this point I think that helps him I think he it’ll keep him you know mentally in in the process the whole way someone to chase down I just I still worry I I don’t want to drink the Kool-Aid too much 10 years it’s a long time the skepticism that I had on this show last night has not evaporated uh I still I still have some questions about what Rory’s able to do in the majors I will say I did appreciate his temperament out there I walked the the last nine holes with that group with uh you know Xander and Scotty and after his birdie I think it was the third hole it was his first one of the days it was his 12th hole of the day his first birdie he walked up to a couple of media members off on the side of the green said well at least I’m not getting shut out today and that that speaks to at least you’re able to to you know keep a a good you know glass half full view of things he said some of the right things in his post round interview and and I do think that he didn’t have his best stuff today but he kept a 72 from becoming a 75 it’s going to be totally a question especially tomorrow of can he clean it up especially on and around the greens man he had so many chances and was really unable to convert the ball striking is there if he’s able to continue that and tune up the putter he’s going to be right in the mix on Sunday you really felt like the Rory of the last 10 years was going to shoot that 75 or that one round that was going to get him out of it it could happen tomorrow it could happen Sunday like Ben you said it might not happen and Rory could be in serious contention on Sunday and finally get another major now a guy who’s been really close to getting Majors mostly at the open and at the Masters you talked about Tiger Woods the N the 2019 Masters when Tony phenow was really close there at the end F now finds himself in the mix he’s also two shots off the lead Ben he’s a guy who you could say is not proven given how old he is on tour mid-30s sounds old to a lot of these guys what about Tony fee now in the weekend he has to have and his realistic chances are they realistic hold on first of all we’re not a place for mid-30s is old go ahead B go ahead and talk T yeah yeah all right let me say this I was out with obviously with Tony F this afternoon and one thing that was very noticeable to me was that he was playing aggressive golf he wasn’t playing Hold Back Golf oh this is a US Open look out don’t do this don’t do that oh only go over to the middle of the green he was taking aim at some pins and proving and just RI and drives trying to trying to make a number and so I asked him about it after the round and he admitted it he said absolutely we pre-planned for certain pins we saw that the misses on the short side I could handle uh so we wanted to have a crack and go for it there’s no point me holding back if I want to win one of these things I’ve got to have a go and I was really impressed by his answer like I I was impressed by his play but when he told me the reason why it gave me even more confidence so look he’s a what do we work out a six-time tour winner he hasn’t necessarily uh been right in the mix for many majors but he just had the vibe like bugger you guys I’m coming for you plus 12200 at the halfway point being Two Shots back is really intriguing I I do think that as Ben said it was very Illuminating to get a peak inside his strategy and it speaks to some of the difficulty of Pinehurst where feno basically said today I would rather be short-sided and face an uphill chip than be playing to the safe side of the green and have to play downhill to the pin because that’s where he can really start to get away from you so you know as you said he’s got six wins on tour he’s got every shot in the bag he has been a little quiet it seems early in 2024 starting to come around these last last couple weeks and and this is a position where he’s been here before but not a ton so how is he going to handle it I I am very interested to see where he comes uh especially in the third round I think that it’s one where it’s going to go one way or another you know Tony feno is sitting there at plus 12200 right now at B MGM tomorrow night he’s either plus 600 or he’s plus 3,000 he’s not going to be sitting right there uh it’s it’s we’re going to know a lot with those first 9 or 12 hes tomorrow it’s the most intriguing number I think on the board for me because if he does turn up it’s value but if he does it’s an ejection so it’s an interesting one to think of Ben’s favorite word ejection we saw that from there’s a lot of them out here there’s a lot of out here well I was going to let’s talk about the next guy who could have ejected today Scotty Sheffer uh he clearly didn’t think he was going to make the cut I know when you talk to him will he said yeah I’m not making the cut at at that number at 5 over lo and behold here he is um his odds are nowhere near the favorites I I can’t even tell you off the top of my head what they are because he’s so down there right now Scotty sheffler give me a good bet you think for sheffler tomorrow is it the over under on his scores is a number of birdies is it top 20 can he get in the top 10 will gives me something that people could maybe bet on Scotty sheffler this weekend I I would look to the over on his round three score I I don’t think that Scotty is a good fit for this course I think that the greens here are in his head um he talked about the fact that he doesn’t like the unpredictability of The Wire Grass you know he got into a quite a hornet’s nest off the green on on five it’s one of the two par fives out here he’s pin high in two and ends up leaving with a seven uh so that that can definitely stick in your craw but listen this is just an off week he he went out today he didn’t make a single birdie there are not many golf courses on planet Earth where Scotty Sheffer can go 18 holes and not make a birdie so he is here as you said we talked to him after the round he didn’t think that he was going to be here but that might have been just a little bit of you know what you’re expected to say in the moment he was you know he was wasn’t mad he wasn’t especially frustrated I think he was a little disappointed certainly with a 4 over 74 on Friday and he talked about maybe he is running a little bit out of gas coming off that win on Sunday uh at the Memorial tournament and and again just the unpredictability of some of these Wire Grass areas where that’s part of the psych of a US Open right everyone’s going to hit bad shots everyone’s going to get bad breaks we saw guys like Patrick Klay get some rough breaks and and be able to to bounce back Sheffer paid a dear price for some of his misses uh but for me it’s really he seemed totally frustrated and flumix on these greens I don’t know that one more round or another you know 60 Minutes on the putting green at the thistle do over here uh is going to fix that for tomorrow so I think odds makers are still going to have to come out with a pretty low number maybe over under 70 and a half and and I would lean to the over I’m not sure that I can buy into a Scotty sheffler rally this weekend like the only people that are happy that he that he that he made the cut on the number are those people that had him to make the top 10 in all four majes sorry to all those people who have it he’s gone you’re gone it’s not going to happen he’s still plus 240 only for a top 10 here he’s not shooting five under 2 days in a row here that’s not happening right it’s not a PGA it’s not the Masters there’s no big RWS going down the back nine where guys make five birs in a row not happening and the entire field isn’t going to implode to let him back door into the top 10 plus as you said his attitude is just not there look He he’ll move up he’ll move up the later ball theoretically theoretically he will I will say to the people that laid Theus 2,000 price on Scotty sheer to make the cut I would encourage you to visit your cardiologist on Monday you need you need to just maybe take a brisk walk everything’s okay uh that was quite a sweat you might want to re-evaluate your life if you’re going minus 2,000 on anybody to make the cut last person the price is the price the price is the price exactly it is what it is you can’t change I we did call up I did to bring up the plus 800 that he would miss the cut and I was ready to brag and say I told you he’s not a W that too Ben you were secretly wanting that you’re like we’re going to pull up that clip from chalk talk on Wednesday when you said it you said do you entertain the market will said no I don’t will was right yeah he was right in the end but like we were right in saying though correct 800 versus 280 280 to win 800 to miss which was more likely like you just talk numbers it was it was there it’s a US Open they’re hard they’re very very hard last guy I want to talk about here is still in this this tournament guys Xander schofl if it weren’t for that double bogey later in his round would probably be in the top three of odds right now he was at three under made a double he’s back down to one under par the guy did not have his best stuff Ben I know you feel like he’s a real Contender this week but can he still win this thing if he doesn’t go lights out the weekend because you know everybody who’s ahead of him right now no he can’t win as the short answer because apparently only the top eight can win if you have to be within three shots of the lead if you go by uh recent major history the last 16 majors and also 20 2 28 thank you uh Justin Ray for those numbers uh but yeah look I will say this he’s second on approach still so he’s hitting the approach shots very well which is a very important factor and he’s we talked about this yesterday let me have a look here 147th in 156 man Field in Str scaned off the tea something he’s usually very good at something that’s one of his actual strength so if he can figure that out then of course he still has you know a a Fighter’s chance a puncher’s chance to make a move but he is down to the fact where he needs to shoot a number that’s under par he is going to have to be 68 69 two in a row something whenever I know people start to come back but he can’t afford any any more big mistakes it comes down to that right like he can’t make the mistakes anymore for sure I I will say you know there’s a lot of attention to deservedly so on that double on five where he got into it with with Sheffer and Rory honestly they all kind of hacked it up short left of the green but you know we came into today Xander’s at even par you wonder where he’s going to go he bogied the first two holes right I mean we’re sitting here over a breakfast latte saying all right Xander’s out and then he reels off five birdies to get into you know three underpar and and he was inside of of 10 to one on the Inplay odds board and you think man this guy I mean he was he was really feeling it and then of course the bogey or the double on on five kind of derailed him but it listen it takes a special talent to put five under for any stretch out here especially uh as long of a one as he did uh to to rebound and rally in round two he’s going to need another 5 under stretch probably tomorrow at some point because the Bogies will be there no one’s going bogy free tomorrow as far as I’m concerned so uh you manage your misses and then you need to find ways where you can get aggressive like we were talking about earlier with Tony feno find those green light pins and make the most of those chances and Xander fans hopefully you got on what was it 40 to1 after first too early live betting remember to keep an eye on these things especially in Carnage weeks 40 to1 was would have been a good get obviously I don’t even think the biggest Xander fans Fanboys out there would have had him at plus two winning this tournament I don’t care what odds they thought were going to be worth it you mentioned 26 out of 28 which means there are outliers guys there were two of the last 28 who were not within those certain amount of Strokes or certain amount of places on the leaderboard okay I got four options for you right here three of them are under par one of them has won Majors before Tom Kim’s a good player no one’s talking about Cory Connor and certainly no one’s talking about Russell Henley will which of these four guys do you like give me the big price on Russell Henley uh I’m taking the the Georgia Bulldog as much as it pains me uh this is listen we we know that Russell Henley is is one of those guys that’s flying under the radar and his ball striking really speaks for itself but his score splits this week are insane he is seven under on the par fours he’s four over on the par fives and three over on the par 3es the easy holes you know quote unquote it’s all relative but but you know number 10 and number five the holes that most of these guys are licking their chop to try and get a birdie on the card he’s four over through two rounds and he’s acing the most difficult stretch of par fours that that you’re going to see all season so listen if you’re buying into regression at least in some parts of eventually he’s not going to double five like he did today like so many other guys did with that back left pin if he’s able to continue to rack up birdies on the par Force if the ball striking numbers continue to be where they are he could make up some ground in a big way he’s been in the mix the US Open before he was you know near the lead and held the 54o lead or share of it uh in 2021 at Tory Pines he’s one on tour the guy’s not going to be to totally scared of the spotlight and not listen 100 to1 100 to one yeah sign me up I was about to say oh but he’s struggling with the putter but cuz I saw him miss a few on but I just Lov his T in the field in the field in putting so in saying that he missed some putts that he could have made and he’s still sitting there so that makes me think that will might be on to something although if you give me a choice I’m going to the major winner right there I’m going to the Dey man who today snuck up on everybody with an early 66 if you’re putting the 66 out there uh you’re doing something right okay and I’m sure there was probably there was probably a lucky break somewhere or something went well for the former Masters champ but I but the real reality is he knows how to play when it’s when the whips are cracking in a major he’s been there done that and he’s got himself sneaky there under the radar he’ll be able to go out ahead of these other guys too he’s still going to be out first so he’s going to be the one setting a potential Pace uh if he can get his putts to roll in we know that’s the thing withi is always great with the ball striking if he can keep it together on the greens then he could be a name that does actually spook the others a little bit they know he’s been there before and he’s done it I still know if you can trust him over the putt we’ll see 66 you thought impressive you thought him going have to make some putts out here he’s going to have to make some you’re have to make some and if we and if we be fed income which means for Real where I’m from when he won the Masters he tried to lose it but then Xander handed it to him it was he still got the jacket in the closet his Jack okay before we say goodbye here uh Ben you off camera yesterday said this is a three-man race only three guys can win no sorry you said it was four four guys can win uh all four of those guys are still on this leaderboard list is this more than a four horse race both of you is it yes yes this this is I I am so excited for this weekend we we have a lot of great story lines there’s a lot of guys on that board that it’s it’s not going to surprise anyone uh to see them listen if Matthew pavon or Thomas dietry wins this you know hats off but that is going to be a bit of a shocker maybe not so much for you you can uh have a crack at this but but there’s so many great names on that leaderboard I I think the the winner is coming from this list that you’ve got here and and I’m excited to see how it plays out let’s get a little In The Weeds on this mate look look at it you got aberer obviously aberer we know is the young stud coming through uh Des Shambo is one of you open before Rory’s won four majors klay’s won a FedEx Cup shof won the last major diet is a World Cup winner I was there he won the World Cup for Belgium in Australia a long while back uh then who we got Matti a Masters winner pavon won the farmers insurance this year uh so there’s plenty of guys that have got some pedigree and we’ll you know we get to see what happens over the weekend I’m excited you’re excited we’re going to crack a few beers and yell at each other some more and decide who’s right and who’s wrong and we’ll have this argument again here what 24 hours time we’ll do it again [Music]
1 Comment
It will be Bryson!