As the world's best golfer, Scottie Scheffler's scorecards tend to be littered with more circles than most.
That hasn't been the case thus far during the U.S. Open, however. Scheffler, already a five-time winner in this year's PGA Tour, struggled immensely under the North Carolina foliage, recording a 4-over-par 74 on Friday. Now, he finds himself in a bit of uncharted territory: Scheffler very well could miss out on the final two rounds of tournament action. He hasn't missed a cut in 672 days at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler's frustration was tangible on Friday. His putter had seemingly lost its spell-binding abilities throughout the round; Scheffler never carded birdie, marking the first time he failed to do so in a major round. A turgid showing on No. 15 — where Scheffler badly mishit a chip then followed it up with a 17-foot put that strayed wide — prompted Scheffler to flip his putter into the air in an act of exasperation.
Things didn't get much better for Scheffler. On No. 18, he slammed his driver into the earth. He then carried his club all across the fairway, gripping it by its neck, almost as if he was attempting to throttle it.
MORE: Projected cut, rules, updates for Friday's leaderboard
Here's what you need to know about Scheffler's status as the cut line waxes and wanes.
Did Scottie Scheffler make the cut at the U.S. Open?
Following his poor display in Round 2, Scheffler just made the weekend cut.
He's tied for 57th-place after two rounds under the scorching Pinehurst sun. Only the top-60 players (plus ties) after 36 holes will earn qualification into Rounds 3 and 4. Scheffler finished Round 2 at +5. The projected cut line is +5, so he made the cut.
Scheffler looked in a far more promising position heading into Round 2. He wasn't faultless in the opening round, recording a 1-over-par 71 to kick off the proceedings. Still, he was well within the cut line limits. And with the run Scheffler has been on in recent weeks, an improved display Friday appeared likely.
He couldn't account for the faster greens that greeted him on Friday morning, however. Scheffler's 4-over was the worst score he recorded in a single round this year.
The reigning Masters champion has been on a tear at the U.S. Open recently, nabbing top-five finishes at the past two iterations of the competition. He followed up his win at Augusta National by tying for eighth-place at the PGA Championship back in May.
Scheffler hasn't missed a cut at a major since the 2022 PGA Championship.
