Oakmont (United States) (AFP) – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler endured a frustrating second round at the US Open, a harsh mental and physical challenge, but vows he’s not out of the title hunt at Oakmont. Scheffler, coming off three wins in his past four starts including his third major at the PGA Championship, fired a one-over par 71 in Friday’s second round to stand on four-over 144 for 36 holes.
“Mentally this was as tough as I’ve battled for the whole day,” Scheffler said. “There was a lot of stuff going on out there that was not going in my favor necessarily. I felt like Teddy (caddie Ted Scott) and I did a great job of battling, especially coming down the stretch.”
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Scheffler said that he could have missed the cut with the struggles he faced but instead has himself within reach of victory with a weekend fightback. “With the way I was hitting it was easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there,” Scheffler said. “I don’t think by any means I’m out of the tournament.”
Scheffler made five bogeys and four birdies in a roller coaster round. “I feel like I battled really hard. It’s challenging out there,” he said. “I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it. Felt like me getting away with one-over today wasn’t all that bad. It could have been a lot worse.”
“I anticipated to hit it better…any time you’re not hitting it the way you want, or playing up to my expectations, I think it’s frustrating.” Scheffler won’t be trying to impose his will upon Oakmont as he tries to mount a fightback. “I bounced back really well to a lot of the mistakes that I made,” he said. “Forcing it around this place is probably not a good recipe to play too much good golf for me. You’ve got to be hitting fairways, you’ve got to be hitting greens, and hopefully I’ll be able to do that on the weekend.”
Rounds were dragging well beyond five hours with waits on certain holes a factor adding to the tension. “It felt long to me. Both the par-fives we basically walked up on the group in front of us,” Scheffler said. “I’m just trying to play. I’ve got too many concerns other than the pace it takes to get around this place.”
Scheffler said the delays are not a shock. “With this many players and this tough of a golf course, it’s going to take a while,” he said. “That’s a big piece of property. It just takes time to hit that many golf shots.”
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