Tiger’s final U.S. Open? Diabolical circumstances

Welcome to GOLF.com’s “Seen & Heard” video collection, during which we provide you with an inside take a look at golf’s largest occasions via the eyes and ears of our onsite crew. On deck this week: the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Let’s go!

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We’ve hit the midway mark on the U.S. Open the place among the recreation’s greatest have risen to the highest of the leaderboard, whereas others are going house early.

Whereas all three of them made the minimize, a lot of the drama Friday morning surrounded the U.S. Open’s “Tremendous group” of the top-three gamers on the earth, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler.

All three bumped into bother on the Par-5 fifth throughout Spherical 2, the best gap. Scheffler and Schauffele tried to hit miracle flop pictures and failed, resulting in double bogeys. McIlroy, from an identical place hit a low operating shot and made a nine-footer for par. Our James Colgan referred to as the chip a “most fascinating shot.”

“That again left gap location on 5 is fairly treacherous,” stated McIlroy, whose 72 left him at three underneath, two off the lead. “For those who miss it left there in any respect, clearly you noticed what Xander and Scottie did. After sealing their two makes an attempt, I used to be fairly pleased with mine simply to get it over the opposite facet of the inexperienced and get it up-and-down for five.”

Elsewhere, Josh Berhow was following Tyrell Hatton, who on Thursday, went viral for a few of his feedback about his mindset within the U.S. Open.

After finsihing the opening two rounds at one underneath, good for a tie for ninth, Berhow requested Hatton for his take on why the remark went so viral.

“I believe everybody is aware of me nicely sufficient by now to know what I’m like on the golf course, that I’m fairly sincere,” Hatton stated. “I’ll simply say it how it’s.”

Deep within the “bowels of the Pinehurst clubhouse” Alan Bastable sought out the person who brought about fairly a stir on social media Thursday: Anthony Montanez . He’s higher identified resident U.S. Open barber this week and the man who gave Scheffler his recent minimize earlier than Spherical 1.

“The humorous half about it’s, everybody retains calling it the ‘excessive and tight,’ which as barbers makes us crack up as a result of it’s solely a 3 on the perimeters,” Montanez stated. “It’s nowhere close to a ‘excessive and tight.’ Simply the tapered again makes it appear to be that.”

In case there was any debate, Montanez felt good in regards to the minimize.

“We delivered,” he stated.

Again within the media middle, Sean Zak requested Bryson DeChambeau, who fired a 69 Friday to get inside a shot of the lead at 4 underneath, how he felt in regards to the followers seemingly rooting for gamers to battle at U.S. Opens.

“I simply noticed after we had been on 10, Sepp Straka made a hole-in-one, proper? Proper behind us,” DeChambeau stated. “That was a excessive, tremendous excessive, and it was actually cool to feed off that vitality. Then I see guys ping-ponging it across the greens out right here, and it’s like, I don’t need to watch that.

“So for the followers it’s nice. It’s tremendous entertaining. I don’t need to be on the flawed facet of it, albeit it’s going to occur a couple of occasions out right here.”

However Friday can also be about who gained’t be round for the weekend and that features the largest title within the discipline: Tiger Woods.

Woods began Spherical 2 sturdy, with a birdie on the 4th to climb two pictures contained in the cutline, however he stumbled house to a 73 and missed the minimize by two pictures.

Then he admitted he wasn’t certain if this week was his final U.S. Open.

“So far as my final Open Championship or U.S. Open Championship, I don’t know what that’s,” the 48-year-old three-time U.S. Open winner stated. “It could or might not be.”

However the 36-hole chief this week is Ludvig Aberg. Aberg has appeared like something however a participant making his U.S. Open debut this week, however he has performed Pinehurst No. 2 earlier than, in a U.S. Newbie. He referred to as it probably the most difficult course he’s ever performed.

And it’s solely getting tougher as Sean Zak factors out, the course is turning into utterly baked out from sunshine. Inexperienced speeds are operating north of 13 on the stimpmeter already.

The weekend on the 2024 U.S. Open is upon us

To atone for all of the GOLF group’s actions at Pinehurst, take a look at the total Seen & Heard playlist beneath — and keep tuned for extra Seen & Heard all through the week.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of feminine varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everybody on the masthead. She will out-hustle them within the workplace, too, the place she’s primarily accountable for producing each print and on-line options, and overseeing main particular tasks, resembling GOLF’s inaugural Type Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview collection, “A Spherical With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in each within the journal and in video type on GOLF.com.