LA JOLLA, Calif. — Nothing would please CBS Sports activities executives and PGA Tour brass greater than a ultimate group that includes Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the 2 finest gamers on the planet. Golf followers would adore it too.
That dream virtually turned a actuality on Saturday at Torrey Pines as Scheffler and McIlroy made strikes up the leaderboard throughout Friday’s second spherical.
However Scheffler, who’s in solo second at 7-under, will go off within the ultimate group alongside Davis Thompson, the 36-hole chief who’s 8-under total. Thompson fired a 6-under 66 on Friday, matching the bottom spherical of the day. Ludvig Åberg additionally fired a 66, whereas Scheffler might solely muster a 5-under 67.
McIlroy, in the meantime, is in solo fourth at 5-under. The Northern Irishman, like Scheffler, shot a 67 on Friday. He’ll play alongside Denny McCarthy, who birdied the par-5 ninth gap on Friday to get to 6-under for the championship.
“I hit a whole lot of actually good photographs, I performed nicely for probably the most half, I scrambled nicely,” McIlroy stated of his second spherical.
“I simply didn’t make the most of the par 5s; I solely made one birdie on 9, hit it within the fairway on 6 and didn’t make birdie, after which I didn’t birdie the 2 par 5s on the again 9. Look, I made up for it elsewhere, which was good, however I do know going into the weekend, I’m going to should play the par 5s higher.”
If McIlroy can capitalize on the par 5s on Saturday, he ought to be within the ultimate group on Sunday. McIlroy is enjoying nicely, simply as he did when he gained at Pebble Seaside, though he has birdied solely three of the eight par-5s to date this week.
Scheffler, then again, hopes to straighten out his driver over the weekend. He missed 9 fairways for the second straight day on Friday. But he has made solely two bogies, a testomony to his unimaginable iron play and quick recreation.
“I’m fairly glad with how I scored right now,” Scheffler stated.
“I didn’t drive the ball in addition to I might have hoped to, I felt like I used to be out of place loads right now, however did a superb job of muscling some photographs up there on the inexperienced and getting up and down after I wanted to as nicely.”
The spotlight of Scheffler’s day got here on the par-5 sixth gap, the place he holed out from the bunker for an eagle three. That shot leapfrogged him to 7-under for the championship and right into a share of the lead, a place the place he has discovered himself all too typically.
“That was a superb instance of lacking on the proper aspect,” Scheffler stated of his shot on the sixth.
“I hit two actually good photographs to get there, and so I hit a pleasant bunker shot there; I used to be lucky to see the ball go in.”
Simply as Scheffler was lucky to see his ball trickle in for an eagle, golf followers could be fortunate to see him and McIlroy play collectively within the ultimate pairing on Sunday. Each gamers have some work to do on Saturday to make that occur, but when they’ll, the whole {golfing} world will likely be in for a deal with at Torrey Pines, a U.S. Open course that assessments the world’s finest and brings out solely the best.
Scheffler and McIlroy going head-to-head at Torrey? Everybody would join that appointment viewing. Hopefully, it occurs.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
