LA JOLLA, Calif. — Nothing would please CBS Sports activities executives and PGA Tour brass greater than a last group that includes Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the 2 greatest gamers on the earth. Golf followers would like it too.
That dream virtually grew to become 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 last group alongside Davis Thompson, the 36-hole chief who’s 8-under general. Thompson fired a 6-under 66 on Friday, matching the bottom spherical of the day. Ludvig Åberg additionally fired a 66, whereas Scheffler may 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 pictures, I performed properly for probably the most half, I scrambled properly,” McIlroy mentioned 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 in different places, which was good, however I do know going into the weekend, I’m going to must play the par 5s higher.”
If McIlroy can capitalize on the par 5s on Saturday, he ought to be within the last group on Sunday. McIlroy is enjoying properly, simply as he did when he gained at Pebble Seashore, though he has birdied solely three of the eight par-5s to this point this week.
Scheffler, however, 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 happy with how I scored at the moment,” Scheffler mentioned.
“I didn’t drive the ball in addition to I’d have hoped to, I felt like I used to be out of place quite a bit at the moment, however did a very good job of muscling some pictures up there on the inexperienced and getting up and down after I wanted to as properly.”
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 very good instance of lacking on the proper facet,” Scheffler mentioned of his shot on the sixth.
“I hit two actually good pictures 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 last pairing on Sunday. Each gamers have some work to do on Saturday to make that occur, but when they’ll, your entire {golfing} world might be in for a deal with at Torrey Pines, a U.S. Open course that assessments the world’s greatest 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 Enjoying By way of. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
