Can Scottie Scheffler still win the U.S. Open? He thinks so

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OAKMONT, Pa. — Scottie Scheffler finished his second round at the U.S. Open on Friday at 4-over-par, eight shots back of the leader at that moment. He’s not convinced he’s out of it.

“There was some times today where you feel like you could give up, just based on how difficult the golf course is, how my swing was feeling,” Scheffler said. “… Going out early tomorrow, maybe get some easier conditions than the guys late in the afternoon. At the U.S. Open I don’t think you’re ever out of the tournament. Put together two decent days, I may be in 25th or 30th place or something like that after today, and like I said, by no means is that out of the tournament.”

While this is a larger deficit than he faced last month, Scheffler no doubt remembers that he was three shots back after 36 holes at the PGA Championship and ended the third round up by three. With no signs of Oakmont easing up and rain in the forecast for Saturday, the No. 1 player in the world is ready to try to force his way up the leaderboard.

He shot a 1-over 71 on Friday, a bogey on his final hole — the par-4 9th — pushing him over par on the day. Scheffler admitted to issues off the tee that made the round a struggle, but his performance on No. 9 was an example of choosing patience.

Scheffler’s ball found the rough off the right side of the fairway, and he thought the lie was enough that he had 7-wood out of the bag. But Scheffler and caddie Ted Scott reconsidered, factoring in the bunker that guards the front of the green, and he instead hit a wedge back into the fairway.

“Being 3-over-par for the tournament and the lead is a few under par, that could be an area where you may try to force something. But I think forcing it around this place is probably not a good recipe to play too much good golf for me,” Scheffler said. “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.”

Scheffler’s day began with a warning, a birdie on No. 10 that signaled to whoever was already on the course that he was coming. But then reality set in — the back nine played more than 2 1/2 shots harder than the front nine in the morning wave, and Scheffler had two bogeys and six pars before making the turn. A bogey-birdie-bogey run from holes Nos. 1-3 put Scheffler at 5-over-par and suddenly in danger of watching the cut line all afternoon.

That will not be necessary — Oakmont is only getting harder by the hour, and birdies on Nos. 4 and 7 gave Scheffler the cushion he sought.

A year after Scheffler made the cut at Pinehurst but was never a factor, it’s fair for the tens of thousands of golf fans here to wonder if history will repeat itself this weekend.

The oddsmakers still like him — BetMGM has him at the third-best odds, +1000, behind only Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland. Burns is 3-under-par and Hovland is 1-under.

(Top photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)