US Open halfway update: Stewart vibes driving DeChambeau

US Opens are conditioned to be nothing less than a revolting trial of talent, patience and desire. It is physically tiring, mentally exhausting and emotionally draining.

As a knackering experience, it’s the golfing equivalent of undertaking an Ernest Shackleton-like quest to the Antarctic knowing that you’ve got multiple root canal treatment waiting for you on arrival. Without anaesthetics.

Nobody, however, has told Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg about any of this. At the halfway stage of this year’s championship he resembles an absurdly youthful, good-looking and even-tempered first-time gentleman explorer who is making a mockery of a brutal test that has left countless men before him broken, crushed and defeated.

The 24-year-old hit every fairway in the first round and missed just two in the second. No-one in the field has hit more greens in regulation than he has. He’s carded rounds of 66-69 to total 5-under 135 at halfway which leaves him one shot clear of Bryson DeChambeau, Thomas Detry and Patrick Cantlay, two ahead of Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau and Matthieu Pavon, and three in front of Hideki Matsuyama. It is a high-quality chasing pack and Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton are among those one behind Matsuyama.

Can Aberg remain out front? If he were to do so he would become the first debutant winner of the US Open since before the First World War, since the time of Shackleton in other words. In finishing second on his Masters (and major) debut in April he showed great composure but this is a different challenge entirely. He never had the lead then. How much will recall of the final round of the BMW PGA Championship last September? He had shared the 36-hole lead there, went two clear after 54 holes, but lurched home in 76 to finish tenth. That could be an instructive memory if used well.

Of the chasers, DeChambeau has opened with rounds of 67-69 and his record when starting a major with two scores in the 60s is a small but very good sample (winner of the 2020 US Open, a close second in last month’s PGA Championship). McIlroy, too, has good omens. He’s opened a major with a bogey-free round just four times. The first three became wins – is he set for make it four this week and end his 10-year major drought?

Cantlay and Finau are two of the finest golfers in the world yet to win a major, Detry is contending for a second major in a row, Pavon is relishing the familiarity (Pinehurst reminds him of the pine forest courses near his home in Bordeaux) and Matsuyama’s 66 was the low score of Friday.

The weekend promises to be compulsively grisly and DeChambeau summed it up nicely. “I’m excited for the test and challenge,” he said, metaphorically donning his long johns, woolly jumper and Gaberdine coat. “The course will continue to evolve and, if the wind picks up, it’s going to be diabolical.”

Ludvig Åberg leads by one heading into the weekend. 👀

Full standings 👇

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2024

The numbers

How safe is Aberg’s lead? A total of 47 golfers have held or shared the halfway lead after 36 holes of the US Open in the last 30 years and 13 of them converted the win so it’s far from a given. The last 16 major winners were within three after 36 holes and 26 of the last 28 US Open winners were within three, too. In the last 30 years all were within six of the lead.

What about the three Pinehurst US Opens? 2014 winner Martin Kaymer went wire-to-wire while Payne Stewart in 1999 shared the halfway lead with Phil Mickelson and the two tussled all weekend. In-between, in 2005, Michael Campbell was tied sixth after 36 holes but just two back.

It’s worth noting just what damage a US Open weekend can inflict on a scorecard. The trio who led at halfway in 2005 stood firm in the third round but then Jason Gore carded a final round 84 and Olin Browne an 80. You might shrug at those names. But Retief Goosen was two-time US Open winner and he slumped to an 81.

To win – Bryson DeChambeau at 9/2

The halfway leader in the Masters and a superb runner-up in the PGA Championship, the 2020 US Open champion is in great form on the course and in tremendous spirits off it. “I’m excited for the game that I have right now,” he said after the second round. “I feel pretty confident and ready to get after it this weekend.”

The near-miss at Valhalla has not deflated him. He knows he played well, he responded to the task and he loved being loved by the galleries. He’s also inspired that this week’s venue is associated with Stewart who he has a lot of affection for. The hat he wore early in his career was a nod to the 1999 champion, he has that headgear in his bag this week, and he knows that Stewart’s first win on tour was also his own. He’s now seeking to win his second US Open where Stewart landed his.

Each Way – Tom Kim at 40/1

It’s somewhat concerning that the young Korean is playing for a seventh week in a row, but he finished second at last year’s Open with a foot injury that had him taking piggy-backs from his team off the course so he’s made of stern stuff. Like those old explorers it’s almost as if he gets off on the difficulty. “I just enjoy a tough test,” he said after his second round. “I have my mindset routine every night and every morning. I’m really big on getting myself prepared. Once I get out here, it’s all business.” Eighth in this event last year from way off the pace, he can make a run for it this weekend from nearer the lead.