Ludvig Åberg will head into the U.S. Open weekend with a one-shot lead as he looks to win his first major championship in just his third appearance at the tournament.
The Swede has been one of golf's most notable figures since turning pro a little over a year ago, winning on both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, helping Europe win the Ryder Cup and rising to No. 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
He finished second in his major debut at the Masters in April and bettered his result with a five-under 69 in the second round at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.
Belgian Thomas Detry shot 67 to tie for first place with Americans Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau, one shot back, and one shot ahead of four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, Frenchman Mathieu Pavon and another local favorite, Tony Finau.
Oberg had a stellar college career, winning the Ben Hogan Award twice in the United States before winning his first title as a professional at the Omega European Masters.
He was named captain of next month's Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club and won two points to help Europe reclaim the trophy, becoming the PGA Tour champion at the RSM Classic in November.
He first finished runner-up at Augusta National Golf Club and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship — only the second time he’s missed the cut in the paid rankings — but he’s confident heading into Saturday’s ninth major.
“I think Augusta National proved to me that I’m capable of being in that position, and it was more of a validation that, yes, you can actually go out there and play on Sunday,” he said.
“Obviously, this golf course is also very difficult to play. It requires a lot of patience and discipline, just like this course.”
Ludvig Åberg leads by one point heading into the weekend. 👀
Full rankings 👇
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 15, 2024
“I thought it was a great experience in April. Hopefully we can draw some similarities from it. All we have to do is play as well as we can and see how it goes.”
Oberg holed a 30-foot putt on the second hole to tie for the lead, and with two shots on the fifth hole, he was alone in the lead and soon had a two-shot lead.
Due to a poor tee shot, he took bogey on the eighth hole, which reduced his lead. Although he was caught up briefly, a 21-foot putt on the twelfth hole put him two strokes ahead again.
He bogeyed the 16th hole when he failed to get up from a bunker, but he remained in the lead as Cantlay and Pavin had bogeys late on.
“I felt like I played really good today,” he added. “It was obviously very challenging and it's not an easy golf course to play. But I felt like we stayed disciplined, stayed patient and just kept hitting our targets.”
Detrie made great approaches on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, making three consecutive birdies, but he missed a breaking shot opportunity on the 14th hole.
He hit the ball out with an amazing three-foot putt on the first hole, and he hit the ball into the hole with a long putt on the third hole. After two putts on the par-5 fifth hole, he became the sole leader, but he made bogeys on the sixth and eighth holes.
Cantlay battled with Oberg for the lead all afternoon but finished with a 71, two strokes ahead of compatriot DeChambeau.
McIlroy failed to get off the green on the 11th and also failed to get off the par-3 15th as the greens continued to test the entire course, and the 35-year-old had to chip in for par on the 17th after his ball left the ground.
He then made his only birdie of the day on the third hole with a brilliant seven-foot approach, but he gave up the shot in a 72 when his tee shot hit sand on the par-3 ninth.
Shot 69 in the second round and led by one stroke into the weekend ✍️#USOpen pic.twitter.com/iFSOy7qOyj
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 15, 2024
Pavon got up from the bunker on the 10th and opened with a birdie on the 11th, holed out from 30 feet, but then lost a shot on the 15th.
He made another advance from 14 feet on the third hole but finished with a 70, falling behind McIlroy and Finau, who shot 69.
Japanese player Hideki Matsuyama shot the lowest score of the day, 66, and was alone at two strokes under par. A total of 15 players were under par.
Sepp Straka and Francesco Molinari both had holes-in-one on the ninth, with Molinari improving from seven over to five over on the final hole to advance.
