Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg grinded his way to a one-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the US Open while top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and other favorites struggled at punishing Pinehurst.
Sixth-ranked Aberg, a runner-up at April’s Masters in his major debut, fired a one-under par 69 to finish 36 holes on five-under 135.
“I hit it very nicely,” Aberg said. “It was obviously very challenging, and it’s not an easy golf course to play. But I felt like we stayed very disciplined, stayed very patient, and tried to hit it to our targets.”
He had been sharing the lead with France’s Matthieu Pavon, but the back-nine starter closed his round with bogeys at eight and the par-3 ninth to shoot 70 and share fifth.
“Super fortunate with the way that things have turned out over the last couple days, and hopefully we’ll be able to keep it up,” Aberg said.
One …