Bryson, Detry share early Round 2 clubhouse lead

Bryson DeChambeau is once again firmly in the mix after 36 holes at a major championship.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion fired a 1-under 69 Friday morning to hold the clubhouse lead alongside Thomas Detry at 4-under. First-round co-leader Patrick Cantlay and Ludvig Aberg both sat 5-under on the course after the opening couple of holes of their second round.

DeChambeau's driving was shockingly a letdown, as he found just seven fairways all day and lost strokes off the tee. However, the 30-year-old made up for it with some brilliant work on Pinehurst's challenging greens. He made over 129 feet of putts on the day and ranked sixth among all players in the morning wave in putting.

"Felt like I was actually hitting the driver pretty solid today," DeChambeau said after his round. "Starting lines just weren't exactly where I saw them coming out of the chute and consequently ended up in the native area a few too many times, which cost me probably three or four shots. It's something I'm looking forward to fixing over the weekend."

Detry certainly doesn't hold the same cache as DeChambeau, but the Belgian has been solid as of late in majors. He finished tied for fourth last month at Valhalla and opened with rounds of 69 and 67 at Pinehurst to put himself in the middle of things.

Rory McIlroy, who shared the lead with Cantlay after 18 holes, backed up with a 2-over 72 Friday but remains firmly in the mix just one shot behind DeChambeau.

McIlroy's day was opposite to the LIV Golf star as he didn't flash the same form with his putter Friday after a bogey-free 65 in Round 1. However, he hit the ball well enough to avoid falling too far off the pace.

"I wish I had converted a couple more of the chances," McIlroy admitted. "I think I only missed one fairway, so I have plenty of opportunities. Wasn't quite as good with the putter today. Still overall in a great position going into the weekend."

The projected cut is currently fluctuating between 4-over and 5-over with the afternoon wave on the course. That's a very important number for Scottie Scheffler after the World No. 1 fired a birdie-less 4-over 74 to sit at 5-over through 36 holes. It's his first major round without a birdie as a professional and would represent his first missed cut in 672 days should he fail to see the weekend.