Scottie Scheffler not out of US Open just yet despite looking human

OAKMONT, Pa.— Sometimes, even Superman struggles.Scottie Scheffler doesn’t wear a cape.

But the golf he’s played for the past two years has been otherworldly. The gap between his No.1 world ranking and the rest of the pack is reminiscent of the gaping advantage Tiger Woods built when he was dominating in his prime.Scheffler won seven times last season, including the Masters and the Players Championship.He entered this week’s U.S.

Open at Oakmont having won three times in his previous four starts, including the PGA Championship and Memorial.Understandably, he entered this week as such an overwhelming favorite to win that the gamblers’ chatter was about whether to bet on Scheffler or the rest of the 156-player field.And yet, the surprise of this week is how human Scheffler has looked, which is to say he’s resembled an impostor of the man who’s been, with his head down and face without expression, coldly mowing down the rest of the PGA Tour.Scheffler, despite not having his best stuff, grinded out a 1-over-par 71 in Friday’s second round to keep himself in contention, at 4-over par, to win his second major of the year, and the third leg of a career Grand Slam.He spent much of the day hovering around the cut line, which was projected to be 5-over while he was playing.“Overall, [I’m] definitely not out of the tournament,’’ Scheffler said.“[Friday], with the way I was hitting it, I could have been going home.

And I battled pretty hard to stay in there.I’m 4-over.

Around this golf course I don’t think by any means I’m out of the tournament.’’Scheffler, who has uncharacteristically been fighting his driver with a case of the lefts this week, entered the week having made the cut in his previous 56 starts. His last missed cut came on Aug.14, 2022 at the St.

Jude Classic.He entered the week having played in 21 major championships as a pro and missed the cut only twice — in the 2019 U.S.Open and the 2022 PGA.Scheffler’s 3-over-par...