Scottie Scheffler insists his swing is "in a good spot" despite seeing his lead at the top of the Tour Championship standings cut to four shots on the second day.

Scheffler, who is aiming to win his first FedEx Cup title, carded 65 in his opening round and entered the second round with a 10-shot lead.

However, the world number one saw American duo Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele close the gap during a weather-disrupted second round on Friday.

Scheffler carded a round of 66 to take himself to 21 under par, aided by two birdies in the final three holes to keep the chasing back at bay. 

"I feel like my swing is in a good spot, and I've hit it nice the last couple of days," he said. "A lot of quality stuff out there, and in a good spot going into the weekend."

Morikawa is four shots off the pace after producing a superb eight-under 63, which was the best round of the day, and has surged up the standings to second place.

In an impressive round, he dropped just one shot on the 11th hole, but made amends on the back nine before closing with back-to-back birdies. 

"He's going to continue to make birdies," Morikawa said about the possibility of catching Scheffler. "He's driving it really, really well here, and you're giving yourself enough wedges to make some scoring opportunities out there.

"For me, it's just about bringing energy and just staying alive out there."

Schauffele is in third, one shot behind compatriot Morikawa, after shooting an impressive second-round 64 to remain in the hunt for the $25million prize money. 

There is then a four-shot gap until a group of three players, including Adam Scott, are tied for fourth place at 12 under, while Rory McIlroy is tied for 10th place on eight under.

Reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele was the joint leader heading into the final round of the Paris Games, with Jon Rahm level with him in top spot. 

The pair are tied at 14 under after three rounds of action at Le Golf National, with Rahm producing a five-under 66 to jump up the leaderboard from fourth. 

Schauffele enjoyed another mostly error-free round, carding a three-under 68 with the hopes of retaining the crown he claimed in Tokyo three years ago. 

Britain's Tommy Fleetwood remains just a shot behind after another fine round.

He sent a putt on 18 narrowly short for what would have been a three-way tie for the lead. 

Hideki Matsuyama, who was tied for the lead going into the third round, dropped to joint-fourth after two bogeys in his first four holes, missing the opportunity on 18 to go within two shots of the lead. 

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler shot himself into contention for a medal after carding a four-under 67, leaving him level with Rory McIlroy and Joo-Hyung Kim in T6.

Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard produced the best round of the day, shooting a course record-tying 62 to move him 26 places up the leaderboard. 

Hideki Matsuyama maintained his lead from the opening round of the Olympic Games but now shares top spot with Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage.

The three are all on 11 under after the first two rounds, with the Brit enjoying a brilliant day on the course as he jumped 11 places up the leaderboard.

He carded a seven-under 64 on Friday and only failed to take an outright lead after finding the sand and failing to get up and down.

Matsuyama similarly missed his chance, hitting the water on the final hole, but he did well to only make a double as he finished with a three-under 68.

Schauffele, who is playing to retain his gold medal, had set the pace by carding a 66, one more than yesterday.

Jon Rahm has also played his way into contention (nine under), while Belgium's Thomas Detry produced the best result of the day, with his round of eight-under 63 improving him to eight under and vaulting him up 36 places into joint fifth.

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler is down in joint-10th (six under), with Rory McIlroy one stroke further down after carding a two-under 69.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 71 for the second day running. 

Hideki Matsuyama maintained his lead from the opening round of the Olympic Games but now shares top spot with Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage.

The three are all on 11 under after the first two rounds, with the Brit enjoying a brilliant day on the course as he jumped 11 places up the leaderboard.

He carded a seven-under 64 on Friday and only failed to take an outright lead after finding the sand and failing to get up and down.

Matsuyama similarly missed his chance, hitting the water on the final hole, but he did well to only make a double as he finished with a three-under 68.

Schauffele, who is playing to retain his gold medal, had set the pace by carding a 66, one more than yesterday.

Jon Rahm has also played his way into contention (nine under), while Belgium's Thomas Detry produced the best result of the day, with his round of eight-under 63 improving him to eight under and vaulting him up 36 places into joint fifth.

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler is down in joint-10th (six under), with Rory McIlroy one stroke further down after carding a two-under 69.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 71 for the second day running. 

Hideki Matsuyama was "satisfied" with his opening round at the Olympic Games on Thursday, but admitted there was still room for improvement if he wanted to win the gold medal.

The Japanese carded an impressive eight-under 63, having hit six birdies through 10 holes and no bogeys after saving a 15-foot par on the 15th.

Three years ago, in his home Olympics in Tokyo, Matsuyama narrowly missed out on a bronze medal after losing a seven-way play-off for the bronze medal, but he is optimistic about his chances in Paris after making a low-scoring start.

"Fortunately, I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and left myself with a number of chances to score," Matsuyama said.

"So, in that regard, I'm satisfied with the end result. But also, still a number of things I could improve on. Definitely off to a great start and, hopefully, I can keep the momentum going for the rest of the week."

Two strokes behind him in second is reigning Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele, who looks to have picked up where he left off at Royal Troon last month.

The American is the defending champion at the Olympics after winning gold in Tokyo and carded a 65 though missed a chance to draw closer to Matsuyama on the back nine.

"It wasn't sort of the dream, stripey start that you envision as a golfer," Schauffele said. "But I'm happy to sort of ride the ship in and get away with what could have been worse.

"I missed a few putts coming in. But I'm not really sweating it too much."

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama has set the pace on the opening day of the Olympics, carding an impressive bogey-free eight-under 63.

On a day interrupted by threats of lightning that saw play suspended multiple times, Xander Schauffele had the chance to close in on the lead, but instead finished two strokes behind him on 65.

And it gets tight behind him on the leaderboard in a three-way tie for third between Chile's Joaquin Niemann, Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and South Korea's Tom Kim after rounds of 66.

After solid opening rounds, world number one Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm were among the nine tied for sixth on four-under.

Meanwhile, it was an up-and-down day for Rory McIlroy, who finished one stroke further back in joint-15th after he carded five birdies and an eagle as well as four bogeys to card a three-under 68.

His Ireland team-mate Shane Lowry finished on an even 72, sitting in tied-47th.

Xander Schauffele set his sights on a career grand slam after a brilliant final round saw him claim victory at The Open on Sunday.

Schauffele managed a six-under 65 through his fourth round at Royal Troon, with a run of four birdies in six holes down the back nine seeing him pull clear.

He finished two strokes ahead of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, with Thriston Lawrence, Russell Henley and Shane Lowry rounding out the top of the leaderboard.

Having also triumphed at the PGA Championship at Valhalla earlier this year, Schauffele has become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 (U.S. Open and PGA) to win two majors in the same year.

Rory McIlroy was the last player to win those same two tournaments in one year, achieving the feat back in 2014.

Only five players have ever previously won all four majors in their careers – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.

Schauffele is looking to follow in their footsteps in the coming years, telling reporters: "If you look hard enough, you can always find it.

"It's something, when you feel like you need an extra kick in the butt, there's several easy ways to motivate yourself.

"There's still a lot of things that I'd like to do in my career, and this is a very big leap towards that. The fire is still burning, maybe brighter than ever."

Looking at the Claret Jug in his post-tournament press conference, the world number three added: "It's an honour. I've always dreamed of doing it.

"That walk up 18 truly is the coolest with the yellow leaderboards and the fans and the standing ovation. It really is one of the coolest feelings I've ever had in my life."

Justin Rose accepted he had lost out to a "cold competitor" in Xander Schauffele after the American triumphed at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon on Sunday.

Schauffele shot a magnificent final round of 65 to seal a two-shot victory in Scotland, winning his second major after he also came out on top at May's PGA Championship.

Rose joined Billy Horschel in a share of second, the Englishman managing two birdies in his final three holes to close the gap.

Rose – who has gone 11 years without winning a major since claiming the U.S. Open title in 2013 – was proud of his efforts and acknowledged he had simply been beaten by the better player.

"Obviously I tried to enjoy the walk down 18 because we did an incredible job out there," Rose told Sky Sports. "I felt like we played unbelievable golf. 

"But Xander, every credit to him, he made it look so easy on the back nine. He's a cold, cold competitor, but I couldn't be more proud of myself with the way I competed today.

"There was just one little spell in the round where there were putts on 12, 13 and 14 that didn't drop and that's where the momentum shifted to Xander.

"That putt on 18, to finish strong, I knew it was for second place and I think I at least deserved that for the week.

"It's okay to be beaten by someone who shoots 31 on the back nine but I gave that everything."

Fellow runner-up Horschel, who held a one-stroke lead going into Sunday's final round, was disappointed to drop away, saying: "I'm going to always fight until the end. I was rewarded with three birdies there at the end to finish tied second with a good friend, Justin Rose.

"I should feel disappointed. I had a chance to win a major. I was in a really good position. I just made a few too many mistakes today when I didn't need to. 

"But we'll look back on this in an hour and I'll be very happy with what I did this week.

"I did a lot of great things that I can take on to the next few years of majors and hopefully one of these will be my time to step through the door and hold one of them."

Xander Schauffele said his earlier victory at the PGA Championship gave him a sense of calm as he claimed his second major triumph at The Open on Sunday.

Schauffele shot a sensational six-under 65 in the fourth round to come out on top at Royal Troon, beating overnight leader Billy Horschel and Justin Rose by two shots.

The world number three played a brilliant back nine to streak clear of his rivals, birdying the 14th and 16th holes before an excellent shot onto the green on the 17th all but sealed his win.

Speaking to Sky Sports after claiming the Claret Jug, Schauffele said his earlier victory at Valhalla took any nerves out of the occasion.

"I thought that would help me and it actually did," he said. "I had this sense of calm, a calm I didn't have when I played earlier at the PGA.

"For some reason, I was calm and collected. I was telling my caddie Austin that I felt pretty calm coming down the stretch and he said he was about to puke on the 18th tee!

"I told myself to just hit it down there and keep moving along.

"I played that back nine yesterday in really bad weather so I just told myself today is technically easier so go out and get it.

"To have two [major wins] is unbelievable. It took me so long to get one and it gets in your head a little bit, and now I'm just spoiling myself."

The last seven majors have now been won by American players, the longest streak of major victories by Americans since 1982.

While Schauffele won two of four majors this year, Brooks Koepka (2023 PGA), Wyndham Clark (2023 US Open), Brian Harman (2023 Open), Scottie Scheffler (2024 Masters) and Bryson DeChambeau (2024 US Open) have also triumphed in that span.

Xander Schauffele came from nowhere with a brilliant six-under 65 to triumph at The Open, following up his victory at the PGA Championship in May.

Schauffele began Sunday's fourth round as one of six players at three under, one stroke back of overnight leader Billy Horschel in the hunt for the Claret Jug.

But the world number three managed six birdies to beat Horschel and Justin Rose by two shots at Royal Troon, making it the seventh straight major to be won by an American.

Back-to-back birdies at holes six and seven put Schauffele in contention, but it was over the back nine where he really stepped things up to pull clear of his rivals.

He took the outright lead on the 13th, sinking a difficult 13-foot birdie putt as playing partner Rose and fellow contender Thriston Lawrence both dropped a shot.

As was the case at Valhalla in May, Schauffele proved an excellent pace-setter, birdying again on the 14th and the 16th then holding his nerve at the death, finding the heart of the green with ease on the penultimate hole to all but seal the deal.

While Rose shot four under and Horschel three under to share second place, Lawrence was one stroke further back at six under for the week, and Russell Henley finished five under after a bogey-free final round of 69.

Shane Lowry, who had led at the start of the weekend but carded a miserable six over on Saturday, rebounded somewhat with a score of 68 to finish sixth.

Lowry said of victor Schauffele: "You need to hole everything on a day like today, especially to beat someone like Xander, who's in the form he's in.

"It looked like he was running away with it again. He did that on me at the PGA, and he's done it again today.

"He just doesn't really hit many bad shots, does he? I went there two back at the PGA, and I felt like I shot a decent score, and I wasn't anywhere near him. He's obviously good when he's out in front."

Jon Rahm joined Scottie Scheffler and Sung-Jae Im as the only other players with a negative score at one under, having briefly threatened a push for the title with three straight birdies to open his final round before tailing off.

Keegan Bradley's appointment as the USA captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup was "surprising", says Xander Schauffele, but he is confident he is up to the task.

The PGA of America confirmed the decision on Monday after Tiger Woods decided against leading the team in New York.

Bradley was left out of the team for last year's 16.5-11.5 defeat to Team Europe in Italy, and emerged as a late contender before the announcement.

The move took many by surprise, with two-time Ryder Cup player Xander Schauffele admitting he was also expecting Woods to be named Zach Johnson's successor.

"Yeah, it's surprising," he said during a press conference ahead of The Open Championship.

"You typically expect someone that's a little bit older to get selected as a captain. I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it.

"He obviously has a lot on his plate. Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw.

"I haven't talked to him or seen him yet, but I'm sure he's over the moon and is going to do a great job.

"He's a very passionate individual. On the course, he's intense, that's just how he competes and how he is.

"As a captain, he's going to have a mixed bag, and he's not going to be afraid to hold a speech with the guys and get everyone going."

Xander Schauffele believes Rory McIlroy is under tougher scrutiny when he loses and empathises with his need to take time off from the sport.

McIlroy came within touching distance of winning the US Open on Sunday but disappointingly fell short as Bryson DeChambeau claimed the title by a single shot in North Carolina.

The Northern Irishman bogeyed three of the last four holes in the last round at Pinehurst, including a woeful miss from a short putting distance on the 18th allowing DeChambeau to take the win.

McIlroy, a four-time major winner, has not won one of golf's top events since 2014 at the PGA Championship and announced on Sunday in a post on social media that he would be taking a few weeks away from the game following the event.

Schauffele, who was grouped with McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler for the US Open, understands why the 35-year-old has chosen to take a break.

"As a competitor, all of us have had our highs and lows to a certain degree. It's a tough spot.

"I'm sure him and his team are discussing what happened, and sometimes you just need to step away from it all and really try and be as objective as possible, because you're very much in the moment there and it obviously didn't go his way.

"He needs some time away to figure out what's going on."

The American won his first major in May, beating DeChambeau to the PGA Championship title at Valhalla, finally ending his reputation for struggling to close on final-round leads.

"It's different for everyone. It's hard for me to compare my losses to his losses," Schauffele added. "I would say his, he's under a bit more of a microscope.

"When things are going really well, people are all over him, and unfortunately, when things don't go your way, people are all over him.

"So, there's a microscope on him on why he didn't win and things of that nature, and he's going to have to answer those questions at some point, and he will, because he always does.

"I wear them pretty hard, but sometimes it's nice to just get back on the horse and compete."

McIlroy will return in time for The Open Championship in July, where he will look to end his decade-long major drought.

The third major of the year is upon us, and one man in particular will be hoping it goes more smoothly than the second.

World number one Scottie Scheffler saw his bid for a first PGA Championship crown unravel at Valhalla Golf Course, with Xander Schauffele ultimately edging out Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland for his first major crown.

Many expect the duo – currently the top two in golf's world rankings – to battle it out for glory on Course No. 2 at Pinehurst Resort this week, as the U.S. Open heads back to North Carolina. 

Rory McIlroy could have something to say about that, with last year's second-place finish at the U.S. Open the closest he has come to ending his decade-long major drought.

Ahead of the 124th edition of the tournament, which features the largest purse of any major at $20million, we run through the likely contenders, the storylines to keep an eye on and what to expect from the course.

The course

Pinehurst No. 2 is hosting the U.S. Open for the fourth time, having previously been used for the 1999, 2005 and 2014 editions. 

Since it first welcomed the event, the course has been home to the tournament more times than any other venue.

The course, which was renovated in 2011, is known for rewarding putting accuracy over driving excellence, and it has not always favoured home players in the past.

While Pinehurst No. 2's first staging of the U.S. Open produced a United States-born victor in Payne Stewart, New Zealand's Michael Campbell triumphed in 2005 and Germany's Martin Kaymer won by eight strokes in 2014. 

That was the second-largest margin of victory recorded at the U.S. Open since the World War II after Tiger Woods triumphed by 15 shots at Pebble Beach in 2000.

Expect four gruelling days. Indeed, across the previous four editions of the U.S. Open to be played at Pinehurst No. 2, only Kaymer in 2014 (-9) finished with a score better than one under par for the week.

The contenders 

Fresh off the back of his first major success, Schauffele will expect to be in the running again. He is one of four players to finish inside the top 10 at both of this year's majors to date, having ranked eighth at the Masters. The others to do so are Scheffler, DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa.

Five players have previous won both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in the same year – Gene Sarazen (1922), Ben Hogan (1948), Jack Nicklaus (1980), Woods (2000) and Brooks Koepka (2018).

The clear favourite once again, though, is Scheffler. 

He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer after attempting to pass an incident outside Valhalla ahead of his second round last month.

He finished the tournament in a share of eighth – an admirable effort, given the disruption – and saw his charges dismissed just 12 days after his arrest.

The incident has not done much to affect his form. Scheffler claimed his fifth title of the year at the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament last week, becoming just the second player – alongside Woods – to win the Players Championship, Masters and Memorial in the same year.

He has won five of his eight tournaments on the PGA Tour since March, finishing T2 twice and T8 once in the other three. 

Reflecting on the way he responded to his arrest at Valhalla, Scheffler said: "I call it compartmentalising parts of my life.

"So I have my off-course life and then I have my on-course life, when I'm out here practicing and playing tournaments. I don't show up to these tournaments just to play. I'm here to do my best and compete."

Besides Scheffler and Schauffele, McIlroy will be hoping to go one better after finishing one stroke behind champion Wyndham Clark at last year's U.S. Open.

Having fallen short at the year's first two majors, the Northern Irishman hopes the firm conditions expected in North Carolina will play into his hands. 

"After the Open Championship in 2019 I'd had a disappointing run in the majors, and I tried to change my mindset," he told The Telegraph.

"Since then I've come to love it when it is fast and firm. If you look at my results in the U.S. Open and some of the toughest tests from 2019 until now, I would say the U.S. Open has arguably been my best major in the last few years."

Morikawa should also be there or thereabouts, having been narrowly edged out by Scheffler on his most recent outing at the Memorial.

Alongside Ludvig Aberg, he has the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year without a victory (six). Might his luck turn this week?

The legends

The U.S. Open will also feature a couple of players attempting to recapture past glories, with Woods the one most fans are looking forward to seeing.

He missed the cut at the PGA Championship after carding scores of 72 and 77, subsequently admitting improvements are needed in all areas if he is to fare better on his first U.S. Open appearance since 2020.

"I need to clean up my rounds," Woods said after the PGA Championship. "Physically, yes, I am better than I was a month ago.

"I still have more ways to go, lots of improvement to do physically, and hopefully my team and I can get that done pre-Pinehurst."

Only four players – Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Hogan and Nicklaus (four apiece) – have bettered Woods' three U.S. Open triumphs, and his most recent victory at the event was the last to be decided by a playoff, seeing off Rocco Mediate in 2008.

While Woods has enjoyed plenty of success at the U.S. Open, the same cannot be said for Phil Mickelson.

It is the only major he has not won in his 32 attempts, 30 as a professional and two as an amateur, and his six second-place finishes at the U.S. Open are more than any other player.

The first of those came 25 years ago, at Pinehurst No. 2.

The history 

For all the big names on show, the U.S. Open does have a tendency to throw up surprise victors.

Indeed, since Woods triumphed at Torrey Pines in 2018, 12 of the next 15 U.S. Opens have produced a first-time major champion. That includes the last five editions, with Gary Woodland, DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick triumphing before Clark.

Clark could become just the fourth player since World War II to retain the U.S. Open title, after Hogan (1950 and 1951), Curtis Strange (1988 and 1989) and Koepka (2017 and 2018). 

Last year's victory at Los Angeles Country Club remains his only top-30 finish at a major – he missed the cut at this year's Masters and PGA Championship.

The U.S. Open was formerly known as a real test of endurance, but things have changed somewhat in recent years.

From 2005 to 2013, six of nine editions produced an even/over-par winning score, but nine of the last 10 have been won with an under-par score, the exception being Koepka's 2018 victory at Shinnecock Hills (+1).

What kind of score will be required this time out? If Scheffler maintains his outstanding form, he will take some beating. 

Scottie Scheffler is unsure whether his arrest on Friday was a factor after a disappointing Saturday led to him finishing tied for eighth at a "hectic" PGA Championship.

On Friday, world number one Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead of his second round.

It subsequently emerged that he faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.

Scheffler shot a five-under 66 in the delayed second round, one stroke better than his first round, but a two-over 73 on Saturday all but ended his hopes of back-to-back major wins.

Xander Schauffele ultimately claimed his first major title at 21 under, eight shots ahead of Scheffler.

Speaking after Sunday's final round, in which a run of seven birdies in 10 holes helped him card a 65, Scheffler said he was proud of the way he finished the event. 

"I think 'hectic' would probably be a good description," Scheffler said. "I'm fairly tired, definitely a lot more tired than I have been finishing some other tournaments.

"I'm proud of today how we went out there and fought. I got off to a slow start and I was able to get some momentum and post a good round.

"Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but overall proud of how I fought this week. Was fortunate to be out here competing, doing what I love."

Asked whether his arrest had an impact on his performance, Scheffler said: "It's hard to tell. I think I would attribute it mostly to a bad day. 

"I think when you come out here to compete, you're doing what you can throughout the course of the round to post a score and I wasn't able to get that done yesterday.

"Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up the way it usually is and the distractions the way they normally are? Absolutely not. 

"I got arrested Friday morning and I showed up here and played a good round of golf. So I've been good throughout my career at leaving the off-course distractions at home and keeping a pretty quiet personal life.

"I'm not going to sit here and say that I played poorly yesterday because of what happened on Friday. I just had a bad day out on the course and was proud of how I came out here and bounced back today."

Xander Schauffele says that he captured the moment during his PGA Championship win after handling the big moments better than he had in the past.

Schauffele won his maiden major victory with a dramatic one-shot win at Valhalla, Kentucky on Sunday, making history as he finished 21 under, the lowest 72-hole score in men’s major history.

He held off late challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland to secure the Wanamaker Trophy after carding a 65 on the final day.

"It feels amazing," Schauffele told reporters after his win.

"Winning, I said it earlier, is a result. This is awesome, it's super sweet, but when I break it down, I'm really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today, different from the past."

"I was pretty nervous. I don't really remember it [the birdie putt] lipping in, I just heard everyone roaring and I looked up to the sky in relief.

"I really did not want to go into a play-off with Bryson. Going up 18 with his length, it's not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with.

"I was able to capture that moment there... I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that."

Despite lifting the trophy, Schauffele believes that he still has work to do to reach Scottie Scheffler.

The world number one had a turbulent week, which saw him arrested ahead of the second round on Friday, and he finished joint-eighth.

"All of us are climbing this massive mountain and at the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler," Schauffele added. "I won this today, but I'm still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things.

"I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing. I might have a beer up there on that side of the hill there and enjoy this, but it's not that hard to chase when someone is so far ahead of you."