Scottie Scheffler (+5) is expecting to miss the cut at the U.S. Open after carding a 4-over 74 on Friday — his second straight over-par round at Pinehurst No. 2.

Scheffler last missed a cut on the PGA Tour at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, nearly two full years ago. His last missed cut at a major came at the 2022 PGA Championship.

The essential qualities that make Scheffler the best golfer in the world — poise and ball striking — largely abandoned him in North Carolina. In Round 1, Scheffler — playing alongside Xander Schauffele and a sterling Rory McIlroy — missed eight of 14 fairways en route to a 1-over 71.

Teeing off with the early wave on Friday, Scheffler failed to register a birdie in his round for the first time since the final round of the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge. Beginning on the back nine, Scheffler bogeyed the par-3 15th, flipping his mallet in the air after missing the putt. He followed it up with a bogey on No. 17.

“The golf course is challenging,” Scheffler said. “I think personally it's fun to play. But, yeah, it was definitely a grind.”

After a string of pars, a double-bogey at the par-4 fifth placed him below the projected cut line. Scheffler's drive landed on the fairway, but he quickly fell victim to the unforgiving greens of Pinehurst No. 2. Scheffler's approach rolled off the green into the native sandy areas full of wiregrass. His chip did not get all the way up, instead rolling back towards his caddie, Ted Scott. Scheffler overcompensated on his fourth shot, chipping his golf ball onto the far side of the turtleback green.

“I think that's part of the mystery of the kind of sandy areas,” Scheffler explained about hole No. 5. “You get down there and it's kind of luck of the draw whether or not you have a shot. Preferably I would have loved to have hit like a little runner out of there, but I had a bush in my way to where I couldn't play the runner that I would have hoped to. Really all you're trying to do from there is get it up on to the green somewhere, and I felt like I took the best route I could think of at first, and just because it's so unpredictable.

“Just pretty challenging spot for your ball to end up in.”

Scheffler was more accurate off the tee on Friday (11 of 14 fairways), but he lost over three strokes on the field with his putter and more than a stroke with his short game, per the U.S. Open's data.

“I felt like especially the back nine today I actually hit it really well,” he added. “I just couldn't get a putt to fall early. Then I had that unfortunate deal on No. 5 which probably on any other golf course if I hit those two shots, driver, 3-wood into a green on a par-5 and probably have a pretty good look at birdie, I'm not going to have walking off with a 7.”

Heading into the week, Scheffler had played only 21 holes all season in which he was over-par for the event, per the PGA Tour. He had never experienced a birdie-free round at a major, per the Athletic.

Scheffler has won five of his last eight PGA Tour starts, including the Memorial last week and the Masters in April. He's earned over $24 million in prize money this year, and leads all golfers in Strokes Gained: Total, Stokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and scoring average.

The top 60 players and ties out of the 156-person field will make the 36-hole cut at Pinehurst No. 2. When Scheffler turned in his scorecard, 4-over was the projected cut line, per DataGolf.

“I don't think 5-over is going to get me into the weekend. But I'm proud of how I fought today,” said Scheffler.