PINEHURST, N.C. – The U.S. Open can send a player toward a breaking point, especially at a vexing venue like Pinehurst No. 2.

Friday morning, it pushed Scottie Scheffler to chirp himself. After tugging his tee shot into a left greenside bunker on his eighth hole Friday, the par-3 17th, Scheffler let himself have it.

“Maybe the worst golf shot I’ve ever seen you hit,” Scheffler told himself, with the audio captured on a hot mic.

It was a rough day for the world No. 1, who failed to make a birdie (for the first time on TOUR since 2022) in a second-round 74 that meant an anxious afternoon on the cut line. He ultimately finished on the number at 5-over to maintain his chance at the U.S. Open title, although he’ll have an uphill battle from 10 shots back of 36-hole leader Ludvig Åberg.

It's a chance, though, as the 74 players who made the cut at Pinehurst No. 2 will chase one of golf’s ultimate prizes this weekend in the Carolina Sandhills – a major championship victory. Not only will they battle the course, but they’ll also battle themselves – a struggle of which Scheffler provided a window via an off-the-cuff quip, probably sarcastic, amidst the Friday grind.

Be nice to yourself.

It’s a universal ideal, in golf and life, but it’s easier said than done. Nowhere in golf is it more difficult than at the U.S. Open, specifically this U.S. Open, where pars are precious and finicky conditions can allow emotions to fester. The wiregrass at Pinehurst No. 2 means unpredictable lies that can encourage aggressive plays – but also cause the clubface to twist and send an approach veering sideways. Donald Ross’ turtleback greens can create a game of ping-pong – like Scheffler at the par-5 fifth hole Friday, leading to a double bogey that nearly led to his first missed cut in 22 months (he grinded out four straight closing pars to ultimately make the cut on the number). Or Patrick Cantlay, who was just beyond the green in two at the par-4 eighth Friday and hit his third back across the green en route to double bogey. Cantlay, seemingly emotionless on the course (whether true or not), remained calm with a back-nine 35 to enter the weekend one off the lead.

Bad things can and will happen at Pinehurst No. 2, and the instinctive frustration is inevitable. This weekend’s contenders will need to handle those emotions with an even keel. The winner will likely be someone who stays nice to himself, who doesn’t allow the inevitable bogeys (maybe double bogeys) to snowball into a lapse of focus.

“Just trying to be 100 percent committed to the shots and 100 percent committed to having a good attitude,” said Rory McIlroy earlier this week.

McIlroy trails by two into the weekend, with yet another chance at snapping a well-documented 10-year winless drought in major championships.

“I think with my demeanor, just trying to be super stoic," he added. "Just trying to be as even-keeled as I possibly can be. I really feel like that's the thing that has served me well in these U.S. Opens over these past few years.”

McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last five U.S. Opens – the only player with such a streak. He’s a veteran of this tournament and has learned to embrace patience rather than resist it.

McIlroy’s sentiments were echoed by U.S. Open first-timer Tim Widing, a two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner this season who earned his spot at Pinehurst No. 2 via Final Qualifying (he's also a former high school teammate of 36-hole leader Åberg). Widing enters the weekend at 1-under, just four back of his fellow Swede and with a puncher’s chance at becoming this year’s Jason Gore – who played in Sunday’s final group of the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst as a Korn Ferry Tour member.

Patience doesn’t come naturally to Widing, he admitted Friday, but he knows it’s important around this place. It came in handy at the par-5 10th Friday, when his tee shot found the wiregrass right of the fairway and he could only advance his second shot 24 feet, en route to a bogey six. He made a slight mistake off the tee that was penalized, but rather than letting it snowball, he looked at some key words written in his yardage book – one is “acceptance” – and played his last eight holes bogey-free, going 1-under to remain in the top 10 on the leaderboard.

“I didn’t see the bush, and there was a mound in front of me, and it hit that mound and came straight back into a bush,” said Widing of his second shot on the 10th hole Friday, which epitomized the Pinehurst challenge. “I feel like that hole was key for me today, making that six; I had to struggle to make six on that hole, but I still kept patient and believing in myself, and that’s the most important thing on this course. You’re going to have bad breaks when you hit good golf shots and vice versa, so just accept whatever lie you have and take it from there.

“Even if my head is spinning, like it is this week, really make sure I’m just looking at that target and just trying to react.”

Cut yourself some slack at Pinehurst, a future Hall of Famer and a U.S. Open first-timer both agree. The course, after all, likely won’t extend the same favor.