Pinehurst No. 2 and US Open turn world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler into an also-ran

His round completed, the golfer somewhat wearlily leaned over outside the clubhouse, his arms extended and gripping a fence for support.

Scottie Scheffler was done for the day after a third-round 71 Saturday in the U.S. Open. He was trying to put into words the experience and challenge of competing for a major championship in a cauldron of pressure on Pinehurst No. 2.

“I think the game of golf is a mental torture chamber at times, especially in the U.S. Open,” Scheffler said.

Torture chamber? This from the No. 1 ranked player in the world?

Scheffler has been on a run that only someone like TIger Woods can fully appreciate. If there has been a golf tournament, and Scheffler has been interested in playing in it, he has been the betting favorite — that good.

But not this week, at the U.S. Open. The Masters champion had an opening-round 71, but his 74 on Friday left him 10 shots behind the leader, Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, and he didn’t close the gap Saturday with another over-par round.

“Another frustrating day,” Scheffler said. “It was another day where I played better than my score. I’ve had a lot of trouble reading these greens. I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good and I looked up and they were not going the way I thought they were going to go.

“My swing today felt better than it did yesterday. I felt like the last 27 holes I’ve played, I’ve hit it really nice and I just haven’t been able to hit it close enough or or hole enough putts to shoot low.”

Scheffler said the pin positions Saturday at No. 2 were “tricky.” On another hot day, the greens will only get firmer, he said. Miss a fairway, he said, and it will be tough holding the greens without spin on the ball.

Is the golf course “borderline,” Scheffler was asked — on the brink of possibly turning unfair?

Scheffler wouldn’t go there.

“Borderline is such a trigger word,” he said. “No matter what, I think you have to have a pretty good understanding of where you’re trying to hit the ball. And it’s when you not hitting the ball in the places where you should hit the ball, is when things get tricky.”

In other words, hit it in the right spots or pay the price. It’s always been that way on No 2, U.S. Open or no.

Scheffler mentioned the par-5 fifth hole, where he took double-bogey in the second round after hitting a shot into a waste area.

“You can blame luck or whatever, but I knew not to hit the ball down there,” he said.

At the 15th hole Friday, his frustration showed when he missed an 18-foot par putt, giving his putter a big fling into the air.

Scheffler called his play this week “pretty mediocre” and said he might have to reassess how he sets up his schedule, in some cases. He won the Memorial Tournament last week — it’s hard to turn down founder and host Jack Nicklaus — for his fifth victory of the year but arrived in Pinehurst, he said, fighting a bit of fatigue.

“I’ve thought about it and I know that in terms of prep week for a tournament I know is going to be as tough as this, I’m leaning going forward to not playing the week before,” he said. “Especially going around Jack’s place (Memorial), which can be pretty close to a U.S. Open setup”

At the Masters, Scheffler took the week off before it and won at Augusta. This week has been more of a slog.

The analytics suggest it has been about his putting. While making the 36-hole cut “on the number” — 5 over par 145 — Scheffler was last in the field in strokes gained putting among those players who survived the cut.

After 54 holes, Scheffler has had four birdies. He has eight bogeys and the double at the fifth.

It has been some year for Scheffler. He has all the wins and piled up some serious winnings, as befits No. 1. He and his wife celebrated the birth of their first child, son Bennett.

And, yes, there was the debacle during the PGA Championship with the Louisville police that had him spending a little time at the Louisville jail.

This week, it has been golf in the mental torture chamber at Pinehurst.

Scheffler smiled Saturday when asked how he would plan the rest of his US. Open stay.

“Hit the gym, hang out with the little man and my wife,” he said. “I’ll show up ready to play.”