Thomas Detry, a 31-year-old golfer from Brussels, has ranked joint-second following the second day of the US Open Golf, one of the world's major golf championships.
Detry made significant gains on the leaderboard as he completed his second round in 67 strokes, climbing seven places in the competition held in Pinehurst, North Carolina. His success was in large part due to his exceptional putting, and in his own words, his more relaxed playing style.
"This was something I really didn’t think was possible," Detry said, evidently satisfied with his performance. "I played mainly strategic, high golf today." Only 15 players managed to score under par in the long and arduous Pinehurst N° 2 golf course.
Beginning the second circuit, Detry was successful at the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth holes, securing three birdies. That means he hit one stroke under par for that hole.
He faltered on the fourteenth hole but maintained par in the following four holes, achieving three more birdies at the first, third and fifth holes. His round ended with a bogey – meaning he hit the hole with one stroke over the par listed for the hole – on the long par-3 sixth hole and another error made on the eighth hole.
The round of 67 strokes, three under par, resulted in the second-best round of the day. Detry is one stroke behind Swedish leader Ludvig Åberg, sharing second place with Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay.
Impressively, the Belgian golfer had already achieved fourth place at the PGA Championship last month. "That was a fantastic result," Detry commented. "I’ve proven that I have what it takes to compete with the world’s best players."
Former champions Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson were forced to pack up early. World number one Scottie Scheffler settled for a round of 74 and a 57th-place finish, scraping through to make the cut.
