Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy close to setting up dream weekend at Torrey Pines

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are both contending, which should set up a fun weekend at the Genesis Invitational.

LA JOLLA, Calif. — Nothing would please CBS Sports executives and PGA Tour brass more than a final group featuring Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the two best players in the world. Golf fans would love it too.

That dream almost became a reality on Saturday at Torrey Pines as Scheffler and McIlroy made moves up the leaderboard during Friday’s second round.

But Scheffler, who is in solo second at 7-under, will go off in the final group alongside Davis Thompson, the 36-hole leader who is 8-under overall. Thompson fired a 6-under 66 on Friday, matching the lowest round of the day. Ludvig Åberg also fired a 66, while Scheffler could only muster a 5-under 67.

McIlroy, meanwhile, is in solo fourth at 5-under. The Northern Irishman, like Scheffler, shot a 67 on Friday. He will play alongside Denny McCarthy, who birdied the par-5 9th hole on Friday to get to 6-under for the championship.

“I hit a lot of really good shots, I played well for the most part, I scrambled well,” McIlroy said of his second round.

“I just didn’t take advantage of the par 5s; I only made one birdie on 9, hit it in the fairway on 6 and didn’t make birdie, and then I didn’t birdie the two par 5s on the back nine. Look, I made up for it in other places, which was nice, but I know going into the weekend, I’m going to have to play the par 5s better.”

If McIlroy can capitalize on the par 5s on Saturday, he should be in the final group on Sunday. McIlroy is playing well, just as he did when he won at Pebble Beach, even though he has birdied only three of the eight par-5s so far this week.

Scheffler, on the other hand, hopes to straighten out his driver over the weekend. He missed nine fairways for the second straight day on Friday. Yet he has made only two bogies, a testament to his incredible iron play and short game.

“I’m pretty satisfied with how I scored today,” Scheffler said.

“I did not drive the ball as well as I would have hoped to, I felt like I was out of position a lot today, but did a good job of muscling some shots up there on the green and getting up and down when I needed to as well.”

The highlight of Scheffler’s day came on the par-5 6th hole, where he holed out from the bunker for an eagle three. That shot leapfrogged him to 7-under for the championship and into a share of the lead, a position where he has found himself all too often.

“That was a good example of missing on the correct side,” Scheffler said of his shot on the 6th.

“I hit two really good shots to get there, and so I hit a nice bunker shot there; I was fortunate to see the ball go in.”

Just as Scheffler was fortunate to see his ball trickle in for an eagle, golf fans would be lucky to see him and McIlroy play together in the final pairing on Sunday. Both players have some work to do on Saturday to make that happen, but if they can, the entire golfing world will be in for a treat at Torrey Pines, a U.S. Open course that tests the world’s best and brings out only the finest.

Scheffler and McIlroy going head-to-head at Torrey? Everyone would sign up for that appointment viewing. Hopefully, it happens.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.