There are just three players under par at the halfway stage at Oakmont, with Sam Burns setting the pace after a stunning round of 65 on Friday.
He holds a one-shot lead heading into Saturday’s action over JJ Spaun, and Viktor Hovland is just a shot further back.
World number one Scheffler was the big pre-tournament favourite but he has cut a frustrated figure this week and had a long range session after his round on Friday.
He sits at four-over par, seven shots off the lead, alongside the likes of Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa.
Rory McIlroy is two shots further back and will play with Xander Schauffele this afternoon. The pair must go out early and shoot something in the 60s if they are to stay within touch heading into the final 18 holes.
US Open third-round tee times
(Saturday, June 14 – all times BST)
2:12pm: Philip Barbaree Jr
2:23pm: Cam Davis and Brian Harman
2:34pm: Matt Fitzpatrick and Andrew Novak
2:45pm: Harris English and Hideki Matsuyama
2:56pm: James Nicholas and Laurie Canter
3:07pm: Ryan McCormick and Patrick Reed
3:18pm: Ryan Gerard and Niklas Norgaard
3:34pm: Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele
3:45pm: Jordan Smith and Justin Hastings (a)
3:56pm: Tony Finau and Marc Leishman
4:07pm: Michael Kim and Corey Conners
4:18pm: J.T. Poston and Matt Wallace]
4:29pm: Chris Gotterup and Johnny Keefer
4:40pm: Maverick McNealy and Tom Kim
4:56pm: Mackenzie Hughes and Matthieu Pavon
5:07pm: Sungjae Im and Jordan Spieth
5:18pm: Ryan Fox and Robert MacIntyre
5:29pm: Taylor Pendrith and Trevor Cone
5:40pm: Rasmus Hojgaard and Aaron Rai
5:51pm: Daniel Berger and Jhonattan Vegas
6:02pm: Cameron Young and Scottie Scheffler
6:18pm: Collin Morikawa and Denny McCarthy
6:29pm: Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor
6:40pm: Sam Stevens and Keegan Bradley
6:51pm: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Carlos Ortiz
7:02pm: Chris Kirk and Jason Day
7:13pm: Tyrrell Hatton and Christiaan Bezuidenhout
7:24pm: Adam Schenk and Max Greyserman
7:40pm: Emiliano Grillo and Thomas Detry
7:51pm: Si Woo Kim and Brooks Koepka
8:02pm: Russell Henley and Thriston Lawrence
8:13pm: Victor Perez and Ben Griffin
8:24pm: Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland
8:35pm: J.J. Spaun and Sam Burns
