Key events
Nothing’s quite going right for Brooks Koepka today. Bogeys at 1 and 3; now he powers through the line of an eight-foot birdie opportunity at 7. He remains at +4.
Two putts for both JJ Spaun and Sam Burns. Bogey and par respectively, and the leaders are slowly dropping back towards the pack. A lot of players within striking distance, especially if these two falter this afternoon. Scottie Scheffler is +4 overall through 14, just saying.
-2: Burns (3), Spaun (3)
E: Lawrence (5), B Griffin (4)
+1: Ortiz (10), Scott (3), Hovland (3)
Spaun swishes out of the thick, wet rough at 3 and makes the green … but only just, and he’s faced with a 40-foot putt for his par. Bogey the most realistic scenario here. That’s the fate that befell Viktor Hovland moments earlier – he slips to +1 – but it’s birdie for Ben Griffin at 4, and the man from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, returns to level par.
A bit of bother for the leader JJ Spaun, whose drive at 3 nearly finds the Church Pews down the left of the fairway. The ball would have been better dropping in, because it sticks on the bank to the side, and Spaun has to grip down and lash at it, sitting awkwardly above his feet. He swings, and yanks the ball into further trouble down the left of the hole. Sam Burns, by comparison, hit a tee shot so wild it flew over the Church Pews and onto the 4th fairway … from where he sends his 6-iron pin high. He’s taken advantage of a great break there.
Scottie Scheffler birdies 12, then has a run at a long uphill putt on 13. One more turn, and it would have dropped, but the greens are just that little bit slower due to the burst of rain … which has suddenly stopped, and now the sun’s come out again.
Spoke too soon. The rain’s getting heavier. It’s heavy. No sign of any electrical activity at the moment, though, so silver linings.
It’s started to rain at Oakmont. Nothing too heavy. Yet. But it’s worth putting the umbrellas up.
Sam Burns sends his tee shot into a fairway bunker, from which he’s forced to splash out in the medicine-taking style. That leads to an inevitable bogey. His playing partner JJ Spaun gets up and down from the fringe, and having started the day one behind, he’s already moved one in front. Birdie for Thriston Lawrence at 4 meanwhile, last year’s Open nearly man refusing to go away, despite yesterday’s crash from the heights of -6.
-3: Spaun (2)
-2: Burns (2)
E: Lawrence (4), Hovland (2)
Another birdie for Jordan Spieth, at 12, and the 2015 champion is right in this … that is until he reaches the 15th green. Four putts from 40 feet, the last three from four-and-a-half, and that’s a triple-bogey seven. He’s +6 and it was fun while it lasted. And there are putting woes for Bob MacIntyre as well; he shoves a three-footer straight right of the cup on 15 and looks properly funky as a result. It’s his second dropped shot in three holes, and much of his good work today is undone in short order. He’s +3.
Jason Day is this close to a hole-in-one at the 253-yard par-three 8th. His long iron gently fades into the green, landing six feet in front of the pin. It takes one soft bounce, then a couple of very soft ones, and looks for all the world like it’s rolling into the hole. But it shaves the left-hand lip. The popular Aussie holds his head in disbelief. Half an inch to the right, if that, and that was in. Still, he’ll rise to +4 when he taps in for his birdie.
The last match is out, and both JJ Spaun and the leader Sam Burns make it to the green in regulation. Burns isn’t particularly close, and two putts later that’s a par. But Spaun plays the hole pretty much perfectly. Drive down the middle, approach to 15 feet, putt into the middle of the cup. They’re tied at the top! Meanwhile Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen’s birdie run ends at four, but he so nearly kept it going with a fifth, a 30-foot putt shaving the hole on 8.
-3: Spaun (1), Burns (1)
E: Hovland (1)
+1: Stevens (8), Neergaard-Petersen (8), Ortiz (8), Lawrence (3), B Griffin (2), Scott (1)
+2: MacIntyre (14), Hatton (6), Grillo (4), Henley (3), Perez (2)
A three-putt bogey for Ben Griffin on 2. He drops to +1. Belated news of another dropped shot for Scottie Scheffler, at 9; the big man turned in 36 and is currently +5 through 12. And birdies for Tyrrell Hatton and Emiliano Grillo at 4; they’re both +2.
Viktor Hovland lags his 44-foot putt to four, and polishes off what’s left for bogey. He’ll be pretty happy with that result given the lunacy of his opening drive and subsequent horticultural antics. His playing partner Adam Scott won’t be too pleased with his bogey, though, effectively a three-putt from the fringe, though officially from off the green it only counts as a two-putt. The first two strokes unbelievably timid and short, whichever way one spins it. Hovland is level par, Scott +1.
While all that nonsense was unfolding, there’s been some birdie action elsewhere. Jon Rahm cracks his tee shot at 8 to 23 feet and makes the swinging birdie putt; he’s just hit the turn in 34 strokes. He’s +3. Meanwhile it’s four birdies in a row for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, the latest at 7. He’s +1.
… but the problem with that is, his nearest point of relief from the path is back where he came from, ie the bush. So he’ll hit it off the path. Or more accurately, from a muddy tyre track in which his drop has landed. What a situation in which to find yourself, a couple of minutes into your round at the US Open! But Hovland is made of the right stuff. He keeps calm, and clips an iron from the tyre track, through a couple of trees, and onto the front of the green! That’s quite something. He’s 44 feet away, but with a chance of taking two putts and limiting the damage to bogey. He won’t feel too bad about himself if he makes that!
Hovland’s found his ball in the bush. And it’s in bounds. So he’s able to take an unplayable. Only problem is, he can’t reach his ball, so embedded is it in the bush. He’s allowed to use a new ball, having checked with the referee, but measuring two club lengths from where the unreachable ball lies is a bit of a puzzle. They’ll get there. And then he’ll drop, and get relief from the path. Again, more when we know what’s what.
A horrific start to Viktor Hovland’s round. He carves a wild opening drive way right, over the trees that line the hole, onto the cart path, and into the bushes. That might be out of bounds. It might not. He might get a drop. He might not. He plays a provisional, which goes fine, as the reload nearly always does. You know the drill: why couldn’t I do that 30 seconds ago, etc., and so on, and so forth. More when we know what’s what.
Ach, make that +2. MacIntyre misses the par-three 13th green, and can’t get up and down from the rough. He was blemish-free up until that point.
Scotland hasn’t produced a winner of the US Open since 1925, when Willie Macfarlane beat the famous Bobby Jones in a play-off. What odds Bob MacIntyre celebrating the centenary in style? He’s in with a shout all right, with birdies at 2 and 6 already in his pocket. Now he finds the green on the par-five 12th with two big blows and two putts later he’s made his third birdie of the day. He’s +1.
Three birdies in a row for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen! The latest made on the par-three 6th with a huge right-to-left curler from 37 feet that travels on the outside of his playing partner Carlos Ortiz’s marker before kinking back and dropping. Ortiz then tidies up for a birdie of his own. Neergaard-Petersen, who has rebounded wonderfully after bogeys at 1 and 3, is +2; Ortiz +1.
Marc Leishman’s good round threatened to get away from him over the closing stretch. Bogeys at 14, 15 and 16. But the 41-year-old Aussie birdied 17, and finished with par for a highly decent 68. He’s the very early clubhouse leader at +4.
Tell you what, Jordan Spieth isn’t done yet. A slow start for the 2015 champion today with bogey at 2, but he’s bounced back with birdies at 7, 9 and 12, and rises to +3. A strong finish this afternoon, and if his driver is on good behaviour tomorrow, you never know, because that magical short game and his penchant for absurd feats of escapology could prove priceless around Oakmont.
Birdie for Thomas Detry at 2, reward for wedging from 85 yards to ten feet. The Belgian moves to +1, and might be best served staying in the peloton for as long as possible, because when he hit the front yesterday evening, he immediately made three double bogeys in four holes. That’s not cost him his chance of winning yet, though. He’s +1.
-3: Burns
-2: Spaun
-1: Hovland
E: Scott, B Griffin
+1: Stevens (6), Detry (2), Perez, Lawrence
+2: MacIntyre (11), Ortiz (5), S Kim (1), Henley
A timid start on the greens for Brooks Koepka. He leaves a 50-foot putt ten feet short, then leaves his attempt to save par shy of the hole as well. That’s an unnecessary bogey. Let’s hope his coach Pete Cowan wasn’t watching that, or he’ll be due another full and frank debrief when he gets back to the clubhouse. Brooks is +3.
Scottie Scheffler finds the green at the long par-three 8th. He’s not close, but lags a wonderful 60-foot putt to a couple of feet. He’s just got to tidy up to walk off with his par … but he pulls his putt left. He holds the top of his cap as the ball lips out, as though his brain can’t compute what’s just happened and is trying to burst out of his head. A careless bogey, and the second time the putter has let him down today: the dropped shot at 1 was the result of a three-putt from 22 feet. He’s +4.
The reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele signs for a 71. He’s +7 overall. His playing partner today, Rory McIlroy, follows up birdie at 17 with a dropped shot at the last. A 74 for the Masters champ, and he’s +10. An early start for him tomorrow (unless the weather plays silly buggers and the third round can’t be completed today, but again, let’s keep those fingers crossed).
Back-to-back birdies for Sam Stevens. The 28-year-old from Wichita picks up shots at 3 and 4 to move to +1 overall. All together now: ♫♪ I know I need a small vacation, but it don’t look like rain ♪♫ … except … “Those clouds are not looking friendly,” notes Rich Beem on Sky, snapping us out of our Campbell-Webb reverie. Indeed they do look dark and menacing in the middle distance. A fair chance we could have an enforced weather break sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t look promising.
This is Matt Wallace’s first appearance at a US Open for four years. The 35-year-old Londoner is grabbing the opportunity with both hands: decent opening rounds of 72 and 74, and he’s on the move today, with birdies at 4, 11 and now 13, the latter the reward for a glorious tee shot sent over the flag to six feet. He’s +3 overall.
Rory McIlroy spent a good proportion of yesterday afternoon in a hot funk. A club tossed down the track here, some tee-box furniture smashed in half there. Bad Rory! Naughty Rory! He’s a bit more zen today, not that his game is helping any. Bogeys at 3, 9, 11, 14 and 16, his only birdie coming at 10. But instead of iron hurling and yardage-marker battering, he’s merely responding with wan smiles. It’s not for the want of trying, but nevertheless you can tell the fire’s gone out. Might be an idea to take a couple of weeks off before Portrush, because nothing’s gone right for him since completing his life’s dream at Augusta. He’s +10.
Scottie Scheffler still doesn’t have his best stuff. But the world number one’s B-game could still be good enough. An opening-hole bogey today, followed by a very strange hack out of thick rough on 4 with a fairway wood that scuppered any chance of birdie at the gettable par-five, the third-easiest hole on the course and the one that’s given up the second-highest number of under-par scores. But he drained a 15-footer for birdie on 2, and now he’s made a 20-footer on the 6th to move into the red for his round today. He’s +3, just six off the pace, despite it all.
The monstrously long par-three 8th has laid waste to most of the field so far this week. Playing at 276 yards on Thursday, and 299 yesterday, the cumulative score made on it over the first two days was +159. There were just seven birdies. It’s playing a little kinder today at just – just! – 253 yards. But it’s still done for the aforementioned Trevor Cone, who finds the rough to the left of the green and pays the price with bogey. He’s back to +2. Wait until they push the tee back to 301 yards tomorrow, which they surely will, as that would break the US Open record set for a par-three on the same hole in 2007 (300). It’ll be quite the surprise if they don’t.
… and now to a couple of bigger names who have started well today. Bob MacIntyre is keeping alive Scotland’s hopes of partying like it’s 1999, Paul Lawrie, all that, with birdies at 2 and 6. Collin Morikawa, who would be one step away from completing a career slam if he wins here this week, has birdied 2 and 3. Both are +2. All that’s left is to post the first leaderboard update of the day, and we’ll have just about caught up.
-3: Burns
-2: Spaun
-1: Hovland
E: Scott, B Griffin
+1: Cone (7), Perez, Lawrence
+2: Leishman (13), MacIntyre (8), Morikawa (3), Henley, Koepka, S Kim, Detry
The next best is the unsung Trevor Cone, making his US Open debut at the age of 32. The North Carolinian missed five consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour until surviving it last weekend in Canada. He finished modestly in a tie for 52nd, but from small acorns and all that, because he’s flown out of the traps today, with birdies at 2, 4 and 5. He’s +1 overall.
The hottest player out there right now is Marc Leishman. The US Open is the only major at which the 41-year-old Aussie hasn’t finished in the top ten – his best result is a tie for 14th in 2022 at Brookline – but he’s making moves to remedy that situation this afternoon. Birdies at 2, 3, 6, 8 and 12 with just the one bogey at 7, and he’s catapulted himself up the leaderboard to +2.
It absolutely hosed it down at Oakmont last night. Some rain this morning as well. It’s bright and sunny now, but the downpour has changed the way the course is playing. And it’s swings and roundabouts, because while the greens are now a little bit more receptive – normally they’re primed to get harder as the week goes on at a US Open – the rough is heavier and lusher. So there is a score out there if somebody can keep it straight. Which is easier said than done: of the 48 players to have hit a ball so far today, only ten are under par for their round. And of those ten, only five are doing better than one under …
Preamble
It’s Moving Day! Here’s what the top of the leaderboard looked like at the end of the second round …
-3: Sam Burns
-2: JJ Spaun
-1: Viktor Hovland
E: Adam Scott, Ben Griffin
+1: Victor Perez, Thriston Lawrence
+2: Russell Henley, Brooks Koepka, Kim Si-woo, Thomas Detry
… here are some selected other scores, because nobody’s running away with this and there are plenty of stars within striking distance …
+3: Tyrrell Hatton, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
+4: Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre
+5: Ryan Fox, Jordan Spieth, Im Sung-jae
+6: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy
… here are some big names who have missed the cut …
the defending champion Bryson DeChambeau; the 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson and his runner-up Shane Lowry; other former champions in Wyndham Clark, Lucas Glover, Gary Woodland and Justin Rose; erstwhile major champions in Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas; and other big names such as Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia, Sepp Straka and Joaquin Niemann
… here’s the only amateur to make the weekend, so he’s assured of the low-amateur medal (won in recent years by Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay, so no mean feat) providing he completes the final two rounds …
+6: Justin Hastings (a 21-year-old from the Cayman Islands who was the best-performing amateur at this year’s Masters, but didn’t make the cut, so he couldn’t win the Silver Cup)
… and here are today’s tee times. (USA unless stated, all times BST, (a) denotes amateurs.) It’s on!
14.12 Philip Barbaree
14.23 Cameron Davis (Aus), Brian Harman
14.34 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Andrew Novak
14.45 Harris English, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
14.56 Laurie Canter (Eng), James Nicholas
15.07 Ryan McCormick, Patrick Reed
15.18 Ryan Gerard, Niklas Noergaard (Den)
15.34 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Xander Schauffele
15.45 (a) Justin Hastings (Cay), Jordan Smith (Eng)
15.56 Tony Finau, Marc Leishman (Aus)
16.07 Corey Conners (Can), Michael Kim
16.18 JT Poston, Matt Wallace (Eng)
16.29 Chris Gotterup, Johnny Keefer
16.40 Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Maverick McNealy
16.56 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
17.07 Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Jordan Spieth
17.18 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Ryan Fox (Nzl)
17.29 Trevor Cone, Taylor Pendrith (Can)
17.40 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Aaron Rai (Eng)
17.51 Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
18.02 Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
18.18 Denny McCarthy, Collin Morikawa
18.29 Jon Rahm (Spa), Nick Taylor (Can)
18.40 Keegan Bradley, Sam Stevens
18.51 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Den), Carlos Ortiz (Mex)
19.02 Jason Day (Aus), Chris Kirk
19.13 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
19.24 Max Greyserman, Adam Schenk
19.40 Thomas Detry (Bel), Emiliano Grillo (Arg)
19.51 Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Brooks Koepka
20.02 Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa)
20.13 Ben Griffin, Victor Perez (Fra)
20.24 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Adam Scott (Aus)
20.35 Sam Burns, JJ Spaun
