Burns Surges To Lead In Round 2 At Oakmont.

Oakmont Country Club has lived up to its reputation during the first two rounds of its record tenth United States Open Championship. That did not deter Sam Burns, who shot a superb 65 in round two, while surging to the lead at the midway point of the championship.

As Oakmont continued to firm up on Friday, only three players managed to remain under par as the combination of Oakmont’s greens, and a brutal USGA setup featuring rough over five inches long gave the best players in the world fits.

The difficulty didn’t seem to bother Sam Burns, as the world’s 22nd ranked player shot a five-under par 65, the lowest round of the event so far. The brilliant play Friday by Burns has him in the lead through two rounds as only three players have managed to break par for 36 holes at Oakmont.

After an opening round of +2(72), Burns had an early tee time Friday and came out firing. Playing in the morning with little wind, cloud cover, and a golf course still drying out, Burns used magnificent ball striking which led to 6 birdies made from inside 10 feet.

If not for a brutal finish Thursday, where Burns saw himself one shot out of the lead before playing the final four holes in 5-over par, Burns could have himself with a sizeable lead. “I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes. So I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together,” he said.

Round one leader, JJ Spaun sits one shot back of Burns at -2 heading into the weekend. Playing in his first U.S. Open, Spaun shot a bogey-free 66 to take a one-shot lead heading into Friday. Spaun carded a +2(72) on Friday and sits one-shot behind Burns at two under par heading into the moving day on Saturday.

Rounding out the group of players still under par after 36 holes at Oakmont is Viktor Hovland. Hovland rode two hole-outs from over 50 feet to fuel a second round 68 to get him into red figures at -1 for the tournament. He started his round on number 10 by making a putt of over 50-feet from the collar for birdie and also made a chip-in eagle on the drivable par-4 17th hole. If not for a double bogey on the second hole, Hovland could be even further up the leaderboard. Talking after the round, Hovland discussed how exhausting a U.S. Open at Oakmont can be.

“Definitely tired, exhausted because you’re just focusing so much on every single shot,” he said. “I’m very pleased with two under par, but also I know that I was 4 under at some point. So it’s like very pleased, but also ‘Man, that could have been a little lower.’ But we’re in a really nice spot after two days, so I’m just kind of happy.”

Adam Scott, playing in his 96th consecutive major and third U.S. Open at Oakmont, shot a second consecutive even par 70 to sit three shots back of Burns at even par. Joining him is one of the hottest players in the world currently, Ben Griffin. Griffin, who had given up on professional golf years ago and was working in finance until a friend talked him into giving golf another try, shot a +1(71) Friday and also finds himself just three shots back at even par.

As heavy rains came at the end of Friday and play was suspended, a few groups will be finishing the second round on Saturday morning. Currently, there are 34 players within seven shots of Burns, including world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler was visual frustrated during Friday’s round, one that saw him make an uncharacteristic five bogeys for the round. Scheffler, who is considered the best ball-striker in the world, really struggled off the tee for a second straight day and found himself playing from the penal rough more often than he is used to. Even with ball-striking not up to our expectation of Scheffler, he still managed to scratch out a +1(71) for the round and is at +4 for the tournament and still not out of the conversation heading into the weekend.

Rory McIlroy also displayed a lot of frustration, at one point breaking a tee marker with his club, but did manage to birdie two of his final four holes to make it to the weekend. He sits nine shots behind Burns at +6 after shooting a 72 in round two. McIlroy again declined a media request after his round, making this six straight major championship rounds where McIlroy has declined speaking with the media.

One of the favorites who will not be around for the weekend is defending U.S. Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau. The long hitting DeChambeau, who came into the week seemingly ready to defend his title, had all kinds of trouble with Oakmont’s narrow fairways and punishing rough, finishing +10 and over the cut line.

Other notable players to miss the cut include: Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Wyndham Clark, Cameron Smith, Patrick Cantlay, Joaquin Niemann, Phil Mickelson and 2016 U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, Dustin Johnson.

One player who did make the cut, but was not happy about his play was Jon Rahm. The LIV Golf star shot a 75, leaving him in the same spot as Scheffler at +4 for the tournament and seven shots back of the lead. Rahm, who hit the ball brilliantly, struggled on the difficult greens of Oakmont and took 35 putts for the round. Afterwards, Rahm was asked about the difficulty of Oakmont.

“Honestly, too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective,” he said. “Very frustrated. Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn’t sniff the hole. So it’s frustrating.”

With more rain expected Saturday, a softening Oakmont may provide an easier test for the remaining players that made the cut. Whether or not it will play easier is yet to be seen, but with many players within striking distance of the leader Burns, the U.S. Open could be setting up for a dramatic weekend of championship golf.

Mike Fore is a co-founder of Break80 Golf and the Break80 Podcast. He can be found on social media platforms @short_sided_golf