– Sam Burns (-3) is the new leader of the US Open at the Oakmont clubhouse, pending the afternoon’s events. He has climbed to the top with a scorecard of 65 strokes, with six birdies and a solitary bogey. There are only two better results than his in the history of this Major at this course: Johnnie Miller shot 63 in the fourth round of 1973 and Loren Roberts delivered a 64 in the third round of 1994. After that, there are ten players tied at 65 strokes.
– Burns has made this great impact at the US Open in his own way. He is putting like an angel and is the second-best in greens in regulation. That’s why he already has 11 birdies in the first two rounds. There is only one player in history with more birdies than him in all editions of the US Open held at Oakmont. That player is Gordon Brand, who made 12 birdies in the first 36 holes of 1994.
– Burns is the clubhouse leader at -3, and there is only one other player under par with a completed round. That player is Viktor Hovland (-1), who has signed a great score today of 68 strokes. The next completed score is Victor Perez (+1), who made a sensational hole-in-one on the 6th. The gap is narrowing for players under par, although we will see how things end when the day is completed this afternoon. It feels like the number of players under par can be counted on one hand, and we might even have fingers to spare.
– Scheffler has struggled with the US Open. Today he signed his sixth consecutive round over par in this tournament. He wasn’t able to tie or win at Pinehurst last year, and for now, he’s on the same path at Oakmont. He shot 71 strokes and is at +4, tied with Jon Rahm. Watch out because they might play together tomorrow. Hopefully. Those duels at OK Corral are missed.
– Scheffler is experiencing a topsy-turvy world at Oakmont. It’s the putter that’s saving him from an even worse result. Today, once again, he was very inaccurate from the tee. The ultimate irony for the World Number One is that the leader, at least provisionally, is his best friend. The USGA is tough on Scottie.
– It seemed at the start of this second round that it was going to be Brooks Koepka‘s day (+2). He got to -3, but his end of the day was very bumpy. He made five more in his last ten holes. He’s still in the fight, and we have to count on him, but today he left some ground that wasn’t in many calculations. He wasn’t as good as yesterday from the tee and struggled on the greens. Something similar to Rahm. Hence his round of 74 strokes.
– Four rounds under par were delivered in the first shift on Friday: Burns (65), Jason Day (67), Max Greyserman (67), and Hovland (68). It’s curious that no 69 was seen… However, there were seven rounds of 80 or more strokes… just in the morning.
– We’ll see where the cut is set. Everything points to it being +6, although it will depend on how the day evolves. The tournament has already posted warnings of an incoming storm, and we must prepare because the US Open might be halted. Fingers crossed. Even if the cut ends up being +7, many illustrious names are already out for sure: Straka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee, or Joaquín Niemann. The case of the Chilean is particularly striking. Just after achieving his first top 10 in a Major at the PGA and winning the LIV in Virginia, he has slipped at Oakmont. It seems that the Chilean particularly struggles with more demanding golf courses, where pars are good, and not many birdies are seen.
