So the second round threatened to be all about Dustin Johnson, and then Patrick Reed, but at the close, it’s clear Jordan Spieth was the man of the day. His 67 hoists him to the top of the leaderboard alongside Reed. Though as nearly 30 players are within six shots of the leading -5 mark, this US Open is anybody’s. It promises to be a magical weekend, hopefully featuring a Jason Day fully recovered from his unsettling vertigo attack. The best of health to him, and nighty night to the rest of you. See you all tomorrow for Moving Day!
-5: Spieth, Reed
-4: Grace, D Johnson
-3: Luiten, Finau, Summerhays, Martin
Updated
Reed can only find front right of the large 18th green. He’s left a long way from the hole, with plenty of kinks and bends in between. He sends a huge right-to-left curler down the green, but it’s a huge misread. He leaves himself a 15-footer for par, and the effort only travels 14 feet. A bogey, and that’s a 69. He’s -5, and the joint leader at the halfway mark with Jordan Spieth.
The 2014 winner Martin Kaymer takes his leave of this year’s tournament. His reign as US Open champion is over. A par at the last, but he’s signing for a 74 today. Added to yesterday’s 72, and that’s +6. Ah well, he’ll always have North Carolina.
The leader Reed on the 18th tee. His drive stops just short of the bunker that’s recently been bothering Dustin and Rory. The latter’s just chipped out, and sent an aimless wedge into the green. He’ll have an almost impossible putt for his par. At +3, though, he’ll need to be very careful not to take more than two. But a brilliantly judged semi-circular 40-footer rests a couple of feet from the hole. Bogey, and that’s a second 72 of the week. He’s +4, and will be here for the weekend.
Adam Scott signs for a 71 too, and he’s +1. Not out of this by any means. But Sergio three putts for a bogey, and that’s a 75 today. He’s +5. Unless a couple of players at +4 drop late shots, he’s off home. Oh Sergio!
Reed, meanwhile, has creamed his tee shot at 17 over the flag, to 15 feet. He’s unfortunate that the ball didn’t dribble further back towards the hole. Two careful putts, and he remains at -6. Dustin meanwhile sends a huge, ludicrous, S-shaped putt down the 18th green, and his excellent effort stops two feet from the hole. A bogey, and he’s signing for an eventful 71. That’s no disaster. He’s in brilliant nick for the weekend, and knowing his propensity to melt down every now and then, might benefit from hanging behind the leaders awhile, staying in touch, waiting to hit the front again late on.
Dustin Johnson’s making a meal of the 18th. His ball is plugged in the greenside bunker, and he can only burst it out to the top tier of the green. A long par putt down the green awaits him. This round has quickly gone south. Back down the hole, Rory batters his drive into Dustin’s Bunker. With the cut looming, he really needs to watch himself here.
Rory at the back of 17. He faces a long putt - and nearly sends his ball scampering off the front. He leaves his par putt short, misses the bogey putt, and the double sends him back down to +3. A few minutes ago, he had a putt to move within five of the lead. Now he’s eight behind. The US Open, right here. And there’s more of it. Dustin, from the fairway bunker, whistles his second into more sand up the hole, short and right of the green. Meanwhile Reed taps in for his birdie, and he’s the sole leader.
-6: Reed (16)
-5: Spieth (F), D Johnson (17)
Dustin balloons his drive down the right of 18, and into the bunker. Trouble there. And Reed’s in sand down the right of 16, but he clips a gentle wedge to two feet, and will surely have the sole lead in a couple of minutes. “Whoever makes the cut today is still in it,” suggests Seamus Devlin. “Two under on Sunday won’t be far away.” Preach on, brother. This US Open looks wide open. It might require Jordan Spieth, who looks the most dependable player in the field this week, to falter a little. But it’s wide open.
Reed wangs his drive at 16 into what may be trouble down the right. Up on 18, Matt Kuchar, out of sorts today, curls in a monster right-to-left swinger for birdie. He signs for a 73, not ideal, but he’s only five off the lead at level par. This US Open really is up for grabs, with Johnson and Reed having come back to the pack.
Reed whips his bunker shot high into the air, and nearly holes it, the ball landing very close to the cup. But that goes ten feet past the hole. And he doesn’t make the return. He’s back to -5, alongside Spieth. Dustin meanwhile splashes out to six feet, a lovely bump up the hill. But he can’t make that par putt either. He’s back to -5 too. Bogey for Sergio too, who drops back to +4, and now faces a very nervous journey up 18. Meanwhile from the sand down 7, Stenson arrows an iron straight at the flag, and leaves himself a four-footer for a much-needed birdie on a very difficult hole. It’s in, and he’s -3 again, suddenly two off the lead. And on 17, Rory’s birdie putt stays high on the left, failing to drop. He stays at +1, and that’s a grand opportunity to close the gap on the leaders spurned.
-5: Spieth (F), D Johnson (17), Reed (15)
-4: Grace (F)
-3: Luiten (F), Finau (F), Summerhays (F), Martin (F), Stenson (16*)
Reed wedges his tee shot at 15 straight at the flag, but it zips through and into a bunker at the back. Meanwhile up on the other par three, Dustin dumps his tee shot at 17 into a bunker at the front. Meanwhile McIlroy crashes his drive down 16. A gentle wedge from 50 yards, and he’s got an eight footer for birdie.
Rory carefully slides in his birdie putt at 15! He’s +1 again. Dustin’s birdie putt at 16 is once again timid, and another chance goes begging. He stays at -6. Sergio manages to knock in a ten-footer for par at the same hole to remain at +3. The cut’s currently projected to send everyone +5 and worse home. So he should be safe for the weekend.
McIlroy’s tee shot at 15 lands eight feet from the flag. Close, though it’s far from a gimme putt, so crazily does its line oscillate. Dustin fires an iron straight down the middle from the 16th tee. He lifts a wedge to eight feet. Great chance for birdie. Meanwhile on 14, Reed, guides a lovely approach in from the bank on the right, but he doesn’t give his 15-foot putt enough on the right, and it dies off to the left. Par. Birdie for Monty at 5, and he’s +2. Providing he avoids meltdown, he’ll be here for the weekend, surely.
Lefty looks to have saved himself from the cut. He’s down the bank to the right of 8, but bumps a clever chip deliberately past the hole, the ball rolling back down to six feet. The birdie putt drops, and he’s +2. Par for Rory at 14. Back-to-back bogeys for Sergio, and he’s back to +3, then he’s a dimple away from grabbing a shot back on 15 but the birdie putt stays out. And then Sergio’s playing partner Dustin makes a timid stroke at his birdie effort, and he’ll stay at -6.
-6: D Johnson (15), Reed (13)
-5: Spieth (F)
Reed severely underhits the putt coming up the bank at 13. He’s left with a tricky six footer. And it slips by the hole on the left. He drops back to -6 too. On 15, Dustin clips a gorgeous wedge pin high to 12 feet. He’ll have a good look at birdie.
Dustin has a proper race at the birdie putt across 14, a brave move indeed. The ball glides past the cup by a good eight feet. And he doesn’t make the putt coming back. What a needless bogey. Sheer idiocy. Reed’s now the sole leader, but back on 13, he sends a hot approach through the back. Dustin got up and down from pretty much the same position earlier, though it’s not easy. Like I said earlier, it’s not beyond the realms of imagination that Jordan Spieth is the sole leader by the end of the day. The two folks ahead of him are brilliant, but highly unpredictable.
-7: Reed (12)
-6: D Johnson (14)
-5: Spieth (F)
And here’s news of Rich Berberian Jr., the club pro who for so long yesterday was the reference point as the only man worse than Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. He’s just birdied 1, and is currently in red numbers for his round today! Which might change, it might not, but it’s something the 14-time major-winning Tiger was never able to say at any point this week. Hey, you’ve got to take the scraps golf offers you when you can.
In all that excitement, back-to-back bogeys for Henrik Stenson, who hasn’t turned up today. He’s dropped shots at 3 and 4, and slips to -2. Dustin lifts a 9-iron from the sand on 14 into the heart of the green and, you’d assume, a simple two-putt par. But assume nothing with lads like Dustin and Patrick around. We’ll get back to that, because in the meantime, Rory bumps a chip up the green to five feet, and rattles in the bogey putt. A bogey, and he’s back down to +2 again, but given where he skelped his drive, that’s something of an escape.
Patrick Reed! He knocks his drive at 12 to the back of the green, then drains another monster! An eagle, and he joins Dustin at the top of the tree! He hasn’t parred since the 6th. Bogey, birdie, bogey, bogey, birdie, eagle. He’s box-office, is Patrick Reed. Meanwhile so is Rory, but it’s a horror flick right now. His woes continue at 13, as he whistles his third through the back of the green and down a swale. He’ll have a very tricky up and down for his bogey. Meanwhile on 7, Mickelson three putts and slips to +4. Fortunately for Lefty, the projected cut’s out to +4 too. But he’s on the limit now.
-7: D Johnson (14), Reed (12)
-5: Spieth (F)
Dustin putts up the ridge from the back of the 13th green to five feet. In goes the par putt. That’s a great up and down. He stays at -7, though he finds sand with his drive on the next. I still wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan Spieth is the sole leader after 36 holes. Meanwhile Rory’s in all sorts of bother down the right of 13. It’s the widest fairway on the course, the widest fairway in US Open history, 115 yards wide, and he’s stuck it into a thicket. He can only hack out. That’s effectively cost him a shot.
Reed drains a 40-footer on 11! What a way to bounce back after the bogeys at the previous two holes. He’s -5 again. And Dustin’s in a smidgen of bother at 13, having shot straight through the back of the green. A tricky up and down faces him there. Rory bounces onto the 13th tee, and wangs a wild drive into the thick nonsense down the right. What an immediate buzz kill!
Plenty of hot action at the 12th. Birdie for Sergio, and he rises to +1. Then coming behind, birdie for Martin Kaymer, though the defending champ is coming off the back of a triple bogey at 10, having faffed around on a path behind the green. He’s still +6, however, and surely going home. But Rory clatters his drive to 15 feet, and rolls the eagle putt straight into the cup! He’s suddenly up to +1 and ... well, will that ignite his tournament, which has, so far, been so very flat? The next few holes could shape the entire weekend’s narrative!
Trouble for Mickelson on 6. He’s got a 30-footer for par, and doesn’t make it. Back to +3, and suddenly he’s in danger of missing the cut. He looks thoroughly dejected, coming to terms with the death of a dream. Meanwhile I’ve not mentioned Matt Kuchar, who started out at -3 today. Here’s why: he bogeyed 3, then tripled 4, before bogeying 6. Out of it totally. Eh, but not quite. Birdies at 8 and then 10, and he’s level par for the tournament through 13. A birdie or two before he gets home, and he’ll have dodged a bullet today.
Dustin doesn’t get up and down, though. A pretty lame punch down the hill, hoping to send his ball up onto the rise on the opposite side, with a view to it working back to the hole. But there’s a little moisture in the greens now, as the day draws in, and there’s not the movement he expects. The ball stops well short of the hole, and the birdie putt from 15 feet is too much. He stays at -7, two clear of Spieth. Stenson meanwhile three-putts the 3rd. He goes backwards again, dropping to -3.
-7: D Johnson (12)
-5: Spieth (F)
-4: Grace (F), Reed (10)
Dustin’s drive at 12 snags up on the thick stuff high to the right of the green. He’ll have a tricky pitch down. Reed meanwhile finds the bunker to the right of 10 with his second, and can only splash out to 15 feet. He can’t make the par putt, and back-to-back bogeys have put a very different complexion on this tournament. If Johnson can get up and down from his position on high at 12, he’ll suddenly have quite a lead.
Dustin blooters a 370-yard drive down 11, but then sends a very average short iron into the green, nowhere near the flag. He’s left himself a tricky downhill right-to-left curler from 25 feet - but he hits it true, the ball always dropping from the moment it left the flat stick. One of those. You just knew. A sweet putt. He moves to -7. Meanwhile Chris Kirk eagles from the centre of the 10th fairway, moving from +4 to +2. What his playing partner Patrick Reed, suddenly two behind again, would have given for that.
-7: D Johnson (11)
-5: Spieth (F), Reed (9)
-4: Grace (F), Stenson (11*)
Reed blasts out of the bunker at 9 to 15 feet, but he’s got work to do. He so nearly sends a smooth left-to-right curler into the cup, but it sails off to the right at the very end, and he’s back to -5. Dustin Johnson the sole leader again. Meanwhile, back-to-back birdies for Alexander Levy of France, at 11 and 12. He’s -1. Marc Warren misses a short par putt on 18 to drop back to level par. And shy birdie putts from McIlroy (+3) at 10, and Stenson (-4) at 2.
Dustin doesn’t hit his birdie putt on 10. Par. And a par for both Sergio (+2) and Scott (E), too. A couple of Scott’s compatriots doing well. Cameron Smith one under today through 16; he’s -1 overall. And John Senden is having some round: after bogey at 4, he’s birdied 7, 8, 11 and now 12. He’s three under for his round, and -1 overall.
Dustin’s approach to 10 is wild, off to the right, but it bounces off a high ridge, rolls straight across the green, and gathers near the rise on the other side, near the flag. He’s ten feet away. That’s a lucky break. Reed needs something similar on 9, having just slam-dunked his tee shot into a bunker. In danger of being plugged. Meanwhile a two-putt birdie on the par-five 1st for Stenson, and he’s moving back in the right direction at long last. He’s -4.
Reed races his eagle putt at 8 well past the hole, maybe five or six feet. That’s quite an aggressive play, given that birdie will give him a share of the lead. But he pops the return away. We’re tied at the top again. Rory’s birdie effort on 9 doesn’t drop, though. There’s no sparkle there this week. He’s +3 still. Mickelson sprinkled a little magic dust early in his round yesterday, but since then, not so much: another short birdie chance goes begging, this time at 4, and he remains at +2.
-6: D Johnson (9), Reed (8)
-5: Spieth (F)
-4: Grace (F)
It’s not been happening for Rory, but he guides a beauty into the par-three 9th from on high. He’s got a 15-footer left across the green for birdie. While we wait for that, we might not have mentioned Paul Casey: he signed for a fine 69 today, and he’s +1 for the tournament, guaranteed to be here over the weekend. He’s not quite back to his pomp, when he was competing for the Open Championship back in 2010, but he’s not far off it: after four frustrating years, he tied for sixth place at Augusta in April, and another high finish here would set him up nicely for the upcoming big one at St Andrews ... where he did so well in 2010.
Dustin can’t get up and down from the bunker. The sand splash is good, to six feet, but his par putt stays on the high side, to the left. Bogey, and he’s back to -6, though still in the lead. But for how long? Reed’s in the middle of the par-five 8th, hitting hybrid into the green. And he’s right at the flag. The ball skitters 30 feet past, but he’ll have a long look at eagle, and that’s a very good chance to reclaim the shot he dropped at 7.
Warren zips another fine iron towards the flag, this time at 16. But for the second time in three holes his putter fails him, and a birdie chance goes begging. He stays at -1, but this should be so much better. Meanwhile Dustin’s 5-iron into the par-three 9th finds the bunker at the front of the green.
Dustin bangs a stunning second into the par-five 8th off the bank on the left. A 15-foot eagle putt - and he races it six yards past! But he knocks in the return. Birdie. Birdie for Scott, too, and he’s back to level par. A bogey for Sergio, and he’s +2, flirting with that cut. Back on 7, Reed is in a position where Rory three-putted - and Sergio too. Reed can’t work out the complicated read, and leaves himself a 25-footer for par. It nearly drops, but doesn’t. Suddenly there’s a two-shot gap at the top of the leaderboard, Dustin having put his foot to the floor with three birdies over five difficult holes.
-7: D Johnson (8)
-5: Spieth (F), Reed (7)
-4: Grace (F)
Having said Reed was going along without fuss, he naturally finds a load of trouble down 7. He drives into the rough down the left, then sends his ball flying through to the back of the green. That’s where McIlroy three putted from minutes ago. A very strong possibility that Dustin Johnson could be the sole leader of this US Open in a few minutes. Meanwhile birdie for Marc Warren on 15. Another lovely iron setting up the chance, and he converts that one from 15 feet. He’s back to -1.
The reigning champion Martin Kaymer three putts 7. A bogey, and as things stand, he’ll not make the weekend at +4. Curtis Strange’s record as the last man to retain the title, in 1989, is pretty certain to remain. Bogey for Rory there, too, having played a wedge into the green but failed to get any spin on the ball. Three putts, and he’s +3 now, right on the cut line. Bogey for Bubba Watson at 2, also, and he’s +4. Some big names in danger of being chased into the Puget Sound, their suitcases thrown in after them.
Another common-or-garden birdie for Reed, this time at 6. He’s trotting around this course very calmly right now. Stenson has a look at birdie putts at 16 and 17, but nothing really threatens to drop.
-6: D Johnson (7), Reed (6)
-5: Spieth (F)
-4: Grace (F)
Dustin Johnson blooters a monster drive down 7. He’s left with a wedge, and clips it to four feet. Birdie, and he joins Reed in the lead at -6. He’s just made the hardest hole on this hellishly difficult course look like a yawn. Three putts for his playing partner Sergio, who is in awful trouble towards the back of the green, his line incorporating about three sharp turns and five humps. He misreads it, but can hardly be blamed. His long attempt to save par nearly drops, but turns to the left at the end. He’s back to +1. Meanwhile Snedeker finally converts a birdie chance, wedging to four feet on 16 and moving to -2. Mickelson misses a short birdie effort on 1. His race looks run. At +2, he’s not out of it, but his body language suggests otherwise. Pure, distilled frustration.
Rory doesn’t make his birdie putt on 6, the ball sliding across to the right. Par. A terrible start to the round by Marc Warren. Bogeys at 10 and 11. Back to level par. He should make it into red figures again, with an arrowed approach to 14, but he misses a short birdie putt. And it’s a bad couple of moments for Scottish golf, because Monty misses a par tiddler on 15, seconds after nearly draining a long birdie effort. That’s three bogeys on the bounce, and he drops to +1. All of a sudden, the cut looms large for the big man.
Pin high for Rory at 6. He’s got an uphill putt coming across the green for birdie. He needs something to happen soon-ish, you’d have thought. He’s +2 right now, and here’s the top of the leaderboard:
-6: Reed (5)
-5: Spieth (F), D Johnson (6)
-4: Grace (F)
-3: Luiten (F), Finau, Summerhays, Martin, Stenson (6*)
Stenson’s tee shot at 15 nearly topples into a bunker at the front of the green. He skelps his long putt miles past the hole. The 20-footer he leaves himself coming back stops short. That’s back-to-back bogeys, and now he’s +3, three off the lead he jointly held roughly half an hour ago. Another fine sand escape from Dustin, this time at 6. He played that hole in a very ragged fashion, out of position all the way, but got away with it. This is how you win major championships. Bogey for his playing partner Adam Scott, who can’t execute a similar up and down from the bunker. Fuss-free par for Reed at 5.
Mickelson three putts from the back of 18, and that’s yet another dropped shot for Lefty. That grand slam looks rather elusive now. The colour drains from his face accordingly. The back nine played in 37, he’s +2 for the championship. A slow start by Francesco Molinari. Bogey at 10, another at 14 now. He’s back to level par. Jason Dufner going back fast, too, dropping strokes at 11 and 13. He’s level par. A lot of these lads dropping back. Factor in Sergio and Monty, and suddenly only 17 players are under par for the tournament.
Monty’s old achilles heel - leaving putts short - comes back to haunt him at 13. A three-putt bogey, his first way shy, the second a miserable prod. It drops him back to where he began the day, at -1. And then further damage at 14, his second shot finding a deep depression to the front right of the green. He can’t get up and down, though his long bump across the green was highly decent; his putter yet again to blame from short distance. He’s level par now.
Reed lashes his second to the back of the 4th green. The ball turns and rolls back towards the pin, stopping three feet away from the cup. That birdie takes him to -6, and we have a new leader. Up on 5, Dustin only just gets his ball out of the bunker, but he races in the 15-footer he leaves himself. Sergio splashes much closer - and misses the par tiddler. Gah! He’s back to level par. Mickelson nearly rakes in his 25-foot birdie putt on 17, but it stays high on the left. Par. He’s still at +1. And Stenson drops one on 14, leaving himself too much to do from 20 feet. He’s back to -4.
-6: Reed (4)
-5: Spieth (F), D Johnson (5)
-4: Grace (F), Stenson (5*)
Mickelson misses his birdie putt on 16. That is as hopeless as his approach was a work of rare genius. Then on 17 he’s a ball’s width away from holing in one, but he ends up at the back of the green, where par’s the most likely score. Back on 5, Dustin dribbles his approach into a bunker, then Sergio follows him in. Back in the clubhouse, Jordan Spieth orders another brandy, and gets someone to relight his cigar.
The cut’s currently projected to come down at +3, sending everyone worse off home. As things stand, who’d be packing their bags? Yes, yes, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. But who else? Kaput big names include: Luke Donald, Zach Johnson, Jamie Donaldson, Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter, DA Points , Graeme McDowell, Bill Haas, Victor Dubuisson, Hunter Mahan, Retief Goosen, Ryo Ishikawa, and in last place, Darren Clarke.
Mickelson is perhaps fully aware that time is now of the essence. He whips a stunning iron through the thick stuff on 16, and lands his ball onto the back-left portion of the green, where it works its way round to the hole! Astonishing! He’ll have an eight footer for birdie, from a spot where he didn’t appear to have a realistic shot! Downhill, mind, and you know what Phil’s putting’s like sometimes. Meanwhile Stenson fails to hit a birdie putt on 13, and Garcia gets up and down from a tight spot in a bunker at 4: he stays at -1.
Well, how about this from Dustin Johnson? The par-four 4th is nearly 500 yards long. He’s hitting his second, a wedge, into it. It bites six inches from the hole. That’s a certain birdie; he’ll rejoin the leaders Spieth, Stenson and Reed at -5. Phil Mickelson’s woes continue: he pushes his drive into thick muck down the left of 16. Not much in the way of hope going on over there. He’s already slipped back to +1: is it too early to say his US Open hopes are hanging by a bit of a thread here? Perhaps for this year, perhaps for ever? Perhaps, and yet it’s not absurd hyperbole. He’ll need to conjure something up quickly.
Poor stuff from McIlroy on 3. His tee shot lands on the wrong section of the green, and he’s left with a long two-putt for his par. He underhits the first, and misreads the second. Bogey, and that fast start evaporates. He’s back to +2. He doesn’t look his usual sharp self right now. A similar vibe to his early rounds at the Masters. No doubt he’ll shoot 66 on Sunday when it’s way too late for him.
Monty’s second into 12 is a beauty. He lifts a wedge to six feet, the ball nearly bouncing into the cup as it dances around the flag. He’ll have a simple uphill putt for birdie, but then he had a simple putt at 10 for birdie too, and yipped it. Come on Monty, put something together, for old time’s sake. No mistake this time, though, and the oldest player in the tournament is in a tie for 10th spot at -2. Incidentally, yesterday was the first time two 50+ players broke par in the same round of a US Open: Monty and Miguel Angel Jimenez both shooting 69. Meanwhile on 2, Reed works his ball into the green off the bank on the right, and leaves himself a pin-high 15-footer. He slides it into the cup for birdie, and a share of the lead.
-5: Spieth (F), Stenson (3*), Reed (2)
-4: Grace (F), D Johnson (3)
Sergio birdied the opening hole, by the way, his second only just getting onto the front of the green, two putts then taken to cover 90 feet. He’s -1. He should do well round here: he’s an accurate driver, he’s got the short game, his putting’s not in the worst shape of his career (though admittedly that’s not saying much), and he loves links-style courses. But Sergio is Sergio.
Mickelson’s started in stodgy fashion. Bogey at 10, a failure to birdie 12, and now he’s hacking his way up 14 like a rank amateur. Hitting three into the par-four green, he whistles his shot into thick grass lining the top lip of a bunker. Shortsided, too. He’s got to manufacture an absurd high-velocity lob - one leg in the sand - to dump his ball to five feet. Genius. But that’s still a bogey, and he’s back to +1. Meanwhile Stenson doesn’t hit a birdie putt at 12. Rory’s birdie putt on 2 doesn’t drop. Dustin gets up and down from the second bunker at 3 to salvage bogey; he’s back to -4. And on 12, Brandt Snedeker - who missed a short birdie putt at 10 - three-putts from six feet, turning eagle into par. In the clubhouse, Jordan Spieth puts his feet up on a leather chair and orders cigars and brandy.
-5: Spieth (F), Stenson (3*)
-4: Grace (F), D Johnson (3), Reed (1)
Reed bumps up onto the 1st green, leaving himself a 20-footer for birdie. Nearly. He starts with a par. Jason ‘The Sonmanbulist’ Dufner’s birdie putt on 10 goes to sleep halfway to the hole. Meanwhile Dustin in a little bother on 3. He whistles his tee shot towards the top-right corner of the par-three green, but it hits the slope just to the right of the putting surface and skitters all the way back down into a bunker. He splashes out - but only into a bunker on the other side of the green. This is already looking like a great afternoon for Jordan Spieth.
Thanks to Tim there. And thanks to Rory McIlroy for injecting a bit of verve into the afternoon action. Quite a few missed birdie chances of late: Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie, Henrik Stenson. And a par tiddler missed on 3 now by Matt Kuchar, who drops back to -2. So here’s to Rory for getting up and down from the huge swale to the left of the 1st green. A birdie, and he’s back to +1. If he shoots something crazy this afternoon ... well, what a weekend we’ll have in store. A good start. Patrick Reed will be glad to see that outcome, because he’s in the group coming behind, and has just sent his second 80 yards down there. And his ball’s rested in a divot. The bright side: fury is his fuel.
Mickelson is this far away from a birdie at the par-four 13th … but it’s agonisingly short! That’s three straight pars for Lefty, and then Cabrera is also short! That’s a bogey for Angel, and back to two over after a birdie at 12. Now it’s Bubba’s turn … and that’s nicely done! Huge ripple of applause, and Bubba rescues par.
Scott’s back! So I’m going to leave you in the hands of a professional. Thanks for reading.
Updated
Just looking back at some of Spieth’s highlights: his birdie at 15 was real nice, and to finish with a birdie on 9 … 67 for the day, and he’s at -5. But Spieth is one of several players annoyed about the 18th being set as a four par. My hot take: it’s the same for everyone! But if Spieth were to win here at Chambers Bay, he’d be the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win the Masters and US Open in the same year.
Poor old Tiger: not a good championship for him here – he finished at +16, after a 76 in the second round. He “I wanted to shoot five or six today … but I didn’t make any putts. Today I hit it better, but I made nothing.” It’s only the fifth cut he’s missed in majors.
Tom Weiskopf reckons Jason Day is one of the most well respected guys out there, and will have no shortage of sympathy from his peers on the tour. Here’s Spieth again: “I don’t think it was a slip off the ground. Maybe he was just a little bit dehydrated or something. He didn’t really mention it afterwards.”
Adam Scott hung his head there, but his second shot on 10 was fine: no worries, mate! Dustin Johnson’s was not, however: he couldn’t find the fairway. Shame. And here’s Rory McIlroy! The world No 1 has some work to do – he starts at +2 – but he liked that tee shot. “That’s hip action like Ken Griffey Jr right there!” marvels Joe Buck on Fox. Mickelson makes par at 12, but that’s a missed chance, and an inauspicious start for Lefty.
Monty and Jim Furyk playing together! It’s like Dad’s Army over there. And now Stenson with a birdie chance at the 10th … but he’s just wide. Solid effort, and that’s a tap-in par. Stenson, of course, is tied for the lead with Spieth and Johnson, but I think I probably said that already.
Our man Ewan Murray has just filed this report on Jason Day:
Jordan Spieth, who along with Justin Rose was playing with Day, explained: “I turned around and he was lying down. All I heard was that he was suffering from dizziness.
“I heard earlier in the week that he had been a little under the weather. He could barely even walk when he got up so it was pretty strong of him to finish out there.”
Beautiful approach from Snedeker on the 10th, just a couple of feet from the pin, and a chance to birdie. Bubba’s in some trouble at the 12th, right back on the road, practically, but that’s lovely from him, and he’s within range. Here’s Lefty at 12! But he’s short by a couple of feet, and will have to make do with par.
Nice from Matt Kuchar, and he has a birdie chance at one, but his 12ft putt dribbles short, and he accepts his par. He had a lovely 67 yesterday, did Kuchar. He’s at -3.
Dustin Johnson gets a big hand as he tees off – he’s playing with Adam Scott, the Masters champion from two years ago, and Sergio Garcia. Is Paulina there? All three hit big, booming drives and find the fairway, all 330 yards or so. We’re under way!
JB Holmes had a top round today: 66, including an eagle three at the 8th. He’s back in 11th at two under, after opening with a disappointing 72 on Thursday. And Ireland’s Shane Lowry was steady as a rock – his 69 followed his opening-round 70, and he’s -1 and tied for 19th.
The South African Branden Grace had a nice round, and he’s tied for fourth at four under, but he’ll be kicking himself: a bogey a 18 means he won’t be sitting at five under with Spieth, Johnson and Stenson – at least for now.
Here’s Tiger on Jason Day: “I’ll call him as soon as he’s done and see if he’s all right. I hope he’s OK.”
Stenson just teed off– he’s playing with Brandt Snedeker and Francesco Molinari. “We love Swedish fish!” come two voices from the crowd, to many titters.
Bubba Watson putts for birdie, but not this time, and he stays at +1 after that opening bogey on the 10th. And Cabrera saves par! A nice little five-footer, but the big Argentinian, in wraparound shades, had a horror start, with a double-bogey six. Mickelson taps in for par, too. We continue.
Thanks Scott – Tim here in New York. Yep, we hope everything’s OK with Jason Day, and we’ll bring you any news as and when we have it, but he did look really shaky.
Mickelson looks pissed after a bogey at 10, but he has a 25ft putt for birdie, which is a couple feet short. Six career runner-up finishes at the US Open for Mickelson, and that Geoff Ogilvy loss in 2006. Gah. He’s playing here with Bubba and Angel Cabrera, the champion here in 2007. Cabrera hit what looked like a good approach, but it just wouldn’t stop rolling, and now he’s off the green, about 45ft from the pin.
By the way, Chambers Bay looks an absolute picture: the sky is blue enough to give you a headache! So beautiful. I think we should we all move to the Pacific northwest.
Tiger’s just finished with a 76, closing with a bogey at nine. Poor guy!
Day’s not wholly steady on his feet, as you’d imagine. Very shaky. He races his par putt three feet past, but strokes in the bogey putt. That’s a 70, and he’s -2, which seems kind of immaterial right now. But Day battled on to finish, and we’re here for a reason I guess. He goes down on one knee again once he vacates the green, so he can receive a little treatment while Spieth putts out. Spieth knocks his birdie putt in for a 67, and he’s got a share of the lead at -5. Rose finishes off with par for a 70. But all thoughts right now are with Day, who goes off on a cart to get looked over by the doctors. The wishes of everyone at Chambers Bay clearly go with him; to their immense credit, Day’s playing partners and the crowd have acted with great patience and warmth in testing circumstances.
-5: Spieth (F), D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Grace (F), Martin (17), Reed
-3: Luiten (F), Finau (F), Summerhays (F), Kuchar
And with that, I’ll pass you over for a bit to Tim Hill...
Day’s back on his feet, though looking fairly shaky on them. He shuffles down to the bottom of the steep hole, and goes down on one knee to compose himself. A drink of water. He’s now facing a delicate splash from sand! Oh my word. If he gets this out, after what he’s just been through, never mind close, it’ll be the shot of the day. It’s certainly the reception of the day from the gallery, who applaud warmly and wildly as he bashes the ball out to 15 feet. Once he’s marked his ball, Spieth comes across to check he’s OK. A lovely touch.
Spieth with a stunner on the par-three 9th, his ball landing 30 feet to the left of the pin and funnelling down towards the cup. He’ll have a great look at birdie, and share of the lead, from 12 feet or so. What a player this young man is. He’s taken a couple of knocks over the last couple of holes, but that’s some response. However, worrying scenes as the players walk down towards the green, with Day - who has suffered from vertigo - suddenly falling to the floor in some distress. His caddy is quickly on the scene, as is Jordan Spieth, making sure no cameras get too close. Distressing scenes; let’s first hope this isn’t too serious, and then we can worry about him finishing his final hole.
Here comes Lefty! Mickelson tees it up on 10, and unleashes a drive straight down the middle. So much depends on this afternoon. How an entire career is defined? Quite possibly. Meanwhile Shane Lowry hits a gorgeous second into 16 from sand, the ball nearly stopping on the back of the green, but instead teasing the gallery theatrically before toppling back to three feet. A sure-fire birdie, but Lowry leaves it out there, prodding it to the left of the cup. He remains at level par.
Spieth chips up on 8 to six feet, but lets the putt coming back slide to the left of the hole. That’s a par on a hole he’d have been expecting birdie on. He stays at -4. Day gets up and down, though, electing to putt from the front right. He’s -3 now. And birdie for Rose, who played that one straight down the middle. He’s +2 again, weekend participation much more likely now, and a fine response after the horror show on 7. Meanwhile on 18, Grace takes his medicine and chips out to the fairway. He knocks his wedge to 20 feet, so he’ll have half a chance to save his par. But he can’t quite make it. Bogey, and that’s him falling out of the lead. But that’s a 67 today, and with the opening-round 69, he’s -4 and nicely placed for the weekend.
We have another leader! Ben Martin makes birdie on 15, an uphill 20-footer. He joins Grace, Dustin Johnson and Stenson at -5. He blooters his drive down the middle of 16. Grace, however, larrups his drive at 18 into a fairway bunker. He’ll be doing well to make his par on a hellishly difficult long par-four from there. Meanwhile on 8, both Spieth and Day toy with the huge ravine running down the right of the hole, but they both stay safe and will have up-and-down chances for birdie. Summerhays, up ahead of them, failed to knock in his short birdie putt. No men clapping.
Tony Finau lands his tee shot at 9 pin high, 15 feet from the flag, and rolls in the birdie putt. What a fine finish to his round, and a 68 to go with the 69 yesterday. He’s -3. Joost Luiten pars the last, and that’s a 69; he was back in 31. He’s -3 too. Summerhays responds well to that double at 7 by clipping his third, a short wedge, to six feet. And to near silence. “Four men clapping,” his caddy notes wryly. Which, to be fair, is not a bad return on a hole with no spectators.
A sorry meltdown for Rose at 7. He finds the rough to the right of the fairway with his second, dumps his ball in the bunker, then fails to get it out. Then two putts, and that’s an ugly triple bogey seven. He’s back to +3, and now the cut looms. Day gets up and down from the same bunker to scramble par. He stays at -2, a par that’ll seem like a birdie. Spieth meanwhile had found the back of the green in two, but races his downhill putt 12 feet past, and can’t knock in the return. A shot dropped, and he falls out of the lead. Going the other way, Grace, who caresses a long iron over the flag at the par-three 17th, to eight feet, and rolls in the birdie putt!
-5: Grace (17), D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Spieth (16*), Martin (14), Reed
-3: Luiten (17), Summerhays (16*), Kuchar
Lucas Glover’s in, and he finished in the manner he started: with a double bogey. He’d actually composed himself quite well after the turn, with birdies at 12, 14, and 16, but he ended with bogey at 17, and then that double at the last. Back in 36 shots, only two strokes over par, but out in 47, a whopping 11 over. He signs his name at the bottom of a shameful 83. He’s +16 overall. Meanwhile Rickie Fowler is also going backwards again: back-to-back bogeys at 5 and 6, and he’s +13. Tiger with three pars in a row right now, 4 through 6, for only the third time this week. He’s +13 too. The state of all this.
Anybody remember Spangles Lee Westwood? He might have something to say this week after all. A bog-average 73 yesterday, but he’s just birdied six of the last nine holes, the latest a cross-green rake on 15. A couple of bogeys too, today, but he’s four under for his round, and suddenly in red numbers for the tournament: -1. Two third-placed finishes in his US Open history; can he go a couple better this weekend? It’s still a long shot, but suddenly not the pipe dream it seemed two hours back.
Pars for Spieth, Day and Rose on 6. Then on 7, Spieth attempts to carry the huge bunker on the right, but can’t quite make it. He’s in the sand. Day wangs his into Summerhays County down the other side. Up the hole, Summerhays can only send his third to the back of the green. That’s a glacial two putts back for bogey. He over-compensates, leaving himself 20 feet away. That’s a double, and he drops from the lead to -3.
JB Holmes creams a delightful second shot to the back of 18, the ball u-turning and nestling four feet from the hole. It should be a birdie, but he misses the tiddler. Dear lord. Still, that’s a 66, one that featured six birdies and an eagle, plus four bogeys. That’s entertainment. He ends the day at -2 overall, in great nick for the weekend. Luiten pitches to six feet at 16, and suddenly he’s up to -3, going very nicely after a sluggish opening. Trouble for Summerhays down the left of 7, meanwhile; he whips his ball out of the rough, but only onto the bald fairway leading up to the green. It rolls 50 yards back down the track, and into deep rough on the right.
Jamie Lovemark is in the clubhouse, signing for a two-under 68 today. He’s -2 for the tournament. Anders Romero scribbles his name on a one-under 69, and he’s level par overall. Kevin Kisner has been quiet today: a birdie at 2, and the rest pars. He’s one under through 15, and level overall. And the young amateur Brian Campbell is suffering right now: bogeys at 10 and 11, and he slips down to -1. Not so long ago, he had a share of the lead. US Open golf for you.
A lovely bunker shot by Summerhays, who splashes 20 feet behind the hole, and sends his ball working back. He’ll be left with a five-footer to save his par. And makes it. Stunning. Spieth also plays a delightful stroke from the sand, on 5, risking his ball toppling back into the bunker, but landing it on the brow of a hump, the ball rolling the right way instead and sliding to six feet. And it’s straight in the middle of the cup. He’s a genius with this putter. He’s nerveless, too: many would have splashed out from the bunker to a safe zone, leaving a longer putt. He remains at -5. Day gets down in two from 90 feet at the back of the green for his par, and stays at -2.
Joost Luiten endured a poor start today, bogeys at 4 and 7. But he birdied 10, and has now rattled in a 40-footer on the par-three 15th. He’s level par for the day, and back to -2. Spieth, from the middle of 5, dumps his second into the bunker guarding the front of the green. “DAMN IT, JORDAN.” Shades, once again, of Tiger. Ultra-competitive. Nothing wrong with this at all. Trouble for Summerhays too, sending his approach into a bunker on the right of 6, shortsided, downhill.
Summerhays sends a dismal putt wheeching past the left-hand side of the cup, and he remains at -5. Up on 13, Grace can’t knock in a 20-foot par saver, and he drops back to -4. On 4, Day’s ball is plugged, and he opts to play it safe, making sure he punches out into the meat of the green instead of going straight for the stick, where there’s more danger of leaving it in. He can’t put away the 15-foot par putt, and that bogey drops him back to -2. Rose can’t make his birdie putt, remaining at level par. Spieth, faced with a simple splash from sand down the green, does his usual no-nonsense thing. He stays at -5.
Summerhays launches a lovely approach into 5, his ball landing softly ten feet to the left of the flag. A chance for birdie and to take the sole lead. Back on 4, Spieth mishits his drive, and though it still finds the fairway, he’s faced with a long second. He can only send his long iron off the hard green and into a bunker at the back. Day, having driven into filth, finds a bunker front right. Rose, in good shape from the tee, knocks his second to 15 feet.
Ben Martin sends his second at 11 high to the right of the green, but has just hit the flagstick with an 80-foot bump and run down the hill, and will be tapping in for par. He’s still at -4 with Patrick Reed, yet to play today. Tucked in at -3: Matt Kuchar, who Jason Day; Tony Finau, who has birdied 1 and now 5, after playing the back nine in level-par 34; and the amateur Brian Campbell, who responded to that double at 7 with birdie at 8. He reaches the turn in level-par 36. The field is really bunching up. This is superb fun.
Updated
This is only the third appearance in a major for Utah journeyman Daniel Summerhays. His best effort is a tie for 33rd at last year’s PGA. But after birdies at 1, 3 and now 4, he’s the joint leader of the US Open at -5! He’s joined there by Branden Grace, who drives onto the 12th green, takes a careful two putts on the wildly undulating surface from 30 feet, and makes off with birdie. We now have a five-way tie at the top.
-5: Summerhays (13*), Grace (12), Spieth (12*), D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Martin (10), Reed
Pars all round for Spieth, Day and Rose on 3. Spieth, not for the first time today, should be a bit disappointed with his putt, a fairly straightforward 12-footer after an exquisite tee shot bounced along the back slope of the green towards the cup. Spieth still tying the lead at -5. Down the other end, Darren Clarke, propping everyone up at +15 after bogeys at 2 and 4. Lucas Glover has turned it around a bit with birdies at 12 and 13, so he’s just the +14 right now. Tiger bogeyed 18 to finish the back nine in 36 shots, and has since picked up a stroke at 1 before handing it straight back at 2. He’s only two over for his round today, but that totals +12. And Rickie Fowler is moving in the right direction: after back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17, he carded back-to-back birdies at 1 and 2. He’s level par for his round, and +11. That we’re talking about these people like this.
Here’s JB Holmes since the turn: birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie. NIck Faldo used to do this sort of thing with much less fuss. He’s -2 for the tournament. Martin has a downhill tiddler on 10 for birdie, no more than five feet. He prods at it in a very uncertain fashion, and it dribbles away to the left. Par, and he remains at -4. “Copy of the Daily Record and a bottle of ginger, as I recall,” writes David McKay, a callback to a conversation we were having three hours ago about former Aberdeen star Charlie Nicholas in a newsagent circa 1990. “Couldn’t swear to the ginger though. The man was a pro, after all.”
The Jason Day revival continues! He drains a 40-footer up the 2nd green, and that’s a second birdie in a row! He’s -3 suddenly, and right back in the thick of it. Spieth, having hit a gorgeous approach pin high to eight feet, really should be standing now as sole leader, but he pulls a terrible putt to the left. Par. Rose drops back to level par after failing to get up and down from greenside sand. All the fault of the putt, because he splashed out to six feet, hitting the flag. Meanwhile Daniel Summerhays is going along very nicely; he strokes in a 25-footer on 3, and he’s -4 for both his round and the tournament.
A short birdie putt missed by Grace on 11; he remains at -4. That’s two chances to take the lead in two holes, both spurned, and momentum’s slipping a little. Martin also has a chance to tie the lead, but his downhill 25-footer on 9 is one turn short of dropping. That’s more unfortunate, a fine effort, but he too stays at -4.
-5: Spieth (10*), D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Grace (11), Martin (9), Reed
So that last entry, ladies and gentlemen, is the perfect set-up for what happens next! Day, 70 yards off to the left of the green, whips out a wedge and sends a three-hop chip into the cup for birdie! He’s back to -2! Well that’s one way to get up and down from a greenside bunker. Then Spieth rolls in the 12-footer he left himself, his birdie the least he deserved after that hard-as-nails approach. He’s back into a share of the lead at -5. And a no-fuss birdie tap-in from Rose, benefitting from a slice of luck with his second, which careered into the green from a bank way up on the right. He’s -1, and suddenly back in the mix. All smiles around 1. Not so much fun for poor Brian Campbell, though, who ends with a double bogey on 7. He doesn’t like that hole, having doubled it yesterday too.
Disaster for Jason Day, who is playing three out of sand to the right of 1. He hits an aggressive one, and that’s away down the aforementioned swale. He’s a good 60 yards off the side of the green. At least. He’ll be dropping shots here all right. “That’s a joke,” he exclaims, as his ball trundles off, taking his hopes and dreams with it. And yes, it is perhaps overly punitive. But he knew that swale was there, and hammered that sand shot like a loon. So there you have it. Without these occasional lapses of concentration, fuelled occasionally by hot jets of steam, Day would probably have that maiden major by now. He’s hardly out of this, of course, but really needs to limit the damage here.
Lowry hits a not-particularly convincing eagle putt up the long 8th green, having found the putting surface at the par five in two. But he rattles in the eight-footer he leaves himself, and that’s a birdie that takes him to -2. Spieth meanwhile knocks his second at 1 into the fairway, then sends a very brave third pin high, to the left of the hole. Another few inches to the left, and that ball would have been trundling off 50 yards down the swale. But it stays up - just. Hey, you make your own luck, and that was a brave line to take. He deserves it.
Grace knocks his second at 10 pin high to 12 feet, but fails to convert the birdie chance. He doesn’t quite hit it, the ball dying to the right. He’ll remain at -4, but what an opportunity to grab a share of the lead. Martin’s alongside him now, knocking in his putt at 8 for birdie. Meanwhile some trouble for the amateur Brian Campbell, who is going from bunker to bunker down the right of 7. He’ll be dropping at least a stroke here, unless he manages to hole out from sand, 60 yards up the hole.
Spieth, coming off his double bogey at 18, bombs his drive at the par-five 1st into the thick stuff down the left. That only just crept in, it wasn’t far off line. Spieth doesn’t seem the sort to allow the wheels to come off post-mishap. But there’s more work to do here. Birdie for JB Holmes at 12, and he’s -2. A decent morning for Daniel Summerhays, who bogeyed 10 but has followed it with birdies at 12, 13 and 17, and has played the back nine in 32 shots. He’s -2, in good nick. And on the long par-five 8th, Martin creams a 7-iron to six feet; he’ll have that for a birdie that’d move him to -4.
Spieth is faced with a 40-yard bunker shot. He bumps his ball onto the top platform of the green, where the pin is, but he’s still the best part of 30 feet from the pin. That’ll be for bogey. He very nearly teases a clever right-to-left breaker into the cup, but he’s not getting away with that. A double bogey, thanks to a poor drive and an overly aggressive decision in the fairway bunker. He’s now one behind the leaders. Day meanwhile chips 15 feet behind the flag, hoping the ball will funnel back towards the hole. It doesn’t really. He then overhits his putt downhill, and misses the return. A ridiculous bogey, given he’d split the fairway with a boomer. He’s back to -1. But Grace makes his birdie at 9, and he’s out in 33 shots. He’s -4, right in this now, alongside Spieth. How quickly everything changes.
-5: D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Grace (9), Spieth (9*), Campbell (5), Reed
Trouble again for Spieth, this time down 18. Can he escape again? Hmm. He drives into the bunker down the left, up against the lip. He should take his medicine and chip out, but opts to batter it long. He hits the lip and it squirts out into the rough ahead. His third goes into the bunker front right of the green. Remember this is playing as a par four today. He’s in bother. His playing partner Day hasn’t got going yet. He’s level par for his round, and in prime position in the middle of the fairway. But his second is lame, well short, and nearly topples off the front of the green, the pin on the top level at the back. Meanwhile Lovemark isn’t far away from eagle on the short par-four 12th, finding the front of the green with his drive, and nearly draining the 30-foot uphill putt. Birdie will do, though, and he’s -3. And Grace, following his huge eagle rake at 8, is in the mood, finding the centre of the par-three 9th with his tee shot, the ball guiding round to the right, to a couple of feet. That’s begging to be converted for a birdie that’ll take him to -4.
An eagle at 8 for Branden Grace, a 50-foot putt from off the side and down a swale, and the South African’s suddenly -3 for the championship. Meanwhile at the other end of the scale, more tales of woe. Tiger has steadied the ship after his bogey at 14 with a couple of pars. He’s still +11. But Rickie Fowler bogeys 16, and he’s +12 now. Darren Clarke had birdied 15, but handed the shot back at 16, and has now doubled 18. He’s played the back nine in 40 strokes, and is +13. And Lucas Glover’s mini-revival didn’t last long. Birdie at 8 after that quadruple on 7, but another double at 9 has been followed by bogey at 10. The 2009 champ is in last pace, +15. Though I wonder how club pro Rick Berberian Jr., who shot a 13-over 83 yesterday, is feeling ahead of going out later in the tougher conditions?
Day, Rose and Spieth all find the par-three 17th green, but it’s only the Masters champion who gets close to the hole. After Day and Rose secure pars, Spieth clacks his birdie putt home from ten feet. He’s now the sole leader of the championship! He was in all sorts of bother at that last hole, but escaped exquisitely, and now look at this!
-6: Spieth (8*)
-5: D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Campbell (4), Reed
Birdie at 10 for JB Holmes, who is going like a train today. He’s now four under for his round, and -2 for the tournament. Lovemark suffers his first slip of the day on the same hole; a bogey that drops him back to -2. Lowry can’t get up and down from sand to save himself at 6; bogey, and he’s -1 again.
Spieth carefully splishes (rather than splashes, so delicate is he) to six feet. That’s a lovely touch from there. He was set a puzzle just to get it onto the green, never mind close. He was facing a huge upslope, not much green between the top of that ramp and the pin, and a tight route in. But this lad is special. Par. What a scramble. Another shot picked up by his playing partner Rose, who adds birdie at 16 to the one at 14; he’s level par for the tournament now. However Brian Campbell drops a shot, missing a short par putt on 4; he’s back to -4.
So having given Lowry the big trumpet there, he’s now in trouble down 6. Deep trouble down the left. Rough, and then a bunker. He’s got a job to get up and down from distance. Meanwhile Spieth finds the thick stuff down the left of 16 with his drive. Then gets a flyer straight through the green. Our new co-leader has quite the puzzle coming back, a long shot from sand.
Updated
Shane Lowry’s right in this tournament. He’s just stroked in a 12-footer on 5 for birdie, his first of the day. Add that to yesterday’s 69, and he’s -2 overall. Lowry knows his way around a links, which this basically is. He looks like he’s enjoying himself, too, as opposed to playing with the fear in his eyes. Don’t rule him out.
We have a new joint leader in Jordan Spieth. His tee shot at the par-three 15th finds the centre of the green, and a 25-footer’s rolled straight into the cup. He’s prone to missing the odd short one, as we saw earlier at 12, but on the whole there’s no sharper shooter on tour. He’s so reliable with the flat stick. Like a young Tiger Woods.
-5: Spieth (6*), Campbell (3), D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Reed
Some admin. Birdie for Ben Martin at 4, and he’s back to level par for the day, -3 for the tournament. Birdie for Finau at 16; he’s -2. Eagle for JB Holmes at 8; he’s -1. Meanwhile Andres Romero, perhaps taking his golf seriously again after letting Carlos Tevez carry his bag at the 2012 Open, played the back nine in 34 strokes this morning, and he’s picked up pace after the turn, with birdies at 1 and 2. He’s suddenly -1. It’s another dropped shot for Tiger, who can’t tease a right-to-left curler into the hole from 12 feet, and he’s +11. And a birdie for Lucas Glover at 8! That’s some going after a quadruple bogey on the previous hole. He’s +12.
A coupe of big moves here. Jordan Spieth nearly holes his second into 14 for a sensational eagle, but the ball shaves the hole and ends up ten feet away. He rolls in a calm birdie putt, and he’s -4. He’s one off the lead, and that’s now shared by the young amateur Brian Campbell, who tickles in a 20-footer on 3. That’s back-to-back birdies, and he’s -5! Astonishing!
-5: Campbell (3), Johnson, Stenson
-4: Spieth (5*), Reed
-3: Lovemark (9), Martin (4), Kuchar
Lucas Glover, who won the 2009 US Open - in that respect, the Stewart Cink to David Duval’s Tom Watson - is the latest big name to suffer a widescreen shocker. He started the day with a double-bogey seven at the par-five 1st, and it’s gotten worse. Bogey at 3, another double at 4, another bogey at 6, and now a quadruple-bogey 8 at the 7th. He’s ten over for his round already, and still two holes to play before he reaches the turn! He’s +13 overall, tied in last place with the club pro Rich Berberian Jr.
Day arrows his second at 13 straight at the flag. It’s a gorgeous shot, and he’s very unlucky to see his ball bound past the hole off the rock-hard surface and towards the back of the green. But two putts, and he’s in for par. Spieth makes par too, from a safe position in the centre of the green, never threatening birdie. But Rose leaves his second short, and that leads to a dropped shot. He’s back to +2 again. Jamie Lovemark’s hot streak continues, though: another birdie, this time at 8, his third in four holes, and he’s suddenly bothering the upper echelons. He’s not far off raking in a cross-green 150-footer on the par-three 9th, too. He’s going well, out in 33. And the 22-year-old amateur Brian Campbell, who flatly refused to allow his wheels to fall off late yesterday, continues where he left off: birdie at 2, and he’s a shot off the lead!
-5: D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Campbell (2), Reed
-3: Lovemark (9), Spieth (4*), Kuchar
-2: Day (4*), Martin (3), Gribble, Molinari, Dufner, Warren
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News of another golfing great whose powers are on the wane. Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open champion, is in all sorts of bother right now. He shot 77 yesterday, and it’s safe to say he won’t be launching a charge back up the leaderboard. A triple bogey 7 on his opening hole, the 10th. Then a birdie at 12 immediately cancelled out by bogeys at 13 and 14. He’s four over for his round already, and suddenly in Fowler-Woods Country at the bottom of the leaderboard, a dismal +11.
Fowler splashes out at 12 to six feet, and strokes in the birdie putt. He’s back to +11. And Tiger sends his sand escape to three feet, tapping in for a precious birdie as well! He’s +10. The comeback’s on! Just another seven or eight birdies and these lads will have a chance of making the cut.
Luiten leaves himself too much to do at 4. He can’t sink a 20-foot par saver, and he’s back to -1. Jamie Lovemark has started well: birdie at 5, and now he’s holed out from a bunker for another at 7. He’s -2 after yesterday’s 70. Martin needs to sink a missable 15-footer at 2 to save his par; a slightly nervous start after that opening bogey at the par five 1st.
Fowler nearly holed in one at 12 yesterday, but he’s found the bunker to the front left of the green with his drive today. After bogey at 11 - he’s now +12, just the one stroke better than club professional Rich Berberian Jr. - he could do with getting up and down from sand to save a bit of face. Tiger’s in the bunker too. But a wee wait for them now. They were allowed to play up by Spieth, Day and Rose, already on the green, who all have long eagle putts at this short, driveable par four. Each player is forced to plot an imaginative route towards the hole, putting up the banks at the side of the green, allowing the ball to work its own way back. Rose’s effort isn’t that close, and he settles for a three-putt par. Day makes his birdie; he’s -2 again. But Spieth misses from three feet, an appalling yip, and must remain at -3. Meanwhile a lovely touch by Rickie Fowler upon making it to the green; he gently fixes Day’s creased shirt collar, ostentatiously adjusting it and pressing it down with his hand. Good to see his sense of humour hasn’t deserted the immensely likeable Fowler, like his form.
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Not the greatest start for Tiger, then. A bit better on 11: another straight drive, and his second finds the green, leaving a 30-foot uphill look at birdie. Two putts, par. Small acorns, small acorns. A very average start to the round by Ben Martin, meanwhile, who leaves his third shot at 1 - playing as a par five today, remember - a good 40 feet short of the flag. He was in the centre of the fairway there. Not close enough. He can’t get down in two, and he slips back to -2 with an opening bogey. And an early birdie for Tony Finau, at 12, to move to -2. “Old Champagne Charlie was pretty handy for my beloved Dons, actually,” writes David McKay. “Thirty-seven goals in 114 games and a Scottish Cup winners’ medal to boot.He cheered us all up no end after a few fairly dismal post-Fergie years. And I once spotted him from the top deck of a bus as he came out of a paper shop too, which was a pretty exciting event for Aberdeen in the early 1990s.” What had he bought, out of interest? A copy of the Press & Journal? Stationery? A packet of crisps? Ciggies?
Pretty much as expected, Tiger can’t make the 25-footer he’s left himself for par on 10. And so it begins. Again. He’s +11 now, alongside Fowler, who makes par. Rose, Spieth and finally Day all give themselves a look at birdie on 11, but all three putts are a little tentative. Pars. Joost Luiten shot a street-fighting 68 yesterday. He’s started steadily today, with pars at 1 and 2 to remain at -2, three off the lead. Branden Grace joins him there after picking up a shot at 1. “Charlie Nicholas at Aberdeen (4.10pm BST) doesn’t really do Tiger justice,” argues Simon McMahon. “Champagne Charlie’s star only really shone brightly for a couple of seasons at Celtic, it was downhill all the way as soon he left for Arsenal really. ‘George Best at Hibernian’ phase is nearer the mark I think.” John Barnes and Ian Rush at Newcastle?
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So much for Tiger’s revival, which lasted one perfect drive. From the middle of the fairway, he lumps his second shot up onto a high, rough-covered slope to the left of the green. He then nearly falls on his arse, backwards, while trying to take his stance. That should have been soundtracked by a kettle drum, someone fiddling around with the tuning. He punches out into the centre of the green, but that’s a long putt he’s left himself for par. Jordan Spieth made this look so easy.
Tiger hits his first shot of the day. A booming drive down 10, and straight to boot! Fowler blooters one straight down the road, too. And finally Louis Oosthuizen, who keeps the spirit of yesterday alive by winging his opening tee shot into the deep rough down the right. Up the hole, Day sticks his third pin high to ten feet. He’ll have a chance to save par. But he doesn’t hit the putt. An opening bogey, all the trouble caused by that drive. Spieth rattles in his birdie putt for the perfect start. Rose knocks his in too. Day’s back to -1, but Rose rises to +1, Spieth, already ominous at -3.
-5: D Johnson, Stenson
-4: Reed
-3: Spieth (1*), Martin, Campbell, Kuchar
Day can only take his medicine and hack back out from the tousled hillock. Spieth’s in the middle of the fairway, though, and with the pin back left of the green, in front of an upslope, sends a beauty to ten feet. Rose uses a slope on the right of the green to send his ball in another way, and he’s got an eight footer. Great chances for birdies. This pin position is very kind today. Expect low scores at 10.
Spieth clatters his opening drive down the middle of 10. Justin Rose, the 2013 champion, follows suit. He needs a good number today after a fine start and miserable end to yesterday’s round: a brilliant birdie at 1, his approach heat-seeking the flag, then three bogeys in the last four. A two-over 72, and already the pre-tournament third favourite is right up against it. Day up on a mound to the left of the fairway.
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An eventful start for DA Points, everyone’s favourite US journeyman. A four-over round of 74 yesterday, but a birdie-bogey-birdie start, 10 through 12, has him up to +3 and a tie for 79th spot. One more birdie and, as things stand, he’d make the midway cut, which at the US Open is the top 60 plus ties. DA Points, Aberdeen FC from the early 1990s, it’s a broad church at your super soaraway Guardian Sport. OK, don’t worry, Tiger’s teeing off in ten minutes. Jordan Spieth’s teeing off now.
Of course, we’re all just killing time until Jordan Spieth comes out. He starts at 10 in a few minutes, Jason Day alongside him, the pair having shot 68s yesterday. Day of course already has seven top-ten finishes in the majors to his name, including two runner-up spots in the US Open. He simply has to make the breakthrough soon. Could this finally be it, his injury worries behind him? Who’d begrudge him? He’s got the advantage today of flying under the radar a little, in so much as all eyes will be on his playing partner, the wonder-kid Spieth. Having shot 68 in the tougher conditions yesterday, Spieth will be expected to go lower as a morning starter today. Which is easier said than done, but when you’ve won the Masters at age 21, the rulebook changes. Way it works. Spieth is looking to become only the sixth player to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year, after Craig Wood, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and ... Tiger Woods. Actually, we’re all just killing time until Tiger Woods comes out, aren’t we. Rubberneckers that we are. How good would it be if he shot 65 today? Yes, yes, but what’s the point in watching sport if you can’t send yourself off on a few little flights of fancy? “What we’re witnessing is Tiger going through his Charlie Nicholas-at-Aberdeen phase,” opines David Brown, with a comparison internet kids around the world can enjoy. “A few moments of brilliance here and there but mostly just shuffling around, a shadow of his former self, unable to work out why he can’t do the things he used to do.”
Here we go again, then. The US Open is always special. But did anyone see yesterday coming? Phil Mickelson firing out of the blocks. Dustin Johnson imperious. Patrick Reed a whirlwind. Brian Campbell a revelation. The welcome return of Colin Montgomerie. The battling brilliance of Jason Day. Jordan Spieth’s deadeye putting. Tiger and Rickie. Rickie and Tiger. Oh man. If today is half as good, we’ll be onto something. It’s a bit windier this morning than last, but nothing as dramatic as yesterday afternoon. Opening hole birdies for Luke Donald (+2) and JB Holmes (+1). A slow start, but a long way to go.
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Preamble
Has there ever been a more hapless group in US Open history? Yesterday afternoon, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen played Chambers Bay in a combined total of 28 over par. Oosthuizen shot 77. Woods took 80. Fowler carded 81. It wouldn’t have been much worse had you sent Maurice Flitcroft, Walter Danecki and Angelo Spagnolo out together.
Oosthuizen’s seven-over 77 seems a common-or-garden mishap compared to the other two scores. First, Fowler’s 81. Only Rich Berberian Jr. had a worse day, shooting 83. He’s a club pro. Fowler is the current Players champion, and was one of the favourites to win this week. Here’s Fowler’s finishes in the last five majors: tied 5th, tied 2nd, tied 2nd, tied 3rd and tied 12th. After yesterday’s fiasco, he’s currently in 155th place out of 156. And in case we forget, his 81 featured an eagle! He was an inch or so away from a hole-in-one albatross at the par-four 12th! Golf, huh?
But of course it’s the travails of Tiger which have hogged most of the limelight. His 80 is his worst-ever round at a US Open. He’s driving like a maniac, making Severiano Ballesteros look like Calvin Peete. He hit six of 14 fairways yesterday. He missed the widest fairway in US Open history by the best part of 50 yards. One shot saw his club fly 20 yards back down the hole. And on the 18th, he topped a fairway wood into a pot bunker like a rank amateur. When he disappeared from view to play the sand shot, the gallery exploded into laughter. There was a ripple of ironic applause when he splashed the ball back out. The man should suffer no more indignity. But of course he’s got another 18 holes to play this morning. God speed, Tiger Woods.
All of which has somewhat overshadowed the fine efforts of Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Ben Martin and the 22-year-old amateur Brian Campbell, who head the leaderboard after a memorable first round. A tip of the hat to those lads, then, but you know how it is sometimes. With Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Phil Mickelson and Monty - Monty! - all hovering too, it should be a grand second round. It’s on!
How the top of the leaderboard looks ...
-5: Stenson, Johnson
-4: Reed
-3: Kuchar, Martin, Campbell (a)
-2: Gribble, Molinari, Dufner, Warren, Luiten, Spieth, Day
-1: Mickelson, Chappell, Harman, Snedeker, Jimenez, Montgomerie, Ogilvy, Beljan, Finau, Schneiderjans (a), Grace, Lowry
... and the bottom of it:
+10: Kim, Hurley III, Woods
+11: Fowler
+13: Berberian Jr.
Finally today’s tee times. Teeing off early at the 1st ...
7am PDT (3pm BST): Tom Hoge, Brad Fritsch, Tjaart van der Walt
7.11am PDT (3.11pm BST): Brad Elder, Beau Hossler (a), Jamie Lovemark
7.22am PDT (3.22pm BST): Ryo Ishikawa, Luke Donald, J.B. Holmes
7.33am PDT (3.33pm BST): Lucas Glover, Bradley Neil (a), Marc Leishman
7.44am PDT (3.44pm BST): Ryan Palmer, Joost Luiten, Danny Willett
7.55am PDT (3.55pm BST): Kevin Kisner, George Coetzee, Alexander Noren
8.06am PDT (4.06pm BST): Brendon Todd, Branden Grace, Thongchai Jaidee
8.17am PDT (4.17pm BST): Billy Horschel, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood
8.28am PDT (4.28pm BST): Bill Haas, Charl Schwartzel, Hunter Mahan
8.39am PDT (4.39pm BST): Shane Lowry, Ben Martin, Stephen Gallacher
8.50am PDT (4.50pm BST): Charley Hoffman, Camilo Villegas, Tommy Fleetwood
9.01am PDT (5.01pm BST): Mark Silvers, Brian Campbell (a), Cheng-Tsung Pan
9.12am PDT (5.12pm BST): Jimmy Gunn, Jared Becher, Samuel Saunders
... and early from 10 ...
7am PDT (3pm BST): Jason Palmer, Roberto Castro, Andres Romero
7.11am PDT (3.11pm BST): Denny McCarthy (a), D.A. Points, Shiv Kapur
7.22am PDT (3.22pm BST): Bryson DeChambeau (a), Blayne Barber, Billy Hurley III
7.33am PDT (3.33pm BST): Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen
7.44am PDT (3.44pm BST): Bo Van Pelt, Charlie Beljan, Tony Finau
7.55am PDT (3.55pm BST): Lee Janzen, Oliver Schniederjans (a), Darren Clarke
8.06am PDT (4.06pm BST): Daniel Summerhays, Thomas Aiken, Danny Lee
8.17am PDT (4.17pm BST): Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Rose
8.28am PDT (4.28pm BST): Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen
8.39am PDT (4.39pm BST): Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter
8.50am PDT (4.50pm BST): Ryan Moore, Anirban Lahiri, Erik Compton
9.01am PDT (5.01pm BST): Jake Knapp (a), Tyler Duncan, Matt Mabrey
9.12am PDT (5.12pm BST): Michael Davan, Davis Riley (a), Andrew Pope
... then teeing off later at the 1st ...
1pm PDT (9pm BST): Troy Kelly, Seuk Hyun Baek, Cameron Smith
1.11pm PDT (9.11pm BST): John Parry, Josh Persons, Jack Maguire (a)
1.22pm PDT (9.22pm BST): Timothy O’Neal, Stephan Jaeger, Kurt Barnes
1.33pm PDT (9.33pm BST): Gary Woodland, Victor Dubuisson, John Senden
1.44pm PDT (9.44pm BST): Andy Sullivan, Morgan Hoffmann, Bernd Wiesberger
1.55pm PDT (9.55pm BST): Marcel Siem, Alexander Levy, Brian Harman
2.06pm PDT (10.06pm BST): Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar
2.17pm PDT (10.17pm BST): Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia
2.28pm PDT (10.28pm BST): Martin Kaymer, Gunn Yang (a), Rory McIlroy
2.39pm PDT (10.39pm BST): Patrick Reed, Chris Kirk, Jamie Donaldson
2.50pm PDT (10.50pm BST): Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na
3.01pm PDT (11.01pm BST): Sam Horsfield (a), Shunsuke Sonoda, Oliver Farr
3.12pm PDT (11.12pm BST): Kevin Lucas, Pat Wilson, Cole Hammer (a)
... and later from 10 ...
1pm PDT (9pm BST): Michael Putnam, Marcus Fraser, Steve Marino
1.11pm PDT (9.11pm BST): Garth Mulroy, Richard Lee, Lucas Bjerregaard
1.22pm PDT (9.22pm BST): Jason Allred, Kyle Jones (a), Cody Gribble
1.33pm PDT (9.33pm BST): Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Angel Cabrera
1.44pm PDT (9.44pm BST): Wen-Chong Liang, David Hearn, Hiroyuki Fujita
1.55pm PDT (9.55pm BST): Robert Streb, Lee McCoy (a), Kevin Chappell
2.06pm PDT (10.06pm BST): George McNeill, Masahiro Kawamura, Cameron Tringale
2.17pm PDT (10.17pm BST): Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker
2.28pm PDT (10.28pm BST): Jim Furyk, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Colin Montgomerie
2.39pm PDT (10.39pm BST): Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Byeong-Hun An
2.50pm PDT (10.50pm BST): Jason Dufner, Marc Warren, Matt Every
3.01pm PDT (11.01pm BST): Brandon Hagy, Matthew NeSmith (a), Sebastian Cappelen
3.12pm PDT (11.12pm BST): Nick Hardy (a), Alex Kim, Rich Berberian Jr
