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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Michael Weston

US Open 2025: Sam Burns Takes One-Stroke Lead Into Final Day At Rain-Softened Oakmont

Rory McIlroy Bryson DeChambeau Patrick Reed Justin Rose US Open JJ Spaun Open Shane Lowry United States Adam Scott
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sam Burns will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the 2025 US Open at Oakmont on Sunday as he looks for a first Major championship title.

Burns carded three birdies and two bogeys in his Saturday 69, taking him to four-under for the championship and leaving a one-shot buffer to JJ Spaun and Adam Scott in T2nd.

The 28-year-old was embroiled in a tight battle, not only with playing partner Spaun, but also with the course itself on Moving Day and made several world-class par saves as heavy rain midway through took away some of Oakmont's bite.

With receptive greens and fairways that would hang on to dicey drives, Burns and Spaun avoided costly errors on several occasions to pull away from the chasing pack.

Yet, with birdies not arriving as regularly as they could have, the likes of Scott and Hovland moved in. While the Norwegian was unable to maintain his charge until the end, the 2013 Masters champion signed for a third round 67 to book a slot in the final group.

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A final-hole bogey from Spaun saw him drop back into the penultimate pairing with Hovland, who also suffered a dropped shot at the last to post a 70.

With 18 holes to play, only Burns, Scott, Spaun and Hovland remain under par as LIV Golf's Carlos Ortiz hangs on to fifth at even par.

Ortiz joined Scott in posting the low round of the day (67) and was one of many players to suffer a wobble at the 18th hole - without which would have seen him finish bogey-free and in a far greater position to spring a shock Major tilt.

As it is, though, Oritz will begin the final round four strokes adrift and hoping for a slip up from several of those in front when he tees off alongside Tyrrell Hatton at 1:53pm ET (6:53pm BST).

Meanwhile, Burns and Scott begin their final round at 2:15pm ET (7:15pm BST) on Sunday, hoping for a magical end to a fascinating week at Oakmont.

US Open Leaderboard

  • -4 Sam Burns (69)
  • -3 Adam Scott (67)
  • -3 JJ Spaun (69)
  • -1 Viktor Hovland (70)
  • E Carlos Ortiz (67)
  • +1 Thriston Lawrence (70)
  • +1 Tyrrell Hatton (68)
  • +2 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (69)
  • +3 Cameron Young (69)
  • +3 Robert MacIntyre (69)
  • 10 players on four-over - including Scottie Scheffler

View full US Open leaderboard on the US Open website.

How to watch the US Open: Channels and timings

  • US (ET): USA Network (10am-12pm); NBC (12pm-8pm)
  • UK (GMT): Sky Sports Golf (4pm-1am)

Updates from...

ZAC BLAIR OFF TO THE PERFECT START

Hello and welcome to the first day's play from Oakmont. Current leader +11.... Only messing. We are underway, though. We'll be bringing you early updates shortly and live updates all the way through until Sunday.

Zac Blair has birdied the 10th to get off to the perfect start. He leads the 125th US Open.

FEATURED GROUPS

A reminder of some of the marquee groups that we have to look forward to. Looking forward to Shane, Justin and Rory - all good friends of course. Maybe the European Ryder Cuppers can feed off one another today and post a solid first round.

7.18am (12.18pm): Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama
7.29am (12.29pm): Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau
7.40am (12.40pm): Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy
1.03pm (6.03pm): Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
1.14pm (6.14pm): Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson
1.25pm (6.25pm): Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

TEE TIMES

And here are the tee times in full for round one of the US Open. It's going to be a long day.

EAGLE!

Wow, what a start for Maxwell Moldovan! He's holed his second shot at the par-4 1st, which is 484 yards by the way.

BEWARE THE BUNKERS

A lot of talk about the long rough this week, but here's a reminder of how nasty some of the bunkers can be.

TEE TWO START

A reminder that players are off the 1st and 10th today. It means we're going to have a lot going on, a day when the leaderboard is going to chop and change quite a lot no doubt. Moldovan leads at -2 at the moment and there are two other players in the red - Zac Blair and J.J. Spaun both at -1.

And here's that eagle we were talking about.

ON THE TEE... BRYSON

Right, strap yourselves in. Xander Schauffele, The Open champion, gets this group off. Fairway. I wish I could hit a drive like that at 7am, any time for that matter. Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion, has hit one a long way left but it's sitting nicely in the rough thanks largely to the spectators.

ABERG UNDER PAR

The Swede is the fourth player under par. Nice start from a player who's been a bit inconsistent lately. It's looking likely an ugly start for Fleetwood. He actually does well to escape with just a bogey, holing a 10-footer to limit the damage. Not too bad considering there was a penalty drop in there on the 1st.

LOWRY, ROSE, MCILROY UNDERWAY

Shane Lowry with an iron off the 10th. Fairway found. Rose, the former champ, into the hay with a fairway wood. 2011 champ Rory splits the fairway with an iron.

BOGEY FOR BRYSON

Bryson is punished for his wayward opening tee shot on the 1st. Despite getting a decent lie, he ends up missing a 10-footer for par.

Rory with a fine approach at the 10th. We got a good idea of how the rough is playing there with Rose's approach, he muscled that out well and it trundled up onto the green. That looked to be sitting down in the rough, too.

Back to McIlroy, and it's almost the perfect start. The birdie putt stayed high on him and slips a couple of feet by. Tidies up, solid par to start. It's now Aberg at the top after the Swede makes back-to-back birdies.

ANOTHER DROP FOR TOMMY

Another penalty drop, two tee shots going left to blame for the Englishman. Back-to-back bogeys and 1 & 2.

Bryson takes on the 2nd hole at 356 yards with a driver and it goes into the rough - the next shot will be interesting. Can he hack that one out of the long stuff? He certainly didn't hold back with that drive. Does he ever?

JOINT LEADERS AT -2

Aberg is joined by J.J. Spaun at the top of the leaderboard. Former US Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick has birdied the 1st. We've been going for over an hour now and the guys are the bottom of the leaderboard are at +3. Early days, of course, but we've already seen quite a few birdies.

DeChambeau may have got close to the 2nd green with his drive but that chip/pitch out the heavy stuff was nasty, leaks away into 3-putt territory. Birdie for McIlroy, meanwhile. He holes a monster putt at the 11th

PLAYERS ATTACKING 11

The early signs are that the par-4 11th (403 yards) is one to attack today. Here's Adam Scott showing how it's done...

MCILROY OFF TO GOOD START

That putt on 11 from McIlroy... we described it as a "monster" but it was more like 30ft. Not quite monster, more medium-sized.

RORY EATS UP THE PAR 5

The Northern Irishman hits an enormous drive on the 618-yard, par-5 12th, and follows it up with a 6-iron straight at the pin. It rolls towards the back of the green when it looked as though it might settle just a few feet away. That drive was close to 400 yards, although the fairways are running very fast.

Two putts and he'll take a share of the lead...

RORY TAKES SHARE OF THE LEAD

Here's that drive from Rory - just the 392 yards. There's been a lot of chat recently about his driving troubles, but he's started well today with the big stick. Still, any time a player pulls out the driver, you feel like closing your eyes and hiding behind the sofa - that rough! Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, onto the green. It's a very aggressive eagle putt for the outright lead and he's left himself a lot of work to do for the birdie. He was about 40 feet away but that was a bit heavy handed. Rose misses his birdie putt, but Rory rolls his in gently down the hill from about six feet.

AMATEUR UPDATE

Matt Vogt +5 (7), Evan Beck +4 (5). It's a learning curve this week for these talented amateurs. Must be a huge buzz making it into the US Open, but Oakmont is some place to make your Major debut, as most of the amateurs are this week.

LEFTY STARTS WITH A BOGEY

Phil Mickelson, a player who looks as though he'll end up one Major short of the career Grand Slam, starts with a bogey on 10 and pars the 11th. He's had his chances in his national Open, but it's been rather to him. He's a six-time runner-up here - incredible. Still, five Major Championships safely tucked away for a player who, at one time, looked destined to never win one. What a career.

YES, TOMMY!

Tommy grabs one back after an ugly start. He's now just +1 and that feels pretty good considering what he's been through in the early stages of his first round (two penalty drops).

SPAUN LEADS AT -3

Spaun has the lead on his own after a spectacular tee shot on the par-3 16th. Just the 222 yards today and he wasn't far off an ace with that laser. Can McIlroy join him? It's a great effort from very long range on 14 - safe par.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Bradley with a 2 on 6. The US Ryder Cup captain holes a bunker shot. Don't rule out the former PGA champ this week. McIlroy, on the 15th, is going to get his first taste of the long rough after losing his drive out to the right - first loose one of the day from him.

DeChambeau makes a birdie 3 to get back to level at the 5th.

LOTS OF BAD LANGUAGE

As predicted, lots of naughty words being picked up out there - and lots of apologies from the commentators. We're not going to apologize, however: a. because we're keeping our language clean; and b. because Oakmont is very hard.

SPAUN TO -4

We can't keep up with J.J. He's on fire. Four birdies so far over his opening eight holes. His latest comes at the par-4 17th. Rory holes a lovely par putt at the 15th, rolling it in dead weight - great for momentum after a wayward drive and a visit to the jungle.

PLAYERS MOVING THE WRONG WAY

After a good start with a birdie on the 1st, Matt Fitzpatrick has bogeyed three of the last four holes. Fellow Englishman Justin Rose has also dropped a couple at 14 and 15 - both players now +2.

RED HOT BRYSON

I don't have a deal with Reebok and I'm not looking for a Reebok freebie, but I do like seeing the Reebok logo in the world of golf. I have to say, Bryson wears it well. Anyway, he's just hit a beautiful approach and could be about to get into the red numbers.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

WHEN'S SCOTTIE OUT?

1.25pm EDT (6.25pm BST). It's hard to know how everyone is really playing when the World No.1 isn't on the course. I find myself looking forward to Scheffler teeing off. As a neutral (I'm not, I've backed Jon Rahm), it would be good to see Scottie give the rest of a field a chance by opening with something in the mid 70s.

Woodland is playing well, that's for sure. The former US Open champion is -3 and just one shot off the lead.

CANTLAY STRUGGLING

Hard to figure this one out, such a consistent performer for a long time. He's +4 after just six holes. We've almost stopped talking about him as a Major contender because he seems to have gone off the boil a little, although he did finish tied third at the US Open last year. Poor start today.

DeChambeau is into the red for the first time and he looks to be enjoying himself out there. Xander Schauffele makes a double - ouch.

FROZEN ROPE

Bryson on the 276-yard, par-3 8th. Absolutely stripes a 5-wood but it comes up short. Adam Scott makes the turn in -2. Looking as relaxed as ever - it takes more than "the beast" that is Oakmont to rattle this guy.

Now, Bryson is pacing out his next shot at the par-3 8th. He's putting from quite some distance here. What touch. Brilliant. Put him down for a three.

LOWRY & MCILROY STRUGGLING

Shane not the first and won't be the last to lose his temper in the rough. 17th hole is just 327 yards but he's in the thick stuff, as is Rory. Lowry doesn't advance his pitch out more than just a few feet - and he's not best pleased.

Rory, meanwhile, has one of those shots where it looks impossible to hold the green coming out of the jungle. He doesn't. In fact, he doesn't make the putting surface, his ball plunging into the large greenside trap in front of him. Time for some scrambling...

CHIP IN PAR

Lowry, already +3, escapes the 17th with a par. Chips from the back edge and it was never anywhere else. I was about to say the leader comes back to the pack, but Spaun makes a lovely putt to remain at -4. Talking of nice putts, McIlroy makes a beautiful and-and-down on 17th to stay at -2.

Top, top scrambling, there, gents.

OAKMONT BITING

We have seen plenty of birdies so far today but there's no question there are some big numbers out there. As it turns out, the five-inch rough really is quite nasty. It's really ugly up around the greens, too. J.J. Spaun going better than everyone but it feels as though, no matter who you are, you're one poor shot away from a double or worse.

In other words, don't bother looking at your bets until late on Sunday.

PEACH FROM RORY

8-iron straight at the flag on 18, rolls back a little but a decent birdie chance. Bogey on the 1st and Aberg drops back to -1. Bryson misses a short one on the 9th and makes bogey - back to level.

BOTTOM OF THE LEADERBOARD

I can't stop looking at the bottom of the leaderboard. It's here where we find Justin Hicks at +10 after 10 holes. Out in 44. I'm not picking on Justin, by the way - just interested in who will get beaten up the most by Oakmont this week.

BOB FOR 2...

276 yards, lovely tee shot from Robert MacIntyre. Just leaks past the edge. 2s at the par-3 8th this week will be like hen's teeth; in fact, they should get some kind of prize for birdies, a bit like the crystal players get for making eagles at Augusta.

RORY -2 AFTER 9 HOLES

Tidy start from the Northern Irishman, and there's a bit of s spring back in his step. J.J. Spaun is still out in front. Forget that, though, today is about getting yourself round without too much damage, feel your way into the tournament, don't get lost in the rough.

Back to Rory, and he smokes a drive down the 1st. Narrow fairway, lots of run, shortish approach coming up. Mickelson makes back-to-back birdies and the LIV player and six-time US Open runner-up is back to level.

TAKE A BOW, J.J.

Whatever happens this week for Spaun, he's made history with those nine holes.

HARSH OR FAIR?

The debate continues around some of Oakmont's challenges.

WASTE

Wedge from McIlroy and it's short - good opportunity goes there at the 1st, assuming he doesn't hole a lengthy putt. First look at Cameron Smith, remember him? The former Open champion is +2 and that could be about to get worse - massive hook with what looked like a shortish iron into 18.

Rory will be fuming if he walks off 1 with bogey after his drive, but he's facing 'one of those' after his first putt trundles on by past the cup.

FIRST BOGEY FOR RORY

Shame. It's a 3-putt for Rory on 1. First bogey on the day and first missed putt from shortish distance - he'd been tidying up well from that range up until that point.

Clark makes a double to drop back to even and it's still J.J. Spaun who leads the way at -4.

FORE LEFT!

Trouble for the leader - into the sand. A decent enough lie but his stance is going to be awkward. Aberg's rollercoaster day continues - the Swede makes another birdie to get back to -2. Meanwhile, Cam Smith makes bogey on 18 and drops to +3.

We'll find out shortly how much trouble our leader is in.

BRYSON WITH SOME WIZARDRY

We talk a lot about his driving, but Bryson's wedge play is also very handy. Here's the two-time US Open champ getting some real action on the ball.

RORY RUNNING

McIlroy scampers up to mark his ball at the 2nd. Evil pin position and the ball just about stops on the plateau. Rory is not taking any chances - straight after he chases one up the throat of the green, he takes off and gets it marked. Good shot, good spring. Proper athlete.

DETRY TO -3

What a read from the Belgian. He drops a birdie at the par-4 9th... just. That was delicate. It takes the break at the very last minute and drops - out in 32. Very tidy.

SCORING UPDATE

We have 78 players on the course right now and just ten are under-par currently.

MCILROY PIPES ONE DOWN 3

Lots of talk about McIlroy's driver and driving this week but it's been a solid start with the big stick.

He launches a frozen rope 345 yards down the 3rd hole, well past the Church Pews bunker.

He's -2 with playing partners Justin Rose (+4) and Shane Lowry (+6) struggling.

WOW LOWRY!

Shane Lowry holes out for eagle on the 3rd from 160 yards to move back to four-over after a double at the 2nd.

That was much needed.

SCOTT IN TIGHT

The Aussie throws a dart at the par-5 4th. You'd fancy that's good enough to get to -2. Chance goes for Rory at the 3rd, narrow miss there.

LOWRY HOLES OUT

Here's that hole out from Shane - a much-needed one. He's not had a lot to smile about today but this will make him feel a little better. Can he salvage something out of his remaining holes?

JUST NINE PLAYERS UNDER PAR

Despite the hole out eagles and birdies we've seen today, there are now just nine players under par. It's about as benign out there as you'll get - and still it has a nasty bite.

DeChambeau is in a bit of a mess at the 12th. Just as I say that, he rolls in a 20-footer for a bogey at the par-5 12th. Not often you see a fist pump after a 6, but that was big!

TROUBLES FOR RORY

A wide right and this time it might just be a job to find his ball. Big moment coming up...

LOW AM UPDATE

There's a long way to go, but it's Jackson Koivun who leads the Low Am race. Shots like this have helped him get to -1.

RORY IN THE JUNGLE

And he's out the jungle. Is he back in the jungle? Oh dear. This is bad. Very bad. Hacks it out well enough but finds himself on a slope above a bunker. A 'shanky' type third and he's back in the hay, chops out and now he'll be playing his fifth into the par 5 from quite some way back. A seven now would be a good result.

DOUBLE COMING UP FOR RORY

6-iron into the par-5 4th. Fifth shot. First good shot he's hit on this hole, should two putt from there and get out with a seven. He'll drop back to +1 overall, which really isn't a disaster.

BOOM! BOGEY FOR RORY

You just knew, didn't you? Rory holes a 30-footer to make a 6. He played that hole like a 20-handicapper but gets up-and-down from 200 yards to escape with a bogey. A little smile - not much more. He'll actually be delighted with that because halfway down that hole he was in danger of making an 8.

J.J. SPAUN LEADS BY 2

We've not seen J.J. really struggle at all today. He's still bogey free with three holes to play. If you've had a bet on anyone making a bogey-free round, be warned: there's still the 276-yard, par-3 to come.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy have both made 6 at the 4th today, but both were staring at worse. Here's Rory's 30-footer for bogey.

GRIFFINS GOING WELL

Ben and Lanto are both at -1 (tied 5th). DeChambeau misses an opportunity to get back to level at the 14th. There wasn't much break in the 12-footer - looked like a shove.

THEN THERE WERE 8

That short missed par putt from Aberg means there are now just eight players under par. I'm not sure it's a case of the course starting to play a little firmer and faster; more mental fatigue coming into play.

Probably a bit of both.

BIG NAME STRUGGLERS

Shane Lowry (+5), Phil Mickelson (+4), Cameron Smith (+4), Patrick Cantlay (+4), Justin Rose (+4), Xander Schauffele (+4)

STRESS FREE PAR

Leader J.J. Spaun is 'Schefflering' his way around Oakmont. Looks like another simple par there on the 7th, his 16th. Now for the par-3 8th... can he keep his card blemish-free?

SPAUN NEARING THE END

I don't mean he's had enough - he's two holes away from putting his feet up and smoking a cigar. His tee shot on the loooong par-3 8th is a beauty, but coming in with a wood (looked like a driver) means he's rolled out all the way to the back of the green. Looks like about 60 foot for birdie. Lovely tee shot. Deserves to make his par.

SPAUN STUMBLES LATE

BOGEY FOR MCILROY

A shove from Rory and a disappointing bogey. Drops to +1. Spaun, meanwhile, coaxes in an 8-footer for par at the par-3 8th. That was nicely done and means he has one more hole left to negotiate in an effort to card a bogey-free round. Can he do it?

DECHAMBEAU LEAKING OIL

Bryson drops another one. Back-to-back bogeys and he slips to +3. As it stands, it's hard to see anyone finishing the week under par....

BRYSON DRIVES 17

327 yards, looked like a 5-wood there. As good as it is, that's no easy two putt. Now for J.J... last bogey free round at Oakmont in a US Open came from DJ in 2016. Nice. That'll be a par. No trophy for that, but that was a special round. 66.

NICELY DONE, MR SPAUN

Take a look at that card.

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GRIFFIN TAKES ON PAR-3 8TH...

With an iron. And with a little helps from the contours, he nearly makes an ace. One of the shots of the day.

PAR FOR BDC

After driving the par-4 17th, Bryson is going to walk off with a par. I told you that would be a difficult two putt. I should really be an on-course commentator.

RORY AT +2 AND STRUGGLING

He needs the clubhouse, does Rory. After going out in 33, he's four-over for the front nine and now in trouble deep in the rough on the par-3 8th. +2 is by no means a bad score, but it promised to be a lot better 90 minutes ago.

BIRDIE FOR S.W. KIM

Not a routine one, either. He somehow judges a lengthy putt from the fringe and finds the bottom of the cup. Back-to-back birdies gets him to -3.

RORY DOUBLES 8

+4 now. A tale of two nines. More trouble from the long grass. His first effort doesn't come out, his third is just Ok and two putts. Damaging.

McILROY FINDS THE FAIRWAY AT THE NINTH

Playing the ninth hole, his final one of the day, McIlroy's tee shot flirts with the rough but finds the right-side of the fairway. He will have a good angle to attack the flag from with his second.

RORY'S DOUBLE

XANDER BIRDIES HIS FINAL HOLE

Schauffele has battled hard today and, at the ninth hole, his last of the day, the two-time Major winner rolls in a lengthy birdie putt for a two-over-par round of 72. That's a brave effort from the American.

DEFENDING CHAMPION STARTS WITH A 73

Playing the same hole as Schauffele, DeChambeau manages to two-putt for an opening round 73, which is three-over-par. He is currently seven shots back of leader Spaun, who finished four-under.

SUPERB FROM XANDER

BOGEY FOR KIM

Si Woo Kim had been in solo second at three-under-par but, at the par 3 eighth, his 17th hole of the day, the South Korean goes long with his tee shot.

Although Kim plays a good chip from the fringe, he can't convert his par putt from 16-feet. He falls back to two-under and into a tie alongside Thomas Detry and Thriston Lawrence.

FOXY MAKES AN EARLY BIRDIE

Last weeks RBC Canadian Open winner, Ryan Fox, has continued his fine form at Oakmont Country Club, with the New Zealander birdieing the second hole of the day to get to one-under-par in the early stages of his round.

STRUGGLES FOR ROSE, RORY AND LOWRY

Playing their final hole of the day, Lowry manages to two putt from distance for par and finishes nine-over (79) for his first round.

McIlroy is next up and, from a similar distance, he lags his putt up well and taps in for a four-over-par 74. That will hurt for the five-time Major winner, who was two-under for the early stages of his round, but finished six-over-par for the back nine.

In terms of Rose, he short sides himself with his approach and is forced to go long of the flag. He then three putts for a double bogey and finishes seven-over-par (77).

A TALE OF TWO NINES

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HEADLINE GROUP BEGIN

Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and World No.1, Scottie Scheffler, are on the tee at the opening hole, with all three finding the fairway.

In terms of second shots, Scheffler finds the middle of the green, around 15-feet short of the flag. Morikawa is up next and puts it in a very similar position to that of Scheffler, albeit slightly closer.

Last up is Hovland, who also finds the green, but this time well long of the flag. He will have a quick putt coming up.

LEADER REACTS

(Image credit: Getty Images)

J.J. Spaun leads following an excellent four-under 66 and, speaking to the media after his round, the American stated:

"I kind of came out here with no prior history at Oakmont, not really knowing what to expect even US Open-wise. This is only my second one. I don't know if that freed me up in any aspect, but I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me.

"I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalize on any birdie opportunities, which aren't very many out here. But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a US Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round.

"I'm just overly pleased with how I started the tournament.

HOVLAND THREE PUTTS

Despite an excellent opening drive, Hovland can't take advantage and three putts for a bogey. In his group, Scheffler and Morikawa par, with both their birdie attempts grazing the edge of the hole.

HATTON OPENS WITH BIRDIE

KIM REACTS AFTER HIS FIRST ROUND

Si Woo Kim enjoyed a fine two-under-par 68 at Oakmont Country Club, with the 29-year-old stating: "It was a good start. It wasn't windy much this morning, so that's why I played, I feel like, more easier because I played the last couple days kind of like hard wind.

"It kind of feels helpful for me. I started great, so I drove it great, so I think it helps really. I kept the good scoring around this course. Yeah, it was a good round."

DETRY FINISHES ONE-UNDER

Although Detry bogeyed his final hole of the day, the Belgian manages to finish as one of the few players currently under-par on Thursday. The WM Phoenix Open winner sits one-under, following a 69 at Oakmont.

SCHEFFLER BIRDIES THE SECOND

Another day, another birdie for Scheffler... After his par at the first, Scheffler pounds his drive short of the green at the second, with the World No.1 playing his pitch five-foot short of the flag and rolling in the putt for birdie. That's him now one-under.

In the group, Morikawa's birdie putt slides by as he makes par. Hovland, meanwhile, blades his chip from the edge of the green and then two putts for bogey. He is two-over-par through two.

SAM BURNS MAKES A HOT START

Burns narrowly missed out on victory at the RBC Canadian Open last week, but has recovered well here at the US Open. Birdieing the first hole, the American then finds another gain at the third to sit two-under.

WORLD NO.1 LOOKS MENACING

LAWRENCE GETS TO THREE-UNDER

Lawrence has struggled for form in 2025, missing seven cuts in his last eight events on the PGA Tour. However, at the driveable par 4 17th, the South African two putts for a birdie and gets to solo third at three-under.

MORIKAWA PUTS IT CLOSE ON THREE

Morikawa shows off his supreme iron play at the par 4 third, with the American firing a short iron in from 150-yards to just a few feet. He rolls in for birdie to get under-par for the day.

In the group, Scheffler plays a poor chip shot for his third that rolls off the green. His par putt from the fringe isn't much better, with the World No.1 doing well to get out of there with a bogey.

DJ BOGEYS

Dustin Johnson won the US Open at Oakmont in 2016 and, teeing off the back nine, the two-time Major winner bogeys the 11th and 12th to sit at two-over-par.

He is paired alongside Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm in a US Open winning group. In terms of their score, Spieth has just birdied the 12th to get back to level-par, while Rahm has just missed a three-footer for birdie, as he remains level-par.

KOEPKA ON THE PROWL

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka has two US Opens to his name and, to begin his first round, he finds himself two-under-par through three holes. He is currently in a share of third in the early stages.

Another player who is two-under is Bud Cauley, who birdies the first two holes to make a great start at Oakmont Country Club.

LAWRENCE FIRES A 67

Superb opening round from the South African, who makes a stunning up-and-down at the last to finish three-under for his day.

As mentioned, Lawrence has suffered with poor form of late, missing seven cuts in eight starts, but he currently sits solo second at the US Open.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

JT'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

Justin Thomas' US Open record isn't the greatest, with the American producing just two top 10s in 10 starts.

At Oakmont, he bogeys the third and, at the par 4 fifth, his second shot finishes in the thick rough. Hacking out to the back of the green, his fourth shot rolls up to 11-foot and the 32-year-old is able to just hole the bogey putt. He is now two-over through five holes.

BACK-TO-BACK BOGEYS FOR SCOTTIE

After his birdie at the second, Scheffler hasn't kicked on and, after a bogey at the third, the American three putts from distance for a bogey six at the par 5 fourth. He is now one-over-par.

REED MAKES AN ALBATROSS

Wow! What a statement from Patrick Reed! Bogeying the third, Patrick Reed makes just the fourth albatross in US Open history.

Playing the par 5 fourth, the 4Aces GC player strikes a stunning fairway wood that lands on the green and rolls into the center of the cup. He goes from one-over-par to two-under in a matter of minutes.

CAPTAIN AMERICA STRIKES WITH THE ALBATROSS

PAR FOR SCOTTIE

Playing the par 4 fifth, the World No.1 manages to par the hole to stop the bleeding. He remains one-over, five back of Spaun, who shot a four-under 66 earlier today.

In Scheffler's group, Morikawa also pars to remain one-under, while Hovland makes a third bogey of the day to move to three-over-par.

IM GETS TO THREE-UNDER

Sungjae Im has made a great start on Thursday, with the South Korean making three birdies in a row at the 12th, 13th and 14th. He is now three-under through five and going along nicely.

CAULEY MOVES BACK TO TWO-UNDER

Bud Cauley has played four holes and is yet to make a par today. Birdieing the first two, he bogeyed the third but has just birdied the fourth to get back to two-under.

SCHEFFLER'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

After his birdie at the second, I wasn't expecting this from Scheffler, who has just made a third bogey in four holes.

Playing the par 3 sixth, Scheffler's tee shot ends up in the right bunker and, despite a good shot out, he faces 12-foot for par. Striking the putt, it slides by the right-side and the World No.1 is now two-over for the day.

PUTTING THE ISSUE FOR BRYSON

(Image credit: Getty Images)

DeChambeau fired a three-over-par 73 on Thursday and, speaking after his round, the defending champion explained how his putting was the issue at Oakmont.

"For whatever reason, I just couldn't get the speed of the greens dialed in. I was in the collar a couple times, just three-putted on those holes, and three three-putts and doing whatever happened on 12, then No. 9, three-putting there, too. I mean, it could have been a couple-under round pretty easily."

IM JUST MISSES FOR BIRDIE

Im has been putting on a great ball striking display and, at the par 4 15th, the South Korean puts his approach to 25-feet.

It's the hardest hole on the course, but Im makes it looks easy, with his birdie attempt just sliding by. It's a simple par, though, and keeps him three-under, one back of Spaun.

SPIETH GETS BACK TO LEVEL-PAR

Spieth has been going along solidly at Oakmont and, at the par 3 16th, his seventh of the day, he rolls in a 20-footer for birdie to get back to level-par.

On the other side of the course, Reed plays a delightful approach in at the par 3 sixth and rolls in the birdie putt to get to two-under-par. He is now two back.

BIRDIE FOR SCOTTIE

It's been a poor start, by his standards, but Scheffler finds the birdie at the par 4 seventh to get back to one-over-par. Morikawa just misses his birdie attempt, as he stays one-under, while Hovland also pars to stay three-over.

NEERGAARD-PETERSEN CHIPS IN

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen has been enjoying a great season and, after a birdie at the first, the Dane chips in for eagle at the par 5 fourth to get to three-under. Excellent start!

BOBBY MAC GIVES HIS THOUGHTS

BOGEY FOR BURNS

The American sees his tee shot at the par 3 eighth come up short and, with a decent chip, Burns has a good chance of saving par.

He strikes the putt well, but it somehow stays on the right side. Burns taps-in for bogey and drops back into a logjam at two-under-par.

JT MAKES DOUBLE

Thomas had been among the favorites coming into the week, but has struggled at Oakmont.

Parring three holes on the bounce, the American goes left off the tee and into the thick rough at the ninth. Pitching out, his second ends up in the thick rough on the right and, after hacking out from there, the fourth shot never makes it to the green.

Pitching off the fringe, Thomas does put it close and rolls in for a double bogey. He is now four-over-par.

SPIETH MOVES UNDER-PAR

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It's been a nice start from Spieth, who has just made back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th to get to one-under-par and just outside the top 10.

Ahead of Spieth, amateur Justin Hastings has also made back-to-back birdies to move to two-under-par through five holes. He is the currently the best-placed amateur.

BIG SAVE FOR PAVON

Matthieu Pavon has endured a poor 2025 following an excellent 2024. However, the Frenchman is going along nicely here, making a great up-and-down at the par 3 16th to stay two-under.

ANOTHER CHANCE MISSED FOR IM

Im plays a great bunker shot at the par 4 17th after he drives it into the greenside sand trap. The 27-year-old has a great look at birdie, but it slides by the right-side and he remains at three-under.

DROPPED SHOTS FROM BURNS AND BROOKS

Burns has made a great start, but has just produced back-to-back bogeys to fall from three-to-one-under.

Another player who has undone some of their hard work is Brooks Koepka. Playing the par 4 10th, the five-time Major winner has to hack out the rough with his second and, after his third goes long, Koepka manages to two-putt to limit the damage to a bogey. He is now one-under-par.

HASTINGS LOSES BATTLE TO SAVE PAR

The leading amateur right now is Justin Hastings at two-under through five holes. However, the 2025 Latin America Amateur champion has just bogeyed the par-3 sixth and will give a stroke back.

The number of players without a bogey on the cards is dwindling further. There is every chance only one player will be a part of that club by tonight, and he leads at four-under - JJ Spaun.

SCHEFFLER TAKES BRONZE

In an exhibition of approach play from the group of Morikawa, Hovland and Scheffler, the first two throw darts to two feet. That will be a pair of kick-in birdies at the par-4 10th.

However, from just under 140 yards, the World No.1 sees his approach zip back away to 25 feet or so. He'll probably still roll it in anyway...

ORTIZ MAKES A TWO

At the 222-yard par-3 16th, LIV Golf's Carlos Ortiz makes a two! He's back to one-over for his round and still has 11 holes to play before heading back home for the evening.

BE SMART LIKE SCOTTIE

Back at the ninth, Scheffler showed it pays to know the Rules of Golf. Unsure if it was in fact his ball in the rough, he asked for an official to watch him mark a ball in order to discover if it was his. It was, but no point taking a risk and putting yourself in an embarrassing situation. Good work from the World No.1.

HOVLAND AND MORIKAWA MAKE GAINS

After Scheffler tidies up for par at the 10th, Hovland and Morikawa take advantage of their classy approaches to add respective birdies. Morikawa is looking really good so far.

NEERGAARD-PETERSEN KNOCKING ON THE DOOR

The young Dane, who some have tipped as a future Ryder Cup star, is giving himself plenty of birdie looks at Oakmont today. He fails with his latest at the seventh, but he'll be encouraged with the quality of his golf overall.

IM INTO A SHARE

There are just eight players who remain bogey-free with a few hours of play left in round one. Sungae Im is one of them, and he's now up to four-under alongside Spaun thanks to a mid-range bomb at his 10th - the first hole on the course.

APPROACH CLINIC

The star group of the afternoon wave is putting on an absolute clinic with their irons. At the 11th, Scheffler dropped one short and rolled a mid-range putt up the slope for birdie. Morikawa can't quite make a gain from above the hole some 15 feet away. But Hovland can. The Norwegian drops a dart right next to the hole once more and celebrates by returning to level par.

Elsewhere, Spieth and Reed save their own bacon by sinking difficult par putts.

WHAT WOULD YOU SHOOT AT OAKMONT?

There's been a lot of talk around how difficult Oakmont is - it's inside the top-20 toughest layouts in America. But what would you shoot? My target score, given my Handicap Index is currently 16.4, would be 100. I'd get 30 strokes off the championship tees. In all honesty, I'd probably need double that and around the same number of golf balls, too.

ANOTHER BOGEY

Joaquin Niemann becomes the latest player to drop out of the bogey-free club courtesy of a double at the par-4 ninth. He'd posted pars all the way to that point.

IM LEADS

Sungjae Im is enjoying the round of his life at Oakmont. Not only is he bogey free, but he's also now five-under following a sublime approach into the 11th and a confident birdie putt from five or six feet. The lowest opening round at a US Open was Andrew Landry's 66 before today. He set that back in 2016 at Oakmont. There's every chance he and Spaun will be sharing second after today given the way Im is playing and because the South Korean also has seven holes left...

THOMAS FIGHTING ON

Justin Thomas is enduring a brutally frustrating day at Oakmont. He was six-over-par through 12 holes before landing a morale-lifting birdie at the par-3 13th. Hopefully that's the catalyst he needs to go on a late charge.

CLEAN FROM RAHM

After a bogey and 10 pars, Rahm adds a birdie at the par-4 third - his 12th - to return to even par. This is a nice, tidy round from the Spaniard.

TROUBLE BREWING

A pulled drive at the par-4 third landed the current leader in the Church Pews bunker. Instead of finding the middle of the fairway for a chance and getting up and down, Im was too greedy and left his second shot in the rough with an awkward stance to boot. After shovelling his third onto the green, he will have 50 feet or so for par to the back-left pin. That outright lead may well be short-lived for Im.

A GREAT BOGEY

Thankfully for Im, he can two-putt his way off the third. Still, that's a dropped shot and he's back into a share of the lead at four-under. I believe there are now only two players bogey-free in the Championship - Spaun and Trevor Cone.

Elsewhere, Morikawa and Hovland both miss short putts via ugly, tentative strokes at the par-5 12th. Hovland wastes the chance to make further progress and writes a five down. However, Morikawa has to mark six down.

RAHM SPREADS HIS WINGS

The 2021 US Open champion is now firmly into the mix after a sensational approach at the par-5 fourth hole - his 13th. The eagle putt finds the cup from almost 11 feet and Rahm is up to two-under.

BURNS ON FIRE

Sam Burns reaches three-under after birdies at the 12th and 14th. He is one of the best putters in the world anyway, but the flat stick is really coming up clutch for him at the moment.

FEATURE GROUP FUMBLES

Following a three-putt par at the 12th, Hovland suffers another putting blunder when failing to from eight feet and walks off with a bogey. He's now at one-over.

Moments later, Scheffler also fails from a similar distance and falls to two-over. Morikawa completes the group's misery by making it a hat-trick of bogeys and slips to one-over. That's consecutive dropped shots for the latter.

SPIETH JOINS THE PARTY

It's a birdie at the par-4 fifth for Jordan Spieth and he's into the group of players under par for the day. It's always a good time when Spieth is part of the leaderboard.

IM-PLOSION

Sungjae Im is starting to go backwards. His driver has really cooled and that's leading to more problems further down the hole. Despite a great chance at saving par down the 621-yard par-5 4th, Im can't convert from six feet and he's walked off with a second in a row.

DJ SPINNING BIRDIE MUSIC

The 2016 US Open champion is on a birdie charge! From seven-over, Johnson rolls in his third gain in a row to reach four-over - the figure that is currently the cut line. Although that is likely to change by this time tomorrow.

NOTHING DROPPING

We seem to have entered a period of the Championship where nothing much is happening for anyone. Hovland is hacking his way down the 15th, Scheffler sends his own approach into the rough at the same hole, Rahm pushes a birdie putt just wide at the par-3 sixth (bogey) and Burns duffs a chip a few feet in front of him. Oakmont has apparently had enough of all these birdies...

To follow up, both Scheffler and Hovland have walked off the 15th with bogey fives after lipping out.

ICE-COLD CONE

Trevor Cone's run of pars is over after 10 in a row. But it ends not with a bogey. Instead, it's a birdie following a wonderful bunker shot at the par-4 second! The American is now up to one-under - good enough for a share of seventh as it stands.

BURNS FIZZLES OUT

This is a frustrating end to his first round for Sam Burns. The American was playing so nicely before a bogey five at the 15th. At the following hole, the par-3 16th, a duffed chip led to Burns making a double-bogey five. He's now at even par.

FRENCHMAN FALLS

Before Hovland recovered from two bogeys in the space of three holes down the back nine, Matthieu Pavon made a double-bogey at the par-4 third and followed it up with a bogey at the next. He has drifted back to level par. Still, that's not the worst result, should the Frenchman be able to arrest his slide.

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO...

Check these incredibly impressive tee shots out from Mackenzie Hughes and Chris Kirk at the par-3 13th...

CLOSING BIRDIE

Brooks Koepka hasn't produced his best stuff at the Majors in recent times, but this has been an excellent start from the five-time Major winner. He sends a perfectly-weighted 16-foot birdie putt sweeping from left to right and in to the hole at the 18th, capping off an ideal start to his week. Koepka, who won the US Open in 2017 and 2018, signs for a two-under 68 and will feel he's in a great position to kick on through the remaining three rounds.

ONE PLAYER BOGEY-FREE

Trevor Cone finally makes a bogey, and it comes at the par-4 12th. As a result, JJ Spaun is the only player out of the 156-man field to remain bogey free. Back in 2016, Dustin Johnson carded the only bogey-free round - a 67 - and he went on to win...

SUNGJAE SLIDES

What has happened to Sungjae Im on this back nine? He was flying at five-under through 11 holes. Maybe the pressure hit him? Either way, his third bogey of the day has arrived at the par-3 eighth, his 17th hole, after a short missed putt and he's now at two-under.

CONTRASTING FORTUNES AT 18

Denny McCarthy stands in the middle of the fairway and rips a beautiful approach to three feet. He gives it the club twirl as well. Nice.

Unfortunately for Dustin Johnson, the same could not be said for the 2016 US Open champion. Also on the shortest grass, he produced a shot which comes along once in a blue moon - a horrible push/shank kinda thing. Honestly, I'm not sure even he could describe what happened there. Just horrible. And now he's scrambling to make par.

CHRIS KIRK BAGS FOUR IN A ROW

Not quite in contention but also well within range of making the weekend now, PGA Tour winner, Chris Kirk has just made four birdies in a row between holes 12 and 15 to reach two-under. On the front nine, Kirk had gone bogey-double-bogey-bogey, so this is certainly a welcome change to his day.

RAHM SIGNS FOR A 69

The Spaniard had one more chance for a gain at the ninth hole but just left it short as these greens, running at close to 15 on the stimpmeter, begin to slow down a touch. Rahm rolls it in for par anyway and can be very pleased with his first day's work - a one-under 69.

Moments later, Jordan Spieth almost did the same but saw a dirty lip out deny him a sub-par score.

A STUNNER FROM VIKTOR

What a putt from Viktor Hovland on 18! This game makes no sense. He's left five strokes out there after shockingly short missed putts and then, at the last, he rolls in a monster for birdie to end on one-over. He will need a lie down and maybe a touch of therapy to clear his brain after that 18 holes.

Scottie Scheffler has hit just 11 of 18 greens at Oakmont today. That is very unlike him, but goes some way to explaining why he's at three-over. He ends with a par to close out his day.

Last to finish is Morikawa, and he sends a fantastic approach in close to give himself a great birdie chance, which the American takes. Morikawa is another who will feel he should have broken par today, but it's a round of 70 for the two-time Major winner.

KOEPKA REACTS

Speaking after his opening 68, Brooks Koepka was pleased with the way he played and said work with his coaches paid dividends after a miserable past few months - sparked off by a frustrating showing at The Masters where he missed the cut.

Discussing his first round at the US Open, Koepka said: "I thought I played pretty consistent, drove it really well. Iron play was pretty good. When I did miss it, I felt like I missed it in the correct spots. A couple of good bunker shots.

"I missed one little short one on 14 maybe. Other than that, I thought I played very solid. I'm really happy with the way I finished, and hopefully it leads into tomorrow.

"It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while. I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week, Pete Cowen and Jeff Pierce were on me pretty good, and Pete got into me again on Monday, in the bunker for about 45 minutes. I just sat there, and he scolded me pretty well.

"Yeah, it's just a matter of executing the feels versus perception for where I've been, I think. It's been so far off, it's on opposite sides, but now it's starting to click. Unfortunately, we're about halfway through the season, so that's not ideal, but we're learning."

The five-time Major winner was then asked how he felt having missed two cuts in a row at The Masters and PGA Championship - the first time he had done so in successive Majors.

Koepka said: "I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me. It drove me nuts. It ate at me.

"I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating. It's a lot -- I mean, I had to apologize -- I've apologized to Rick, Pete, Jeff, Blake, my wife, my son, everybody. I wouldn't have wanted to be around me."

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REED TRIPLE-BOGEY

That is a shocking end to round one of the US Open for the 2018 Masters champion. His drive went right into the rough, forcing him to hack a few yards forward and then back into the fairway.

After going slightly long with his approach into the 18th (fourth stroke), Reed opted to try a flop shot towards the short-sided flag, but he got it all wrong and bladed the ball down the putting surface. Two putts later and he was in for a seven which took his total score to 73 (+3). A brutal end for Captain America.

END OF ROUND ONE

As the remaining players finish up their first rounds, we can reflect on a fascinating first day of action here at Oakmont Country Club. JJ Spaun leads the way on four-under thanks to a bogey-free round of 66 - a score which equals Andrew Landry's total from 2016 as the lowest opening number at a US Open. Spaun is also the only man who is yet to card a bogey out of the 156 players who started, proving just how tough Oakmont is playing.

For the star names among the field, it has been a day of mixed fortunes. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau have endured testing starts while Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa enjoyed a bright first 18 holes.

Patrick Reed suffered a frustrating end to his first round, making a triple-bogey seven at the 18th, but that was after a superb moment for the American where he became just the fourth player ever to record an albatross at a US Open.

We will see you again tomorrow as the US Open continues and those star names we mentioned continue their battle to make the weekend at Oakmont. Meanwhile, we will see how well Spaun deals with holding the lead at one of the biggest championships on the planet. Thank you for tuning in and see you soon!

GOOD MORNING

Welcome to day two of the 2025 US Open. We have the cut coming today, where the top-60 and ties progress. Take a look at the Friday featured groups (times ET/BST):

  • 7.18am (12.18pm):: Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
  • 7.29am (12.29pm): Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson
  • 7.40am (12.40pm): Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
  • 1.03pm (6.03pm): Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama
  • 1.14pm (6.14pm): Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau
  • 1.25pm (6.25pm): Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy

WHAT WILL DAY 2 BRING?

More carnage? A Rory/Scottie fightback. One thing's for sure - some big names are going to miss the cut.

DID YOU ENJOY YESTERDAY?

Personally, I like to see players grinding out pars - we see a lot of low numbers throughout the season and watching the best players in the world tackle "the beast" is fascinating.

However, I think some of the rough around the greens looked a bit too harsh. What with the putting surfaces and deep rough lining the fairways, it looked tough enough without so much heavy stuff just off the greens.

I think when you see a really good shot end up in five-inch rough, it crosses a line. However, I'm all for seeing players struggle more when they hit wayward drives. Some of the rough looked to have been trampled down a fair bit by spectators, too, so players could get a lucky break.

PLAY HAS STARTED

Ryan Fox, a winner last week, has made the perfect start. The Kiwi is very much enjoying his golf right now.

FEATURED GROUPS

Yesterday's late starters now have an earlier start. We'll shortly see how World No.1 Scottie Scheffler responds to his slow start on Thursday. He's hardly out of it, but he's given himself some work to do today, which actually makes it more exciting in my opinion.

Let's be honest, had he opened with a 70 or better, we'd already be talking about him having one hand on the trophy - he's been that good the last couple of years.

7.18am (12.18pm):: Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
7.29am (12.29pm): Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson
7.40am (12.40pm): Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler
1.03pm (6.03pm): Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama
1.14pm (6.14pm): Xander Schauffele, Jose Luis Ballester, Bryson DeChambeau
1.25pm (6.25pm): Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy

DJ, RAHM & SPIETH UNDERWAY

Three explosive drives. Three missed fairways. Spieth's drive looked like a beauty, but it's gobbled up by the rough.

KOEPKA OPENS WITH BOGEY

A bogey on 10 for Brooks. Good to see him back contending yesterday. He used to be something of a Major specialist, did Brooks. The 2017 and '18 US Open champion makes a 5 at the 10th, but it's not the nicest of openers - a 472-yard par 4.

TOUGH START FOR WILL CHANDLER

Double-double for the American. +12 now and a long day ahead for the man from Sea Island.

SCHEFFLER OFF

Game face on. Splits the fairway on 10. Weather looks lovely. I fancy an under par round today from Scottie. I'm sure he does, too.

CHANDLER'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

After that double-double start, Chandler now has a snowman on the card after making an 8 on the par-4 3rd. Still, the good news is that he's now playing a par 5.

BIRDIE CHANCE FOR SCHEFFLER

Lovely 3-wood, fine approach - 15 feet for an opening birdie. Koepka, meanwhile, balances the books straight away after his opening bogey.

RAHM BOGEYS OPENER

Not the start the Spaniard was hoping for, but that bogey is down to his opening tee shot going a long way right. Scheffler (+2) drops his first putt of the day - of course he does.

BUNKER ON 11 FOR SCHEFFLER

Such a lovely opening birdie - world class. However, troubles on the 11th, awkward second coming up. Spieth made a great up-and-down for par on his first hole, but he's in trouble at the next. Takes a swipe at the ball in the rough and it did not move an awful lot.

THE BROOKS BOUNCEBACK

Brooks doesn't panic. This is more like the Koepka of 2017/18.

SCHEFFLER TAKES HIS MEDICINE

Scheffler chips it out sideways and then pulls out a wedge... you know the rest. We can safely say that will be a par on 11.

NICE START FROM VIKTOR

Scheffler isn't the only player to have made a tidy start. Viktor birdied the 10th and has just made par at 11. The Norwegian is even par and into the top 10.

UPDATE THAT LEADERBOARD

Koepka is on the charge. The easiest of birdies on the 647-yard, par-5 12th. Eagle putt had a lot of break but he makes a really nice job of judging that. -3.

THOMAS +9

Some ugly stuff around the hole (as in missing from short range) and Justin Thomas is seething. He starts par, bogey, double.

SPIETH STUTTERING

Bogeys at 2 and 3. Heading the wrong way. Koepka, meanwhile, just comes up short with a birdie putt that would have seen him join JJ Spaun at the top of the leaderboard.

THE THOMAS 4-PUTT

Anyone who doesn't like putting from short range should look away now.

BURNS HITS THE PIN

Almost an ace at the 13th. Burns, who who going along so nicely yesterday before making a mess of the final few holes, takes aim at the 13th and rattles the pin. 5 feet left now for a birdie to get back to even par.

BURNS -2 THROUGH 4

The Americans coverts that short birdie putt. Making up for some of the damage late yesterday - a good response.

HOVLAND UP TO 5TH

-1 now for Viktor and he's also made a significant move this morning.

INTO THE DITCH

Looking like a drop will be required for Brooks. Trouble on 15. Stay tuned...

PIN HUNTING

This is the definition of pin hunting. Almost an ace from Sam Burns. The ball could have gone anywhere after this but fortunately it settled 5 feet away and Burns converts the birdie.

Par-5 4th and a chance goes begging for Rahm. Misread? Shame. The Spaniard remains +1 for the day.

NO DROP REQUIRED

Brooks gets away with one. His ball is 'just' in the rough. Hacks it forward. Better result than it looked off the tee, although still scrambling for par.

Back to Scheffler, and he pars 13. His tee short on the par 3 was straight at the flag and he must have been liking it in the air, but it just comes up short. A delicate chip from the fringe required - and he executes in perfectly.

CHANDLER UPDATE

I've not seen any of his shots, so he might be suffering with an injury... who knows. He's +12 after eight holes. Could we see a round in the 90s. There was a lot of chat earlier this week as to what an 18-handicapper would shoot at Oakmont, with pros generally agreeing it would be something around 120-150!

I think it would be closer to 150. There's trouble absolutely everywhere. No let up whatsoever.

BIRDIE CHANCE COMING UP FOR SCHEFF

Nicely done from 90 yards on 14. Just about pin high. Feels like he'll drop one here and get it to +1.

BURNS THE EDGE

Just a par for Scheffler at the 14th, one of the few holes that is a genuine birdie chance hole. Onto the 15th for the World No.1.

SCHEFFLER FROM THE SAND

What a shot. Tee shot in the trap on 15. He's facing the long grass - honestly, a shot that would strike the fear of God into most amateurs - and picks it off the surface beautifully. The ball runs off the side of the green.

BOGEY FOR SCHEFFLER

First dropped shot of the day for Scheffler and he's back to +3. A heavy handed chip and two putts on 15.

CUT UPDATE

The current cut is now projected at +4.

CHIP IN BIRD

Koepka to -3. Chips in on 17. That was soooo delicate.

DAY BATTLING HARD

Jason Day is the first to eagle 12 this year. The Aussie has also made a birdie on 14 and he's now at +4.

SCHEFFLER PARS 16

A little help from Hovland with the read. He takes advantage to judge that 12-footer for par. Avoids back-to-back bogeys, which is just what the world's best players can do - Scheffler better than anyone at it.

BURNS ON THE CHARGE

No one has a better score going than Sam Burns, -3 for the day. He's now up to tied 5th. Another birdie 17, his eighth hole.

KOEPKA STRUGGLING ON 18

It's a long hole is 18. Koepka has to chop out and will now have to rely on his wedge to get up-and-down to stay at -3.

SCHEFFLER ALMOST DRIVES 17

Now he's in nice shape to make an up-and-down to get back to +2. It wouldn't surprise me if he chipped in. He had a 12-footer for par a moment ago, which would have put him on the projected cut number. If he chips in in a few minutes' time, he'd be at +1, five off the lead. How quickly things can change...

WOW, VIKTOR!

Another chip in. Viktor Hovland is suddenly just one shot off the lead after chipping in for eagle at 17. We'll bring you that shot shortly...

MESSY FROM SCHEFFLER

Correction, he does drive the 17th and he's not chipping. However, he makes a complete mess of his eagle putt from about 50 foot - will have about 15 left for birdie. Koepka bogeys 18, drops back to +2. Good nine holes nevertheless.

ANOTHER WOW

Scheffler suffers a power lip out and leaves himself a tester to avoid 4-putting. Surely he won't. He does. Wow, wow, wow. +4.

VIKTOR'S CHIP-IN EAGLE

IT'S SLOW OUT THERE...

BURNS TO -2

The Ryder Cup star, who is among the best putters in the sport, has moved up to two-under after holing a lovely left-to-right birdie putt on the 18th (his 9th).

Burns is four-under with four birdies and five pars today. Impressive.

BEST AND WORST ROUNDS SO FAR TODAY...

Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland are both four-under-par today, although Hovland is in trouble on the 18th so looks set to drop a shot.

On the complete other end of the spectrum, Will Chandler is 13-over-par after 11 holes and firmly at the bottom of the leaderboard.

JUSTIN THOMAS' POOR MAJOR FORM CONTINUES

The two-time PGA Championship winner, currently 12-over-par, is comfortably going to miss the cut to continue a surprisingly poor run of Major results.

Since he won the 2022 PGA at Southern Hills, JT has played 13 Majors, including this one, with one top-10 and seven missed cuts (assuming he does miss the cut here - he is eight strokes away from the mark currently).

HOVLAND BOGEY

The Norwegian does indeed drop a shot at the 18th (his 9th) after a poor drive to fall back to two-under.

Scheffler, meanwhile, makes a stunning par save on the same hole after a poor drive himself. He hit a beautiful iron shot that landed perfectly, grabbed and rolled back towards the hole and he duly converted from just inside 5ft. He's definitely still in this.

NO ONE HAS GOT TO SPAUN

JJ still not teed off. Koepka and Hovland have threatened to join him but he's still out on his own at -4. How will he follow yesterday's 66, though? It's going to be tough.

Bogey at 1 from Burns, back to -1. Scheffler has nailed his drive down the 1st, although he got a nice little bump out from the first cut.

BOGEY FOR KOEPKA

Asking a lot from that distance, some 35 feet. It's a bogey at the 2nd, back to level par for Brooks.

Back to the 1st and Scheffler has 162 yards for his second. An unusual one, there. If he putts, it's going to be some 100 feet, surely. A miscalculation there from the World No.1 and/or Ted Scott - and they are very rare.

HELLO, BERGER

A bit of a forgotten man. Daniel has made birdies at 11, 12 and most recently at the 17th - he's suddenly into the top 5 at -1 alongside Sam Burns.

HOVLAND BACK TO -3

Another great putt from Viktor. He gets the dropped shot back and closes to within one again. Scheffler bogeys the 1st after a perfect tee shot - now +5 and in danger of missing the cut.

BURNS RESPONDS IMMEDIATELY

There's a spring in this man's step - he's loving it. He birdies the 2nd to get the shot back he dropped at the 1st immediately.

ROUGH TROUBLE

It's just one of those days. No sooner does a player make a step forward, it's one back. Hovland has a wild hack out the rough and it goes about 30 yards into more heavy rough in front of him.

MORIKAWA UPDATE

We've never mentioned Collin today, for which we apologize. He's in the top 10 (currently 9th) at even par. Going along quietly but well placed.

Correction on Hovland: he went from heavy rough to the bunker and then out sideways. This could be a double. Those are the ones you really want to keep off the card. Easy to say, of course.

RAHM UPDATE

Leaking oil. Out in 38 and struggling at the 11th. Double. +5 today and +4 total.

Scheffler makes a 3 at the 2nd and he's back to +4. He needed that. He might not be too far back going into the weekend if he can steal a couple more birdies. This is about as up-and-down as you'll see him play, but he's grinding.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

- 4 Spaun
-3 Lawrence
-2 Burns
-2 SW Kim
-1 Hovland
-1 Berger
-1 R Hojgaard
-1 Neergaard-Petersen
-1 Griffin
-1 Detry

INTO THE PEWS

Scheffler into the Pews. Gives the driver a slam. It's not often you see him so frustrated. I honestly think it's less the fact he's a fair way back and more than he doesn't have total control of his golf ball. He's someone who plots his way around so well, but this course is even beating him up.

Of course, it happened to Tiger Woods as well. Let's not forget that even the 15-time Major winner could get beaten up by a difficult track. Oakmont is just a brute. Now, what is Scheffler facing? It looked like his ball was fairly close to the lip...

It was. It's a lay-up. Work to do again with the wedge if he's to get out of the 3rd with a par.

SCOTTIE GETTING FRUSTRATED

As we were saying, you don't see this often. Anyway, he's laid up to a spot he's comfortable with and............. flown it 15 yards past the pin. Tough par putt coming up. There are a lot of players still to go out and I wouldn't say he's quite in danger of missing the cut, but he could soon find himself nine shots off the lead.

BURNS -4 FOR THE DAY

Burns is dialled in right now, tied third and on the par-5 4th. Six holes to go for him.

Morikawa is a spot of bother at the 3rd and is staring a double bogey in the face. He does not look happy. I don't think we can expect him to talk to the media later. Let's not go there...

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SCHEFFLER'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

The World No.1 races his par putt by at the 3rd. He has about 6 feet left for bogey. Makes it. However, he's back to +5. I just don't see a repeat of J.J. Spaun's bogey-free round that we saw yesterday - the challenge is relentless.

These players can scramble better than anyone, but eventually Oakmont is going to catch you out. It's easy to be a bit more aggressive with your putts and then run up doubles. Rahm back to +3 with a timely birdie.

Moirkawa, meanwhile, did make a double - three shots gone in two holes for the former Open champion.

HOW'S THIS FOR A STAT...

Sorry to bang on about how difficult the course is, but it really is a brute.

KOEPKA GOING THE WRONG WAY

Four bogeys in five holes now and Koepka is now +1. He's only five back and there's not much traffic ahead of him, but he'll be desperate to steady the ship and get himself into the clubhouse.

EAGLE FOR HATTON

And he's smiling. A 3 on the par-5 12th gets the Englishman into the top 20.

ACE!

Perez with an ace on par-3 6th. I think we'll show you that shortly...

HATTON'S EAGLE

If we called it a putt earlier, we apologize. It was actually a very well worked out pitch...

THE HOLE IN ONE

I don't think many people expected an ace this week. I really think the USGA need to lengthen the par 3s at Oakmont.

HOVLAND BACK TO -2

Hard to keep up with this chap. Birdie, back to -2. Shrugs that double off and just gets on with it. That's the key - no time to dwell on the last shot otherwise you might as well go home.

Scheffler makes a timely birdie at the 4th to get back to +4. He might not have been at his brilliant best today but he really is Tiger-like over mid range putts, the ones you have to make. Birdie 2 coming up for Koepka who is also grinding away.

A MULTINATIONAL LEADERBOARD

Nine different nationalities currently in the top 12.

1 USA
T2 USA
T2 South Africa
T4 Noway
T4 South Korea
T6 Denmark
T6 USA
T6 Belgium
T9 USA
T9 Australia
T9 Scotland
T12 France
T12 South Africa

GREAT TOUCH

Scheffler with a wonderful chip on the 5th where he's having to scramble again. For a moment it looks as though he's misjudged it or struck it poorly, but he flirts with the fringe and uses the contours to roll it out to about 5 feet from roughly 40 yards. Tidies up.

Another birdie for Hovland and he gets back to -3. Burns pars the 6th - almost a 2 there.

J.J. WARMING UP

J.J. Spaun still holds the lead at -4. He's warming up now by dropping balls into heavy rough and hacking out, not because he's not feeling like he won't drive the ball well, but because he knows there's zero chance of not finding it at some point.

VIKTOR ON A ROLLERCOASTER

And so it continues. A short one is missed. His last eight holes:

Eagle
Bogey
Birdie
Double
Par
Birdie
Birdie
Bogey

JORDAN/JUSTIN UPDATE

+5. +5 for the day with just the one birdie. He's been all over the place, as has his good pal Justin Thomas (+4). Thomas is +10 for the tournament but in fairness to the two-time Major champion, after playing the back nine in 41, he's made three birdies on the front. That 4-putt earlier will have stung, but he certainly never throws the towel in.

3-PUTT BOGEY FOR BROOKS

A four on the long par-3 8th isn't a disaster, but the tee shot really wasn't that bad. Scheffler is just keeping himself in this tournament with a birdie at the 7th. His putting is keeping him in with a sniff. Plenty of other players will drop away, but the World No.1 is showing one of his finest qualities at the moment.

SCHEFFLER HANGING ON

And after that birdie in the 7th, he stripes a wood into the 299-yard 8th. If he can birdie this hole we might see a fist pump, because he really hasn't been anywhere near his best, struggling particularly with his balance by the looks of it - and that's even taking into account that he is somewhat unorthodox in this department.

MCILROY ON THE RANGE

A 74 from Rory yesterday. He's not out of it, either. However, he can't afford too many slip-ups at +4. From what I've seen today, it's one thing starting well, it's another keeping it going. We've seen a lot of players starting well, only to fade away - and that's because this course is so demanding. Has anyone mentioned that yet?

THE LEADER IS OFF

So, a long wait for the leader, but J.J. Spaun can finally get his teeth into Oakmont - or will it be the other way around? That's a lovely swing - almost lazy like the great Ernie Els'. I'm no swing expert so I might be talking nonsense there, but it had a lovely rhythm. Fairway found on 1 and that will settle the nerves.

KOEPKA FINISHES FOUR-OVER

The American bogeys his final hole of the day and fires a four-over-par round of 74. Koepka is two-over for the championship following his two-under 68 yesterday and will be in contention heading into the weekend.

BURNS IN TROUBLE OFF THE TEE

The American is playing his final hole of his second round, the par 4 ninth, and has found the hazard off the tee. Taking a drop, he sticks his iron onto the green and will have 22-feet for par and a five-under 65.

WHAT A PAR FOR BURNS

(Image credit: Getty Images)

That's exceptional from Burns! After putting his approach to 22-feet, the American rolls it in for a stunning par and a five-under 65, which is around 9.5 shots better than the field average.

Sitting three-under for the championship, there is a chance Burns could be leading by the end of the day and, speaking of the leader, J.J. Spaun, he has parred his opening hole to remain four-under.

BURNS' FINAL HOLE HEROICS

SPAUN PARS THE SECOND

The leader hits two good shots at the second hole, but his approach is just over the back of the green. Playing a delicate chip, it rolls to three-feet, with the American holing the putt to make it 20-holes without a bogey at Oakmont.

BRYSON BOGEYS THE FIRST

Bryson DeChambeau began his day three-over-par and, after finding the greenside bunker with his approach at the first, he is unable to get up-and-down. That's an opening bogey, which drops him to four-over-par.

TROUBLE FOR RORY AT THE FIRST

Rory McIlroy starts his second round and, with his tee shot, finds the fairway bunker and has to splash out.

Unfortunately, he can't reach the fairway and, from the thick rough, his third misses the green left. Not a great start for The Masters champion...

DOUBLE AT THE FIRST

It's a disastrous start for Rory, who plays his chip long of the flag. Faced with 18-foot for bogey, the five-time Major winner can't convert and doubles to move to six-over-par.

SPAUN DROPS A SHOT

On the 21st hole of the 125th US Open, our leader Spaun has dropped a shot. Going long of the flag at the third, he plays a chip to 15-foot but can't convert. He taps-in for a five and moves back to three-under.

Away from Spaun, Ben Griffin has started well with a birdie at the par 4 second. He is now two-under, just one back of Spaun and Burns.

XANDER GOES BACK-TO-BACK

Xander Schauffele didn't have his best stuff yesterday, but has started Friday perfectly with back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th, his first and second holes of the day. He is now level-par and solo ninth.

EXCELLENT FROM SPAUN

After his first bogey of the tournament at the third, Spaun pounds a 330-yard tee shot at the par 5 fourth and puts his fairway wood approach into the middle of the green. He will have a long putt coming up for eagle, but is on-track for a birdie to retake the lead.

DETRY OPENS WITH A DOUBLE

Thomas Detry began his Friday at one-under-par but, at the 10th hole, his first of the day, the Belgian makes a mess of it and produces a double bogey to go from one-under to one-over.

NORMAL SPORT

SPAUN MOVES BACK ON TOP

After two excellent shots at the par 5 fourth, Spaun is unlucky to not have an eagle putt, with the fringe intervening with his attempt.

Playing a chip from the edge of the green, the American does well to put it to six-feet and, faced with a left-to-righter, he rolls it in for a birdie to get back to four-under.

RORY'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE

McIlroy is not with it this afternoon and, at the par 4 third, he only just gets out the fairway bunker. Playing his third from 100-yards, he is unable to keep it on the green, with the ball rolling off the back. He now faces an incredibly difficult up-and-down for bogey.

RAHM VOICES FRUSTRATIONS

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It's safe to say Jon Rahm wasn't best pleased about his five-over-par 75 on Friday, stating: "I didn't make a putt, that was the main difference. I didn't play bad. I played quite good golf. Didn't see anything go in beside a 7-footer on seven. That's it. That's a very hard thing to deal with to try to shoot a score out here.

"Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective. 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."

ANOTHER DOUBLE FOR RORY

It goes from bad-to-worse for McIlroy, who is unable to get up-and-down from the back of the green at the third. That's his second double bogey of the round and puts him eight-over-par, dangerously close to the cutline.

DELIGHTFUL FROM THE LEADER

Spaun has started solidly on the tougher front nine and, at the par 3 sixth, he plays an excellent 7-iron to under seven-foot. He will have a good look at birdie to get to one-under for the round and five-under for the tournament.

BRYSON GETS BACK TO LEVEL-PAR FOR THE ROUND

BURNS SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA

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"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.

"I feel like I've been playing well coming off last week and into this week and my round yesterday. Really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can... It's going to be a fun weekend."

SPAUN EXTENDS HIS LEAD

An excellent tee shot at the par 3 sixth is followed up by an excellent birdie putt. This is superb from Spaun, who is one-under for the round and five-under for the tournament, two shots clear of Burns and Lawrence.

FEATURED GROUP STRUGGLES

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose are having shockers out there today! At the par 5 fourth, McIlroy and Rose par, while Lowry misses a five-footer for birdie to also par.

The trio are 10-over collectively for the day, with Lowry and McIlroy four-over and Rose two-over. All three are on-course to miss the cut...

SUPERB SPAUN

XANDER HITS THE PIN

Schauffele has made a great start on Friday and, at the par 4 14th, his fifth of the day, the two-time Major winner hits the flag from 65-yards!

It's actually incredibly unlucky for Schauffele, whose ball then spins off the green. Still, it's in a better spot than his playing partners, Bryson DeChambeau and Jose Luis Ballester, who are both in the greenside bunker and short-sided.

LAWRENCE MOVES TO FOUR-UNDER

Playing the back nine first, Thriston Lawrence has birdied the 11th, his second hole of the day, to get within one of leader Spaun.

Speaking of the leader, the American goes left off the tee at the seventh and can only hack out 75-yards in front of him. He will need to get up-and-down from 115-yards for par.

BIG NAMES BOGEY

DeChambeau and Schauffele are unable to get up-and-down at the par 4 15th, with both moving back to four-and-one-over-par for the championship.

Along with the Major winning pair, Hideki Matsuyama, who is currently four-over-par, misses a great birdie chance at the par 3 sixth. Playing an excellent iron to just six-feet, his effort goes by the right-side.

DROPPED SHOT FOR SPAUN

After hacking out the rough for his second shot, Spaun plays a solid wedge to the center of the green.

Faced with 25-foot for par, his effort comes up short and he taps-in for a second bogey of the day. He is level-par for the round and now in a share of the lead at four-under with Lawrence.

GRIFFIN GETS TO THREE-UNDER

Ben Griffin's excellent run of form continues, with the American birdieing the par 3 sixth to get to two-under for the round and three-under for the tournament.

MICKELSON MOVES INTO THE TOP 20

Phil Mickelson has never won a US Open but, at Oakmont Country Club, Lefty is going along nicely during his second round.

Firing it close with his third at the par 5 fourth, he rolls the putt in to get to three-over-par for the championship. Mickelson has been in fine form lately and is making a nice charge here at the US Open.

BIG PAR SAVE FOR SPAUN

The par 3 eighth has been playing as the hardest hole on the course today and, at the 300-yard behemoth, Spaun comes up short of the green with his tee shot.

Playing a delicate chip, Spaun then rolls in an 11-footer for par to remain at four-under and in a share of the lead with Lawrence.

Speaking of Lawrence, he is currently stood on the tee of the par 5 12th and has been for 25-minutes. Pace of play has been a big talking point this week and it's certainly not getting better at Oakmont.

LAWRENCE FINDS THE FAIRWAY

After 30 minutes of waiting, Lawrence finally gets his tee shot away at the par 5 12th and finds the center of the fairway. Currently, there are two groups playing the 12th hole, with another three groups on the tee...

DETRY HOLES OUT AT THE 14th

What a shot from Thomas Detry! Playing the par 4 14th, his fifth of the day, the WM Phoenix Open winner holes out from 141-yards for his first ever eagle at the US Open. That jumps him from one-over-par to one-under.

STEVENS MOVES UNDER-PAR

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Stevens' best result at a Major came at the 2023 US Open, where he finished in a share of 43rd place.

At Oakmont, the American is flying right now, with a chip-in at the par 5 12th putting him two-under for the round and one-under for the championship.

EAGLE TIME

SCOTTIE CONTINUES TO GRIND AFTER HIS ROUND

LAWRENCE LEADS

Excellent stuff from Lawrence who, after waiting half-an-hour to play the par 5 12th, manages to get up-and-down for birdie and into the outright lead at five-under-par.

BIRDIE FOR LAWRENCE

BRYSON BATTLING HARD

DeChambeau hasn't had his best stuff today but, at the par 4 17th, he makes his second birdie of the round to get back to five-over-par, two ahead of the projected cutline.

The defending champion is battling hard here at Oakmont, but still has the tough 18th to play, as well as the harder front nine.

LAWRENCE EXTENDS HIS LEAD

The birdies keep coming for Lawrence who, at the par 3 13th, holes a delightful 20-footer for birdie to get to six-under.

That's three birdies in a row for the South African, who came into the week with seven missed cuts in eight starts on the PGA Tour!

What's more, Spaun has just bogeyed the par 4 10th to fall back to three-under, handing a three shot lead to Lawrence.

NOAH KENT BOMBS IT ON THE 14th

Amateur, Noah Kent, is well down the leaderboard at 13-over-par, but has just drove the green at the par 4 14th! Sitting at 368-yards, the American strikes his tee shot 361-yards to the front edge. Insane speed from the 20-year-old!

TWO SHOT SWING

After his excellent start, Lawrence finds the green at the par 4 14th but, after a poor first putt, the 28-year-old then misses his effort for par from seven-feet.

Making a bogey, he falls back to five-under and, to compound the miss further, Spaun plays the par 4 11th perfectly, holing an 11-footer for birdie to get back to four-under for the tournament. Another big swing on day two!

RORY UPDATE

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Since his two double bogeys in his first three holes, McIlroy has righted the ship at Oakmont Country Club, with five straight pars being followed up with a birdie at the par 4 ninth.

He turns in a three-over-par 38 and heads into the back nine on the cut number. Currently, it's unclear as to whether the cut will be six-or-seven-over-par, so McIlroy will need to find some birdies on the back nine to guarantee his place in the weekend.

BACK-TO-BACK BOGEYS FOR LAWRENCE

Lawrence started strongly, but has dwindled on the 14th and 15th, making back-to-back bogeys to fall from six-under to four-under.

His three shot advantage has dropped in the last 45 minutes, with Lawrence now sharing the lead with Spaun, who is playing the par 5 12th.

DETRY MOVES UNDER-PAR

It's been an up-and-down round for Detry, who has had an eagle, two birdies, two pars, two bogeys and a double in eight holes!

Playing the par 4 17th, his eighth of the day, Detry plays a delightful bunker shot and rolls in his birdie putt to get to one-under and into a share of fourth alongside four other players.

CLASSY TWO-PUTT

JJ Spaun is a gritty character, isn't he? The American lands his ball on the front edge of the 12th green and faces some 50 feet between himself and the hole. A wonderful lag putt towards the target arrives three feet to the side of the hole and takes much of the stress out of his par putt.

Elsewhere, Thomas Detry's colorful scorecard is added to with a birdie at the 18th hole, his ninth of the second round. Detry up to two-under and only two strokes back now.

LAWRENCE ON THE SLIDE

Not that long ago, in terms of holes at least, Thriston Lawrence was six-under and laughing. The South African is not smiling anymore, let me tell you.

He had made three birdies in a row between holes 11 and 13 before reversing that momentum from holew 14 to 16 with consecutive bogeys. Lawrence sits at three-under alongside Burns, who is relaxing and plotting his gameplan ahead of the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, Tommy Fleetwood is grinding hard to make it there. He just fails with a long-range birdie putt which would have taken him to six-over- the current cut line...

BEWARE THE SHORT PUTT

Sam Stevens is not the first person to miss a shockingly short putt at a US Open, and you can bet your bottom dollar he won't be the last. The American lips out from inside three feet and walks away with a bogey at the 17th (his eighth).

Meanwhile, qualifier, Philip Barbaree Jr was one of just two bogey-free players in round two. Was being the key word there. He can't land one from 32 feet and he's back to even par for the day.

WORLD-CLASS RESCUE

The 17th hole is only 305 yards today, so players are trying to shave off the corner and give themselves either a putt or a short chip towards the flag. Lawrence can't quite cut his tee ball enough, though, and lands it right in the middle of the long grass down the left.

Although the situation appeared desperate, the South African produced a superb chip to nudge his ball onto the putting surface and towards the flag. He now has a chance to rejoin the lead once more...

WIDE RIGHT

It's no good from Lawrence, but the putt from 18 feet was decent. It wiggled this way and that ever so slightly, but dived off at the end and left him with par. Still, that could have been a whole lot worse considering where his tee shot ended...

SPAUN IN CONTROL

At the 368-yard par-4 14th, Spaun drives one down Broadway before dropping a short iron into the heart of the green and reeling it back slightly to leave a decent look at birdie. The American looks in so much control right now, just as he did for much of his awesome run at The Players earlier this term.

MCILROY MELTING

Following a 332-yard drive at the 12th hole, McIlroy takes aim for the green on eight-over. However, he cover-pulls one with a fairway wood and it travels 243 yards into the fescue on the left. The Masters champion looks completely lost out there. Something isn't right, that's for sure.

LIP OUT

Spaun's look at birdie was a good one on 14, but the putt just didn't want to drop. It took a short tour of the edge but stayed out.

One of the players looking to close that gap as a result is Ben Griffin. He has just thrown a dart into the 161-yard par-3 13th and could return to one-under shortly.

MAGIC MCNEALY

Maverick McNealy is the only bogey-free player left in this championship (for round two), and he goes one better via a superb long-range birdie at the par-3 13th. That's actually two birdies in a row for the World No.11.

In the same group, Griffin fails with his second stroke and will have to walk away with par.

MICKELSON FIGHTS ON

Any Phil Mickelson fans out there? Your man is showing there is plenty of fight left in him still via a birdie at the par-4 11th.

MCILROY HANGING TOUGH

It was a rotten route down the par-5 12th for McIlroy, but he's somehow escaped with a par and sits just one stroke outside of the likely final cut line. Right now, those at six-over should be fairly relaxed about two more tee times. Anyone at seven-over will be slightly more stressed but remain in with a chance of picking up a bigger check. McIlroy is at eight-over and knows he still needs to make a gain or two before the clubhouse.

PROJECTED CUT NOW AT 7-OVER

Not that Thriston Lawrence should have to worry, but the projected cut line is now out to seven-over. He has just made another bogey, though, and is back to two-under through nine holes with the much tougher back nine to come.

UNLUCKY 13

McIlroy needs a birdie if he is to extend his sequence of made cuts at the US Open. The World No.2 hasn't missed a US Open cut since 2018 and he has been in the top-10 during each of his past six visits.

However, there won't be one at the par-3 13th as his 11-foot attempt drifts just wide.

ALL CHANGE

Spaun makes his second consecutive bogey at the 16th hole, and he's gone from one in front to one behind. At the 15th, a clumsy three putt put him in trouble. Then, at the 16th, it was a wayward tee shot which asked too much of his short game.

At almost the same time, Thriston Lawrence responded to a difficult run by making birdie at the first hole to move back into a share alongside Sam Burns. I really would not be surprised to see Burns hold the lead outright before we're done here today.

GOOD NEWS FOR MCILROY

McIlroy is desperately unlucky not to see his birdie drop at the short par-4 14th, and he trudges away with par. However, it's not all bad as the projected cut line has drifted out to eight-over-par! As it stands, McIlroy will play the weekend.

DEFENDING CHAMPION STARING DOWN THE BARREL

Bryson DeChambeau is another player who will be grateful to see the cut line drifting as his performance is on the slide, too. At the fifth hole, he made double-bogey and fell to eight-over. At the very next hole, another bogey drops him to nine-over. DeChambeau has three holes left to play today and - possibly - this week.

GOT TOO CUTE

Thriston Lawrence sends his approach into the 359-yard par-4 second over the back and into the bunker. If that was clumsy, his third shot was just straight-up poor. The co-leader tried to get too cute with his short-sided sand shot (try saying that five times fast) and duffed it into the thick rough between him and the green. Good luck saving par from there, Thriston!

DETRY AND SPAUN INTO A SHARE

It's all going on now! Thriston Lawrence stabs out of the rough and rolls his bogey putt safely into the cup for bogey, but that drops him out of the lead as Thomas Detry immediately replaces him via a birdie at the par-5 fourth hole. Detry is looking fantastic today.

Not to be left behind, Spaun trickles a 22-foot putt into the bottom of the cup at 17 to return to three-under.

RORY FINDS A THREE

McIlroy is not done yet. At the par-4 15th, the five-time Major winner goes fairway-green-one putt and it's as simple as birdie as you're likely to see. He's back to seven-over and just on the right side of the line.

BRUTAL BOUNCE

That is so harsh on JJ Spaun. Playing the last, Spaun flies a decent-looking approach into the 18th green, but instead of taking a hop and perhaps settling in the gully in which the flag is located, Spaun's ball hits a slight downslope and fires off the back of the putting surface and into the rough. Luckily, if there is a silver lining, the lie looks pretty good.

DOUBLE FOR DETRY

Where has that come from?! Thomas Detry was on the 14th green in two strokes and some 50 feet from the hole, yet four putts later and he walks away stunned after a double-bogey six.

He's not the only one, mind, was Thriston Lawrence drops another stroke at the 12th and falls to one-under. JJ Spaun looks as though he's about to follow suit.

BURNS LEADS ALONE

Remember Sam Burns' stunning 65 a few hours ago? Well, it's even better than we first thought as he's now leading the US Open after 36 holes. Spaun has been dealt a bad hand by the golfing Gods at 18, but he recovers the situation well enough to save a bogey. He signs for a 72 which leaves him at two-under for the championship - one stroke back of Burns.

FOUR-OVER IN TWO HOLES

In a run of scoring which would not look out of place on my scorecard, Thomas Detry backs up one double-bogey at the fifth with another at the par-3 sixth. Part of his issue was a poor tee shot which landed in the rough and then a scuffed chip which must have travelled about the length of an iPhone. In the end, the Belgian writes down five and tries to collect his thoughts on the way to the sixth.

BIG NAMES FIGHTING BACK

Hideki Matsuyama produces a sensational birdie at the last to reach seven-over and give himself a decent chance of playing the weekend - subsequently extending his own excellent record of making cuts at Majors.

Elsewhere, Cameron Smith pours in a long-range gain of his own to rise up to eight-over.

MORE DOUBLES THAN MADAME TUSSAUDS

Thriston Lawrence is now seven-over in the past nine holes after carding a double-bogey at the par-5 fourth hole. That was a case of poor chipping, in all honesty, with a seven the final score at that hole.

Elsewhere, Thomas Detry repairs some of the damage caused recently with a gain at the par-4 seventh.

BRYSON SIGNS OFF

The defending champion is out. Bryson DeChambeau has endured a horrible second round, shooting a seven-over 77 to finish on 10-over. As a result, he's missed the cut and will hand his title over to someone else come Sunday.

MCILROY SAFELY THROUGH

There will be an appearance from Rory McIlroy at the US Open this weekend after he birdies his final hole to sign for a very respectable 72. He's not been himself, McIlroy, but the World No.2 will have a chance to right some wrongs during rounds three and four.

RAIN IS FALLING

The weather that no one (except from maybe the players involved) wanted to see, it is starting to rain pretty steadily at Oakmont. Umbrellas are up and rain jackets are being pulled out of bags.

Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick makes a crucial birdie to sign for a 73 - a total that might just see him through to rounds three and four on seven-over. The cut line is still projected to be seven-over with time running out on round two.

A SAD GOODBYE?

Mickelson was four-over through 14 holes of round two at Oakmont, but a couple of double-bogeys at the 15th and 17th has put him right behind the eight ball heading down 18. The equation is simple for Phil - make birdie at the last or his final chance of winning a US Open is gone.

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S A CHANCE?...

Following a 343-yard drive, Mickelson is left with a wedge into the 18th from just on the fairway. He throws one up into the steel-color sky and it dribbles back to hole high but some 20 feet away. This is his chance. One putt to play the weekend for Mickelson.

SO CLOSE YET SO FAR

Mickelson gives it a superb run at the hole, but his ball rolls agonizingly wide. Lefty signs for another 74 to make it eight-over. Could that be the last time we ever see Mickelson at a US Open? Possibly. Probably. Only time will tell.

ADAM SCOTT REACTS

The 2013 Masters champion is at level par for the championship and within three strokes of the lead. Can he make a surprise run at a second Major title at the age of 44? He certainly believes so.

Asked whether the fact he has been helped by flying under the radar so far this week, the Australian replied: "Maybe. Maybe it does. But I’d be pretty proud of winning this thing on the weekend.

"Right now, that’s really what I’m here to do, and I feel like there’s probably not been many signs to anyone else but me the last month or six weeks that my game is looking better. But I definitely feel more confident than I have been this year.

"I feel like this is what I’ve been working towards. I was kind of in the mix late at the PGA, and now kind of putting myself in this one for the weekend. It’s a long way to go, but I feel like my game is in good enough shape to do this."

LATE MOVERS

There has been a little bit of late action around the cutline at Oakmont. Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith have waved goodbye while 2023 Open champion, Brian Harman edged through thanks to a gutsy bogey at the last.

CUT LINE SET

Barring an utterly outrageous sequence of events involving the remaining groups out on the course, the cut line at the 2025 US Open will finish at seven-over-par.

More than a dozen household names didn't make it through to Saturday and Sunday, including the defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau and the much-fancied pair of Ludvig Aberg and Joaquin Niemann.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele did all qualify for the final two rounds and remain in with a chance of adding to their respective Major achievements.

HORN SOUNDS

Following the threat of thunderstorms in the area, the horn has sounded at Oakmont Country Club. Per Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig, 13 players have not finished the second round and will need to come back tomorrow. Three of them are within the cut line.

GOOD MORNING

Welcome to our weekend coverage of the 2025 US Open.

Round two technically hasn't finished yet, with some groups still to complete their rounds.

Round 2 will resume at 7.30am ET, with the third round tee times set to take place from 9am-3.30pm.

INTERESTING STATS FROM THE USGA:

  • For the first time since 2021, no player among the top-5 and ties on the 36-hole leader board has a U.S.Open championship on his resume.
  • Victor Perez aced the sixth hole in the second round, becoming just the second player ever to make a hole-in-one during a U.S. Open at Oakmont CC. Scott Simpson hit one on #16 in 1983 (1st round). Two players made a hole-in-one at Pinehurst No. 2 last year (Francesco Molinari and Sepp Straka). Overall, Perez’s was the 54th hole in one in U.S. Open history.
  • The scoring on the Front 9 through 36 holes is 38.096 while the scoring on the Back 9 is 36.613. The scoring average through 36 holes is 74.709 (+4.709), which is the highest average score relative to par at the U.S.Open since 2018 (+5.04 at Shinnecock Hills through 36 holes).

LIV Golf update

A total of six LIV players made the cut at Oakmont, with eight going home early including defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka leads the way for the 54-hole tour players and is just five back of Burns at the halfway stage.

  • +2 Brooks Koepka
  • +3 Tyrrell Hatton
  • +3 Carlos Ortiz
  • +4 Jon Rahm
  • +6 Marc Leishman
  • +7 Patrick Reed
  • +8 Cameron Smith (MC)
  • +8 Phil Mickelson (MC)
  • +9 Jinichiro Kozuma (MC)
  • +10 Dustin Johnson (MC)
  • +10 Bryson DeChambeau (MC)
  • +10 Joaquin Niemann (MC)
  • +12 Jose Luis Ballester (MC)
  • +18 Richard Bland (MC)

HOW THE LEADERBOARD CURRENTLY LOOKS:

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MCILROY WELL AHEAD IN DRIVING DISTANCE

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A look at the top-10 in driving distance after 36 holes...

  • 1. Rory McIlroy - 339.8 yards
  • 2. Trevor Cone - 328 yards
  • 3. Chris Gotterup - 326.2 yards
  • 4. Evan Beck (a) - 326 yards
  • 5. Ben Griffin - 325.4 yards
  • 6. Akshay Bhatia - 324.6 yards
  • 7. Cameron Young - 324 yards
  • 8. Nick Dunlap - 323.2 yards
  • 9. Jon Rahm - 322.8 yards
  • 10. Sam Stevens - 322.6 yards

FANS ALLOWED REFUNDS TODAY

The USGA says that the course is extremely wet outside of the ropes and has allowed fans to choose the option of refunds if they do not wish to attend today - especially as more rain is forecast.

2ND ROUND HAS NOW CONCLUDED

Here's how the top of the leaderboard looks...

(Image credit: US Open)

TEE TIMES SHOULD BE OUT SOON

Now that round two has concluded, we're expecting tee times to be announced shortly.

Here's what the USGA said earlier today:

"Round 3 will be played in groups of two from the 1st tee. Approximate tee times are from 9am-3:30pm."

US OPEN TEE TIMES RELEASED:

All times EDT

  • 9.12am: Philip Barbaree Jr
  • 9.23am: Cam Davis, Brian Harman
  • 9.34am: Matt Fitzpatrick, Andrew Novak
  • 9.45am: Harris English, Hideki Matsuyama
  • 9.56am: James Nicholas, Laurie Canter
  • 10.07am: Ryan McCormick, Patrick Reed
  • 10.18am: Ryan Gerard, Niklas Norgaard
  • 10.34am: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
  • 10.45am: Jordan Smith, Justin Hastings (a)
  • 10.56am: Tony Finau, Marc Leishman
  • 11.07am: Michael Kim, Corey Conners
  • 11.18am: JT Poston, Matt Wallace
  • 11.29am: Chris Gotterup, Johnny Keefer
  • 11.40am: Maverick McNealy, Tom Kim
  • 11.56am: Mackenzie Hughes, Matthieu Pavon
  • 12.07pm: Sungjae Im, Jordan Spieth
  • 12.18pm: Ryan Fox, Robert MacIntyre
  • 12.29pm: Taylor Pendrith, Trevor Cone
  • 12.40pm: Rasmus Hojgaard, Aaron Rai
  • 12.51pm: Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas
  • 1.02pm: Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler
  • 1.18pm: Collin Morikawa, Denny McCarthy
  • 1.29pm: Jon Rahm, Nick Taylor
  • 1.40pm: Sam Stevens, Keegan Bradley
  • 1.51pm: Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, Carlos Ortiz
  • 2.02pm: Chris Kirk, Jason Day
  • 2.13pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
  • 2.24pm: Adam Schenk, Max Greyserman
  • 2.40pm: Emiliano Grillo, Thomas Detry
  • 2.51pm: Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka
  • 3.02pm: Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence
  • 3.13pm: Victor Perez, Ben Griffin
  • 3.24pm: Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland
  • 3.35pm: JJ Spaun, Sam Burns

JUSTIN HASTINGS IS OUR LOW AMATEUR

Of the 15 amateurs who teed it up this week, Justin Hastings is the only one to have made the cut at Oakmont.

The Latin America Amateur Champion, who is from the Cayman Islands, can now breath easily and just enjoy his final 36 holes after writing his name in the history books.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

FEATURED GROUPS

Today's featured groups for round 3 are:

  • 9.45am: Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English
  • 10.34am: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy
  • 10.56am: Tony Finau, Marc Leishman
  • 1.02pm: Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
  • 2.02pm: Chris Kirk, Jason Day
  • 2.51pm: Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka

PHILIP BARBAREE JR'S EPIC REACTION MAKING THE CUT

One of the 13 men needing to finish their 2nd rounds this morning, Philip Barbaree Jr held his nerve to hole this putt to make the cut on the number - his first ever made cut as in a PGA or Korn Ferry Tour-sanctioned event.

Just look at what it means...

WHO ARE WE PICKING TO WIN?

Check out our news team's full US Open betting tips after the cut.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Here's a sneak preview of our picks to win:

  • Elliott Heath (me): Viktor Hovland
  • Matt Cradock: Jon Rahm
  • Jonny Leighfield: Sam Burns

And our outsiders/top-10 picks:

  • Elliott Heath (me): Xander Schauffele
  • Matt Cradock: Tyrrell Hatton
  • Jonny Leighfield: Thomas Detry

THOUGHTS SO FAR?

I'm disappointed by Bryson DeChambeau's early exit. It just goes to show, you can come in playing well and have all the skills as a former US open champion, and it can count for very little. Oakmont will chew you up and spit you out if you keep finding the rough.

I don't think Scottie Scheffler is out of this by any means. His afternoon range session looked pretty intense, which came after another disappointing day by his own very high standards. He's a pretty cool, calm guy, but he didn't look happy on the range - about as animated as I've ever seen him.

His good friend, Sam Burns, who he plays a lot of practice rounds with, has been very impressive. 36 holes is a long way to go. Difficult to call this one. I'm going to sit on the fence at this point.

It was good to see Rory McIlroy just make it through, although he doesn't look happy either. So we basically have a Masters champion and a PGA champion into the weekend, albeit quite a way off the pace, and both, at times, have looked ready to punch someone in the face.

WELL PLAYED THAT MAN

How about this for bottle? Sadly, Philip Barbaree Jr. is +3 for the first three holes of his third round.

WHO MISSED THE CUT?

A reminder of some of the big names to have missed the cut.

Bryson DeChambeau +10
Ludvig Aberg +8
Justin Thomas +12
Joaquin Niemann +10
Wyndham Clark +8
Patrick Cantlay +8
Tommy Fleetwood +9
Dustin Johnson +10
Cameron Smith +8
Shane Lowry +17
Phil Mickelson +8
Sepp Straka +11
Justin Rose +14

ENGLISH MAKING NO IMPRESSION

A lot of people had Harris English down for a good week, a chance to make some each-way returns on a player who seems to enjoy tough golf courses.

However, he's opened with two bogeys and is now +9 for the tournament. I'm not sure this is the type of course where you can make up a lot of ground on the leaders with a low one on Saturday.

Someone will, maybe one or two, but it's just not a course where we're going to see lots of 67s, 68s and 69s as you might see on Moving Day at Augusta. I might be wrong, but I think we're a couple of hours away from seeing the genuine contenders tee off.

WILL VIKTOR CLAIM HIS FIRST MAJOR THIS WEEKEND?

Just a few big names here who have yet to win a Major Championship. Both Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland are well poised this weekend, as it Henley.

It's always nice to see someone make their breakthrough. Often it can open the floodgates. Just look at Phil Mickelson, a nearly man for so long until he won The Masters in 2004 and he ended up with six of them.

Viktor Hovland
Tommy Fleetwood
Ludvig Aberg*
Patrick Cantlay
Rickie Fowler
Tony Finau
Sam Burns
Russell Henley
Min Woo Lee
Sepp Straka

* Give the young lad a bit of time!

NICE PAIRING

Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are off. Well worth a follow, this group. McIlroy is way left and Schauffele finds the right center.

SCHEFFLER OFF AT 1.02PM EDT

What can we expect from Scottie Scheffler today? The PGA Championship winner battled to a 71, mixing four birdies with five bogeys to finish on +4, seven shots off the lead. At times, he looked pretty disgruntled.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

PACE OF PLAY DEBATE... AGAIN

On Friday, it took Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa 71 minutes to play the opening three holes.

Here's what Scheffler had to say about the pace of play post round: "It felt long to me. Both the par 5s we basically walked up on the group in front of us. When it's up on No. 8, you've got a drivable par 4 on 17. 8 is basically a drivable par 4, too. You guys are the ones watching. I'm just trying to play. I've got too many concerns other than the pace it takes to get around this place."

Asked whether it gets under his skin, said: "No. Going into a golf course like this with this many players and this tough of a golf course, you know it's going to take a while. If it was, like -- if we're playing threesomes at Travelers next week, the scores are obviously going to be a bit different.

"There's not nearly the distance in between holes. Look at the ground we've got to cover out there to walk 18 holes. That's a big piece of property. It just takes time. It just takes time to hit that many golf shots."

SHANE LOWRY HAS HIS SAY

Shane Lowry was one of a good number of players to have lost his cool yesterday. He's been on X to say a few words about his early exit from Oakmont, where he was one of the pre tournament favorites.

We saw Rory McIlroy smash a tee box and throw a club, too. We're a million miles away from seeing the childish behavior you get in the Premier League every week, but I would say hissy fits in the pro game are on the rise. Why? I honestly don't know.

These guys should know better. However, there's plenty of colorful language in my fourball every week - so I think we can all understand how frustrating this game can be. Maybe there should be a swear box out there, $100 a swear - money goes to charity or towards a bigger prize fund, because this week's purse is tiny...

MCILROY +7

Rory responds to dropping a shot at the 3rd with a monster drive on the par-5 4th.

IT'S WET TODAY

In case you've not been able to tune in and watch the early stages of the third round, it's wet today at Oakmont.

Rory has just 'splatted' a fairway wood - not happy. The fairways look like they have a fair bit of moisture in them.

A BIG F-BOMB FROM XANDER

The swearing continues. An official is now approaching Xander with a bar of soap. Both he and Rory have birdie putts coming up, but I don't think we're going to see many smiles from these two today. Everyone just seems so angry...

PARS FOR RORY AND XANDER

Rory and Xander can't convert their mid range birdie putts and remain at +7 and +6, respectively.

WHAT'S THE SCORING LIKE?

Well, we have two players under par for their rounds today: Matt Fitzpatrick and Marc Leishman. The other 20 or so are level or over, with a trio at +5 after about half a round.

In other words, despite the softer conditions, it's still hard; in fact, a wet Oakmont poses a lot of other challenges, difficult chips, skiddy surfaces, greater length, compact sand. Grim, really.

A BEAR ON SITE

Jack Nicklaus is on-site at Oakmont. He won here is 1962 and it's good to see him watching. Who wants to see a picture of the 'Golden Bear' winning at Oakmont? Yeah, thought so...

(Image credit: Getty Images)

WET CONDITIONS

As we were saying, it's a little wet - not unplayable by any means, but wet enough to cause one or two additional problems.

And on pace of play, it looks fairly rapid today. Obviously we're now down to two balls, but yesterday was glacial.

XANDER IN TIGHT ON 6

Par-3 6th and Xander has thrown a dart there - that'll be a birdie and the two-time Major champion will get himself back to +5.

McIlroy up next and it's a slight pull - he's still on the green but seems to be having a moan about the tee box not being level. I know caddie Harry Diamond is his mate but maybe he should tell his boss to get a grip.

PAR FOR MCILROY

Tidies up after his 30-footer trundles four feet by. He can't be accused of holding back - he's putting aggressively. Xander to +5.

TEE TIME REMINDER

Those players still to go out are as follows:

12.07pm: Sungjae Im, Jordan Spieth
12.18pm: Ryan Fox, Robert MacIntyre
12.29pm: Taylor Pendrith, Trevor Cone
12.40pm: Rasmus Hojgaard, Aaron Rai
12.51pm: Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas
1.02pm: Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler
1.18pm: Collin Morikawa, Denny McCarthy
1.29pm: Jon Rahm, Nick Taylor
1.40pm: Sam Stevens, Keegan Bradley
1.51pm: Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, Carlos Ortiz
2.02pm: Chris Kirk, Jason Day
2.13pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
2.24pm: Adam Schenk, Max Greyserman
2.40pm: Emiliano Grillo, Thomas Detry
2.51pm: Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka
3.02pm: Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence
3.13pm: Victor Perez, Ben Griffin
3.24pm: Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland
3.35pm: JJ Spaun, Sam Burns

OAKMONT REMAINS TOUGH

There are 28 players out on the course in these early stages, and only four are under par. Despite that overnight rain, Oakmont hasn't been turned, don't you worry.

GOING FOR BACK TO BACK BIRDIES

Schauffele is really making a move early on Saturday. There were five pars to open up his round before a birdie at the sixth began to generate some positive momentum. At the very next hole, the par-4 seventh, a drawn iron into the left side of the green eventually falls down the slope and presents the World No.3 with a very nice look at another gain.

MCILROY MAKES PAR SAVE

A frustrated McIlroy (+7) asks someone in his eyeline to stop moving behind the green before playing a pitch up the bank, allowing it to trickle back down towards the hole. From there, he holes out for par.

Moments later, Schauffele pours a birdie in from the opposite side. He's back to four-over after consecutive gains.

CLASSY FROM CONNERS

The Canadian is on a real heater through five holes, posting three birdies without a dropped shot. His latest, at the fifth, was dropped to 14 inches from 161 yards. Those are the putts you want at a US Open!

Elsewhere, Marc Leishman is three-under through six holes following a confident roll at the 210-yard par 3.

DROPPED SHOT FOR XANDER

At the 253-yard par-3 8th hole, which has been moved forward some 40 yards today, Schauffele misses well left with his tee shot and is forced to nudge his ball back into the heart of the green from the rough when short-sided. Two putts later and he's in for four. That's his first bogey of round three.

There are no such issues for McIlroy, however. He finds the bottom half of the putting surface and lags his first effort to four feet before knocking it in for par.

SCOTTIE IS BACK!

To the range we go - which is where we find the World No 1. grinding away again. Looks a lot calmer today.

Earlier I mentioned that I was sitting on the fence regards a winner. Changed my mind and backed Scottie at 9s. I'm feeling a proper round of golf coming today.

XANDER TURNS IN 34

That's a good nine. Xander will want to try and get to +3 to have a decent chance on Sunday, which he's well capable of.

BIG GREY CLOUDS

The heavens look ready to open. Lets' hope we don't get a massive downpour, this is beginning to warm-up a little.

One player who's enjoying himself is Marc Leishman. The Aussie is -2 and +4 overall after just holing a bunker shot. Corey Conners, meanwhile, is -3 and at +3 is just outside the top 10.

BREEZE GETTING UP

The flags are flapping a fair bit, too. As if the players don't have enough to think about.

Xander almost holes a chip out of the heavy rough - it lips out at the 10th. McIlroy, on the same hole, rolls in a nice birdie after a lovely approach - back to +7.

BOB FOR BIRDIE

No, shame. The Scot is right there and holding himself together nicely. The former Canadian Open champion misses a good chance there to get back to +1.

YOUNG AND SCHEFFLER AWAY

Back to the 1st. Cam Young finds the first cut. Scheffler splits the fairway.

SCHEFFLER BIRDIE CHANCE AT 1

Correction: Scheffler at +5, of course. However, he could soon get back to +4 after that approach at the 1st. There's a score out there if you find the fairways. The way the conditions are right now, you have to fancy the World No.1 to post a good one and get himself right back into the mix.

It's not an amazing second by any means, but that's his kind of distance.

SHOCKER FROM SCOTTIE

Not often you see Scheffler come up short, but that's a woeful effort and he has work to do to avoid the 3-putt. 5 feet, just outside right... misses. BOGEY. +6.

RORY AT +8

A bogey at 11 for Rory and he's back to +8. He follows the disappointment with a crushed drive. Still, he doesn't appear to be getting a lot out of this round. I suggest he takes a holiday, gets himself right for Portrush in a few weeks.

How will Scheffler respond to that bogey on 1? Odds on the 3-putt from 25-30 feet back there must have been 500/1. Sweet as a nut that one, prime position, as he was at the 1st.

WHAT A PUTT

Eagle putt for Xander on the par 5. It almost drops. Started off in a different zip code.

Meanwhile, Scheffler back to +4. I've made a mess of his scoring today and I can only apologize. I promise to do better. He balances the book straight away with a birdie at the 2nd.

Rahm on the tee...

FOX TO +4

Ryan Fox, the Canadian Open champ, almost aces the par-3 6th. Three inches away. He's battled back well after making a double bogey at the 3rd. No one looks more energized than the Flying Fox.

Robert MacIntyre rolls his birdie in from range - two very different 2s there.

BOGEY FOR XANDER

Xander has been in a spot of bother at the 13th. To his credit, he saves bogey - but he's back to +5. Had that 6-foot bogey putt have slipped by, he surely would have had too much of a mountain to climb.

McIlroy follows him in and that's a par - stays +8, chatting away to himself.

REMAINING TEE TIMES

Still about an hour-and-a-half before the leaders go off.

2.02pm: Chris Kirk, Jason Day
2.13pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
2.24pm: Adam Schenk, Max Greyserman
2.40pm: Emiliano Grillo, Thomas Detry
2.51pm: Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka
3.02pm: Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence
3.13pm: Victor Perez, Ben Griffin
3.24pm: Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland
3.35pm: JJ Spaun, Sam Burns

RAHM ON THE MOVE

The Spaniard rolls in a birdie-3 to get to +3 - about 20 feet there and it just grabs enough of the hole.

Scheffler is having a right chop at the 4th. Stay tuned for the damage, odds on to drop one...

NEVER DOUBT A WORLD NO.1

Scheffler has been all over the place down the par-5 4th. However from thick rough to sand, he's played a delightful bunker shot to set up a 5-footer for par. Makes it.

McIlroy is now +9. Fails to get up-and-down from the sand. The bunker shot was good, but he doesn't settle over the four-footer and he lips out.

Morikawa to +2, another birdie for the American and he's suddenly within striking distance. We're starting to see a few changes on the first page of the leaderboard.

A PICTURE THAT SUMS UP MCILROY'S WEEK

I have to say, after he won The Masters in April, I didn't think we'd see this man throwing clubs a couple of months later.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

WELL, HELLO, MR SPIETH

A pitch in for birdie and suddenly the former champion finds himself at +4. I wasn't paying him much attention because, well, he has been rather erratic. He's in the mix.

THAT JORDAN PITCH

This is the pitch that has given Jordan Spieth a sniff here. The 2015 US Open champion is up to +4, seven shots back.

A BIT OF A LULL HERE...

Trevor Cone, Marc Leishman, Robert MacIntyre and Collin Morikawa are going well enough, very well in fact. But we're lacking a charge - feels like we need a Rahm or a Scheffler to get something going.

Dropped shots for McIlroy and Schauffele at the 16th and they both look ready for a lie down/alcoholic beverage.

Oh, now then, a 2 at the 6th for Scheffler and he's suddenly just six shots back. As I was saying, it needed it. We could do with a couple more players giving the crowds something to roar about.

Maybe Brooks will... we've still got Brooks.

SCHEFFLER SCRAMBLING

The three-time Major champ is back in trouble, finding the fairway bunker off the tee. Wedges it out. This is his distance. 91 yards at the 7th for his third. Very good, about 4 feet, spilling it back down to the hole.

Scheffler obviously gets compared a lot to prime Tiger Woods these days. It's easy to think of Woods when you see a player escaping with a pitch and putt like that. It's all about momentum...

MORIKAWA ON 6, STAYS +2

Not his best into the par-3 6th but he's on the dance floor. At +2, he's right there in contention. It's a long birdie putt and he comes up shy. An easy enough tap-in.

Scheffler taps in as expected. I wonder how much time he spends practicing wedges from 100 yards, getting it up-and-down. He looks like he could do it blindfolded.

CHANCE GOES AT 5

Short one missed by Jon Rahm - can't be missing opportunities like that, bit of a misread perhaps. Stays +4.

Scheffler on the par-3 8th. Safely finds the green. The pin today is tucked away. I mean, as if the hole isn't challenging enough.

ON THE TEE... S.W. KIM AND BROOKS KOEPKA

Kim into the hay - that swing looked quick. Koepka into the first cut down the right.

Tyrrell Hatton (+3) has reached the 3rd and he'll have a good look at birdie there after a fine approach.

71 FOR XANDER, 74 FOR RORY

Not the round he was looking for. Back at the 8th, Scheffler's near 100-footer comes up shy... by about two feet.

Xander and Rory are done for the day, though, and I think we can rule these two out of the 125th US Open. Better days ahead...

SCHEFFLER 3-PUTTS

After such a fine distance putt, Scheffler misses the short one. It was more like three feet, but that was still a huge surprise. Holds his head.

With a par, he probably gains on the field there at the 8th. A lapse in concentration perhaps. Back to +4 for the World No.1 and a bit of a momentum killer.

BOGEY AT 1

Koepka bogeys the 1st. It's a 3-putt. He slips to +3. S.W. Kim, however, makes a great par after wedging it up-and-down.

SPIETH FOR EAGLE...

Wow, grazes the edge. It's rowdy in that corner of the course and Spieth and his caddie aren't best pleased with the noise. Spieth will surely tap that one in and move to +3. So close to an eagle, so close.

BACK-TO-BACK BOGEYS FOR SCHEFFLER

I've cursed him. I can do that. Is the challenge fading right here? He can't hole a huge swinging putt for par on 9 and it's another bogey on the card. +5. Out in 36.

SAM STEVENS -2

Tied 6th now, +1 overall. Birdies at 4 and 5 and a tidy-looking card through six holes.

Hatton birdies the 4th to get to +2 and now we're seeing some movement near the top of the leaderboard. Still a few groups left to tee off...

Hovland on his way to the 1st tee.

PENULTIMATE GROUP OFF

Adam Scott finds the fairway. Hovland does not. That looked like out of bounds - a wide slice. He hits a provisional and finds the center of the fairway.

AN UNWANTED RECORD FOR RORY

Rory has spoken to the media after his round. We'll bring you some of his quotes shortly...

PENALTY DROP FOR VIKTOR ON 1

Nightmare start for the Norwegian. However, what a recovery shot off the muddy path, keeping the ball under the tree branches (not many of those at Oakmont) and he has an outside chance of a par.

A FEW QUOTES FROM RORY AFTER HE SHOOTS 74

On not speaking to the media for six Major rounds in a row. "A frustration with you guys," he says.

In what way?

"I'm just, yeah, I don't know. I have, I've been totally available for the last few years, and I'm not saying... maybe not you guys, but maybe more just the whole thing."

Did it stem from the whole driver thing?

"Yeah, part of. I mean, that was a part of it. Yeah, that was a part of it. But it's not as if... like at Augusta I skipped you guys on Thursday, so yeah, again, it's not if as if... it's not out of the ordinary.

"I've done it before; I'm just doing it a little more often."

MORE FROM RORY...

Is it part of the, you kind of carried the Tour, in your words, for three, four years now. Do you feel like you've earned the right?

"I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want to do, yeah.

You have, in relation to that, almost addressed the fact that the Tour does not require that kind of thing. It's almost like you're daring them to do so in some way. Is that, you know, in terms of a requirement of the players?

"No, I'm not daring them to do anything. I hope they don't change it because it would, you know. This is, it's a nice luxury to have. But I'm just pointing out the fact that we have the ability to do it."

FITZPATRICK FINISHES +9

"Biting my tongue," he says, when asked to describe the challenge out there. No doubt a lot of players will be happy to get back to somewhere where they can bomb it and wedge it close every week.

I guess the equivalent in tennis would be to have one week of the year where the court was smaller or the net was 15 feet high.

Fair play for the former champ sparing some time for a word.

SPAUN JOINS BURNS AT THE TOP

Rolls one in dead weight at the 1st, back to the top of the leaderboard for JJ.

SCHEFFLER UPDATE

Well, the charge hasn't materialized. he threatened for a little while, but now he's hit a flat spot. After bogeys at 8 and 9, Scheffler has parred 10 and 11. +5 overall and running out of holes to get himself into this tournament.

If he is to win it from here, he's going to need a lot of help from those out in front.

BOB MAC BOGEY

Shame, a 3-putt on 15. Three big holes coming up for the Scot, then he can put his feet up and watch the late starters struggle.

SPAUN LEADS AGAIN

JJ Spaun navigates the second safely and walks to the third tee on three-under, one shot ahead. Moments earlier, an over-zealous drive from Burns had ultimately led to the 28-year-old making a bogey. He found a fairway bunker and was forced to lay up. From there, it was a tall task to get up and down. He didn't, and now Burns trails.

RAIN IS HAMMERING DOWN

Anyone hoping for a bone-dry US Open, look away now. The rain is hammering down at Oakmont, and there are some really dark clouds on the horizon. Hopefully they don't come this way, otherwise we could be looking at a delay. Weirdly, it's also sunny in certain parts of the course. Strange.

SEESAW

The lead could be changing hands once again. Burns missed the third fairway by so far, it landed on the fourth. Was he actually aiming there? He and his caddie were prepared with a yardage, so maybe so. Either way, he's on the green in two and has a shot at birdie.

Conversely, Spaun saw his drive brush up against the rough. He was forced to play it with his feet at a far lower level and only succeeded in pushing it into the rough further up on the right. Spaun's third stroke ended up on the green, but he is miles away. Surely there's another change coming at the top?

PUTTS DON'T FALL

Neither Spaun or Burns can find the bottom of the cup with their long-range putts. Fortunately for Burns, he can write down a par. Spaun makes bogey - despite a brave try - and falls back to two-over alongside his playing partner.

GRIFFIN LOOKING DANGEROUS

Arguably the form horse on the PGA Tour right now, Griffin sinks a good one at the par-5 fourth to return to even par. He looks so good with putter in hand these days. He's playing really well from tee to green, too. Good luck to him.

A NEST OF BIRDIES

Following Griffin's lead, Adam Scott moves to even par, Robert MacIntyre is back into the top-10 and Thriston Lawrence shifts up to solo third. All of them made birdies in quick succession. The recent rain might just be providing some temporary respite for these toiling tour pros.

SPAUN IN CLOSE AT 4

From 130 yard or so, Spaun flights a beautiful little wedge over the flag and zips it back to about four feet at the par-5 hole.

Following a song and dance over a free drop placement, Burns clips his ball to about the same range, maybe slightly further. A putting contest to come for the leaders.

Elsewhere, Spieth makes birdie at the last to reach six-over on what has been another classic Jordan Spieth kinda day.

JJ TAKES CONTROL

Spaun took full advantage of his closer approach and knocks in the four-foot putt for birdie to reach three-under. Burns' effort looped wildly from right to left but missed on the amateur side.

WATCH MCILROY'S MEDIA ADDRESS EARLIER:

Read more: What is going on with Rory McIlroy?

BROOKS GOING BACKWARDS

Many were fancying Koepka to climb the leaderboard today but he has done the complete opposite, so far at least.

He's just bogeyed 8 to fall to three-over for the day to sit at +5 for the tournament and eight back of the lead.

BEAUTY FROM BURNS

Sam Burns has just hit a stunner into the 4th, landing his iron just past the pin and spinning it back. He'll easily tap that in to join Spaun back at the top.

CARLOS ORTIZ TO T3

This is not the Torque GC player we thought would be challenging for the US Open.

LIV Golf's Carlos Ortiz has just birdied 12 to move to three-under for the day and up to level par for the tournament.

I'm sure his captain Joaquin Niemann, who missed the cut at 10-over, will be cheering him on.

BURNS BIRDIE

Sam Burns did indeed birdie the 5th and he and Spaun are now three clear of the pack at -3.

RAIN CONTINUING

The weather has been a real shame this week. I can't imagine how entertaining it would have been watching a true firm-and-fast Oakmont.

It continues to rain and we're seeing barely any run on the fairways and plenty of backspin on the greens. The putting surfaces are still supremely undulating, the rough is even tougher when wet and the course is playing long without the roll so it certainly isn't playing easy.

LEADERS PAR THE SIXTH

No drama for Spaun or Burns at the par-3 sixth. They both find the green and two putt their way outta there.

ORTIZ GIVING HIMSELF PLENTY OF BIRDIE LOOKS

The Mexican is enjoying a superb third round and is three-under for his day so far. That could well be four-under very soon after skipping a wonderfully-controlled wedge into the 14th. Six feet left for birdie.

Around him on the leaderboard, Scott and Hovland both fail with opportunities to move up a spot at the seventh.

CARLOS UP TO FOUR-UNDER

Ortiz duly converts at the 14th and is now the third member of the field under par. He could be the dark horse to upset the big names. Before the US Open began, there was a lot of talk about his LIV Golf teammate, Joaquin Niemann. However, Niemann missed the cut by a fair way while Ortiz is showing what's in his locker.

HATTON MAKING A RUN

Tyrrell Hatton birdies the 12th, adding on to his gain at the 10th, to reach one-over for the championship and two-under for the day. The Englishman is one of the best ball-strikers in the world at his best, and this week's performance is proving it.

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler adds on another birdie at the short 17th hole. He's at four-over now. So not out of it...

LIV TEAMMATES HEADING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

Jon Rahm is not having the day he and many of his fans hoped he would, but the Spaniard makes a really nice save at the par-3 16th. That came off the back of a double at the previous hole. He's at six-over.

Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton birdies the par-3 13th for his third birdie in four holes. He's at level par and into a share of fourth.

GRIFFIN MAKES THE TURN TWO-OVER

Ben Griffin three putts his way off the ninth green for a bogey, and he'll make the turn having taken 37 strokes on the front side. Luckily for the American, the back nine is playing slightly easier.

HOVLAND OFF THE FLAG STICK

Viktor Hovland is not going to die wondering. He's attacking every flag still. The Norwegian takes aim at the ninth hole on this occasion and hits the stick from 184 yards. Thankfully, the ball only travelled seven feet away from there.

Moments earlier, Carlos Ortiz had ripped one out of a fairway bunker from 230 yards or so to 40 feet at the par-4 15th. That was an outrageous strike.

CONFIDENT BOUNCE BACK

At one of the hardest holes on the course all week, the ninth, Hovland takes advantage of his lucky break off the flagstick and drains his birdie putt. The Norwegian is back to level par alongside Adam Scott, who saves par on the same hole.

TOUGH BREAK

The leaders remain at three-under through eight holes and they're now on that tough 478-yard par-4 before the turn. Burns just about finds the right edge of the fairway and has a clean lie, however, Spaun powers one down the centre but appears to have found a pretty deep divot. That's awful luck for the 34-year-old.

HOVLAND BACK UNDER PAR

A stunner at the 10th from Hovland! His approach into the 10th must have looked incredible in the air, but it just dropped a little shorter than he'd expected and gave him more work to do than he'd have liked. From 18 feet, the Ryder Cup winner with Team Europe dabbed one down the slope from right to left and watched it fall. Superb.

A hole behind, Burns makes a largely uneventful par while Spaun shows impeccable touch to recover from that tough break in the fairway. He squeezed his ball out of the divot but saw it fade on him. From the opposite side of Pennsylvania, that was an impressive two-putt.

RAHM SIGNS FOR A 73

The Spaniard bogeys the last and makes a disappointing 73 which leaves him well outside the top-25. On seven-over for the week, Rahm is extremely unlikely to win another US Open now.

TRUE PERSPECTIVE

Following a tough day on the course, Scottie Scheffler is greeted by the best thing in his life - his family. TV pictures show son Bennett crawl over to his dad and then quickly away again - blissfully unaware of the world around him, largely. That's a beautiful scene, it really is.

ORTIZ WASTES CHANCE

At the driveable par-4 17th, Ortiz finds the left rough off the tee and then chips to five feet. It looked for all the world as though he would move within one of the leaders, but the Mexican powered his birdie chance past and will settle for par. Not quite a dropped shot, but it could feel like one.

LAWRENCE MAKES BIRDIE

The big South African has been chaining pars together of late before he eventually beats the course at the par-5 12th.

Elsewhere, Tyrrell Hatton recovers from a double-bogey at the 15th by comfortably two-putting the par-3 16th. His birdie run was a very good one, but it just fell flat at the last moment.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ON THE MENTAL TOLL OAKMONT TAKES

You've heard it a lot this week: "Oakmont is really tough." Well, as if you needed more proof, listen to how Scottie Scheffler described the mental toll this course has taken on he and his playing partners.

ORTIZ FINISHES WITH A BOGEY

The LIV man was wayward off the tee and then into the sand with his second. Despite a classy recovery, Ortiz bogeys the 18th to sign for a 67. It's still been a good day for the Mexican and he will have a shot at the big prize tomorrow.

EAGLE CHANCE FOR HATTON

Tyrrell Hatton is currently two-over for the championship but the Englishman has just rocketed one onto the 17th green. He now has a legitimate shot at eagle. Even a birdie would be ideal.

From 32 feet, he misses. But from two feet and two inches, Hatton makes his birdie. One-over for the LIV player.

FIGHTING BACK

I mentioned earlier that Ben Griffin had made the turn in two-over par, but he's now recovered both strokes thanks to two birdies in three holes. The latest arrived on the par-3 13th courtesy of a lovely 15-foot roll. Once again, the American is back to level par and into a tie for fourth as it stands.

SUPER FROM SCOTT

Attempting to follow Griffin's lead, Hovland and Scott fire decent tee shots into the par-3 13th. I say decent, Scott's was sublime. The Australian only has a few feet left for birdie.

SHADOWS ARE LENGTHENING

Could this be Adam Scott's year? He birdies the 13th to pull alongside his playing partner on one-under. As the two leaders both par the 12th without too many issue, Scott is now two back.

BURNS BEGINNING TO HEAT UP

The par-3 13th must be playing one of the easiest holes today. The latest in a long line of birdie looks is set to come from Sam Burns after the co-leader draws one into six feet or so. A putter as accomplished as Burns surely makes this.

Meanwhile, Spaun has a much tougher chance from up the hill and maybe 15-20 feet away.

UP GO THE CHEERS

Burns confidently pours his birdie chance in from seven feet and he now leads by one. It really feels like neither of the final group is going to make a mistake while everyone else is. Griffin makes one at the 14th while Thriston Lawrence does the same at the 15th - they both fall back to one-over.

ANOTHER BIRDIE

Adam Scott is really finding his groove now. The Australian rips a wedge over the hole at the 14th and spins it back to kick-in range to move within two strokes of Burns. That was his second birdie in a row for Scott.

It could get even better for the 2013 Masters champion very soon as well because Burns found the sand off the 14th tee and is battling to save par now.

SUPER PAR SAVE

No such luck for Scott as Burns drops a fantastic approach into the 14th and tidies up from eight feet. Shortly before, Spaun couldn't quite convert from 15 feet.

Elsewhere, Griffin is really stumbling down the stretch. He bogeys 15 to follow on from a three putt bogey at the 14th.

WHAT A PAR

Viktor Hovland looked in real trouble at the par-4 15th, having found the fringe with his third stroke. Yet, a wonderfully-weighted par putt trickles in the front door and is met with a hearty roar from the crowd.

SPAUN HAS LATEST BIRDIE LOOK

With Burns messing around in the sand once more, JJ Spaun says "I'll keep hunting flags, thank you very much." The 34-year-old goes at the 15th from 220 yards and leaves his ball 20 feet below the hole. His ball-striking has been incredibly impressive to this point, it must be said.

SO BAD IT WAS GOOD

Thriston Lawrence mis-hit his 17th tee shot so badly, it actually helped him in the end. The ball landed in the fairway rather than the green and gave him the chance to tuck it up close to the hole with a wedge. The South African shows off his short-game prowess by skipping his ball to a foot or so and knocking it in for birdie.

At the previous hole, Scott and Hovland both have half-chances for birdie following solid tee shots at the par-3.

HELLUVA SCRAMBLER

Sam Burns is just never beaten. Even when it looks as though he's struggling to make par, he pulls a rabbit out of the hat. In the latest trick by Sam the Magnificent, he whips his ball out of a greenside bunker and leaves it a matter of inches away. Par achieved and we're as we were. Burns leads by one.

COSTLY ERROR

What was it that I just said? Even when Burns looks done, he finds a way of escaping trouble. Well, he didn't appear to be in much trouble at the par-3 16th but he missed an eight-footer for par and now he is back to three-under alongside Spaun. What a time to do that as well.

FRUSTRATING END

Lawrence shakes his head as he makes a bogey at the last and signs for a 70. As with almost everyone who has failed to par the 18th, the problems arose with a wayward tee shot. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good day overall and Lawrence will have a chance to contend tomorrow.

THAT IS WORLD CLASS

Hovland had some 50 yards to the hole at the 17th, only he was in the deep rough right next to the grandstands down the right side. But with a look at the back of his golf ball available, Hovland squeezed it out of the trouble and over to a few feet. Another birdie will, temporarily at least, take him within one.

SCOTT INTO A SHARE

Nevermind Viktor Hovland, Adam Scott is the man to watch in this pairing! The Australian's wedge shot wasn't ideal, but he rolls the 14-foot chance home to make it a three-way tie at the top.

Hovland also writes a three down at the penultimate hole to stay just one stroke back. This US Open is really starting to bubble up nicely now.

PUNCH FOR PUNCH

Sam Burns produces a simply divine wedge shot from 40 yards or so at the 17th, leaving his ball right beside the hole. Following that shock mistake at the 16th, he's wrestled the stroke right back.

Not to be outdone, JJ Spaun finally makes a putt of note. He's been excellent tee to green today, has Spaun, but his putter has slightly let him down. From a similar spot to Scott just now, Spaun pours it in to reach four-under as well. One hole to go!

HOVLAND SLIPS

In the penultimate group tomorrow either way, Viktor Hovland pays the price for a poor tee shot and makes bogey at the last. De ja vu, anyone?

Adam Scott makes no such mistake, though, going close with a long-range birdie try from the opposite side of the green before tapping in for par.

Hovland signs for a level par 70 while Scott strides off to the scoring tent knowing he only has 67 strokes on his scorecard today. Two rounds of 70 and a 67 this week. That'll do nicely.

FINAL GROUP STRUGGLING

Down the last, Spaun blows his tee shot wildly right but catches a decent break as it lands in a spot fans have been walking all week. From there, he advances his ball into the front-right bunker.

Meanwhile, Sam Burns cracks his off-fairway drive through to the back of the green and will face a tricky two-putt for par from considerably above the hole.

CONTRASTING THIRD SHOTS

From the bunker, JJ Spaun has left himself an awful lot of work to do via a 20-foot putt after his bunker shot checked up a little bit too early.

Burns is under less stress, although not stress-free, after he trickled a well-judged putt from 60 feet to within five.

BURNS LEADS AFTER 54 HOLES

Spaun misses with his par putt and taps in for bogey. A sequence of events which might lead to a slightly earlier tee time on Sunday.

However, Burns is steady with the flat stick once more to retain his one-stroke advantage at four-under. The final group both sign for a 69.

Under-par leaderboard is as follows: Burns -4, Scott -3, Spaun -3, Hovland -1.

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ADAM SCOTT REACTS

It was a brilliant day for the Australian, shooting a three-under 67 to put himself one behind with 18 holes to play. Looking ahead to Sunday's final round, Scott admitted he will be nervous but feels he can enjoy the ideal position of not having to sleep on a lead but still being right up there.

VIKTOR HOVLAND "PISSED OFF" WITH HIS DRIVER

Speaking after a decent round of 70 at Oakmont, Hovland shared his frustration at being unable to drive it as well as he'd ideally like to.

Asked for his overall reaction to what occurred on Saturday, the Norwegian said: "Pretty pleased with how I battled out there. Didn't get off to a great start, just kept plugging along, hit some great iron shots and made some nice putts around the turn there.

"Really nice par putt on 15 and awesome birdie on 17. Yeah, a little bitter about my driver. Just can't seem to figure it out. It's like a lingering problem all this year, so it's kind of pissing me off."

ROUND FOUR TEE TIMES

7.52am: Cam Davis

8.03am: Matthieu Pavon, Jordan Smith

8.14am: Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English

8.25am: Ryan McCormick, Taylor Pendrith

8.36am: Johnny Keefer, Michael Kim

8.47am: James Nicholas, Brian Harman

8.58am: Philip Barbaree, Jr., Sungjae Im

9.14am: Niklas Norgaard, Denny McCarthy

9.25am: Daniel Berger, Tony Finau

9.36am: Rory McIlroy, Andrew Novak

9.47am: Adam Schenk, Mackenzie Hughes

9.58am: Justin Hastings (a), Matt Fitzpatrick

10.09am: Collin Morikawa, Rasmus Hojgaard

10.20am: Ryan Fox, Corey Conners

10.36am: Patrick Reed, Laurie Canter

10.47am: Jon Rahm, Tom Kim

10.58am: Maverick McNealy, Xander Schauffele

11.09am: Si Woo Kim, Jhonattan Vegas

11.20am: Aaron Rai, Trevor Cone

11.31am: Jordan Spieth, JT Poston

11.42am: Brooks Koepka, Thomas Detry

11.58am: Jason Day, Chris Kirk

12.09pm: Keegan Bradley, Sam Stevens

12.20pm: Matt Wallace, Ryan Gerard

12.31pm: Ben Griffin, Victor Perez

12.42pm: Russell Henley, Emiliano Grillo

12.53pm: Max Greyserman, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

1.04pm: Nick Taylor, Scottie Scheffler

1.20pm: Chris Gotterup, Marc Leishman

12.31pm: Cameron Young, Robert MacIntyre

12.42pm: Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, Thriston Lawrence

1.53pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz

2.04pm: Viktor Hovland, JJ Spaun

2.15pm: Adam Scott, Sam Burns

TALE OF THE TAPE

Check out the stats for Sunday's final pairing...

SAM BURNS ON WHAT WINNING THE US OPEN WOULD MEAN

Following his third-round 69, Sam Burns explained his driving wasn't as good as he would have liked on Saturday but was really pleased at how he scrambled most of the time.

Then asked what it would mean to become the eighth first-time Major winner at Oakmont, the 28-year-old Louisiana native replied: "It would be incredible. I think as a kid growing up, you dream about winning Major championships and that's why we practice so hard and work so hard.

"All these guys in this field I think would agree that to have the opportunity to win a major is special. I'm definitely really excited for tomorrow."

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