Oakmont, PA – We have two days at the Oakmont Country Club and only three players on the 156 field remain in par.
How about us?
Here are what we learned in Round 2 (this isn’t completely over, 13 players will have to finish the round on Saturday morning) and what we expect during the final stretch, as this year’s third major championship changes over the weekend.
Do you think it’s still fighting?
Mark Schlabach: History suggests that Sunday’s champion will now become one of the golfers in the top five on the leaderboard, but we don’t know if that will necessarily be an incident at the Oakmont Country Club.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 11 of the past 12 US Open champions were in the top five after 36 holes. The exception was Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished 13th after the second round of 2022 at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Only three champions in the 125-year history of the US Open were outside the top 20 after 36 holes. Lugraham (27th place) in 1975, Larry Nelson (25th place) in 1983, and Webb Simpson (29th place) in 2012.
Just like Oakmont is playing, there were some great rounds, as evidenced by JJ Spaun’s 4-under 66 on Thursday and Sam Burns’ 65 on Friday.
Those who had 4-5 shots, or even more, were able to put together two solid rounds. When Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley was asked if a 5-under 65 could be done over the weekend, he said, “If it rains.”
The sky was already open before 14 golfers finished the second round on Friday night.
Paolo Object: Even if someone in five overs ran a little on Saturday, even in six overs, that doesn’t shock me, especially if the leading score is still on par.
Schaeffler fought on Friday despite showing a lot of frustration as he failed to get the ground at the top of the board. 71 wasn’t something he had in mind, but it’s still not just a 7 shot of burns at 3 under. Oakmont is a ball striker course, and no one is better than Schaeffler.
“I don’t think you’re out of the tournament at the US Open,” Schaeffler said. “Bundling together two decent days, I might be in 25th or 30th, and that’s what I’m like from today onwards.
The world’s No. 1 player made it into a veel run in driving range after finishing his round and when he worked with longtime swing coach Randy Smith, he looked frustrated with something. If there is any skepticism about Schaeffler, it seems he’s fighting something with his swing. But I could see him realize it right away, just like the PGA Championship that unleashed him. It writes about trouble for the rest of the field.
What are the forecasts for the weekend and what impact will the weather have?
uggetti: With the second round close to finishing in Pittsburgh on Friday night, the sky lasted more than an hour on the golf course, dropping heavy rains on a golf course that is tied to changing the way Oakmont plays on Saturday and beyond.
It’s set to rain overnight and thunderstorms on Saturday. Currently, forecasts require 90% of rain on Saturdays and 70% of Sundays. There’s no real wind to talk about – at least not to much affect the shot, but those who cut will get a softer Oakmont this weekend.
But if you’re still looking for a high score, don’t worry. The rough will be healthier and more difficult, and the USGA should be located to play with more pins and green speeds that can keep this tournament tough despite its wet conditions.
“I’ll play anything unless it’s lightning, almost or a tornado,” said Ben Griffin, who sat evenly. “That’s more of a nuisance than anything. But from a swing perspective, I don’t mind playing in the rain. And obviously, it might make it a little easier. Or, if it really rains, you might need to think about spin controls in the wedge.
Do you think it’s your favorite right now?
Schlabach: I think there may be 10-15 golfers who can win at this point. Sam Burns struggled hard in the majors until he came in ninth place at the US Open last year. This was amazing for the man who won the PGA Tour five times.
This week is probably his time. He was one of the best putters in the world, and only needed 55 putts in the first two rounds. His iron play this week was fantastic (he has scored more than two strokes on his approach), and his short game has helped a lot too (he’s about two strokes there).
Burns has already had 11 birdies card in two rounds. This was the number of Dustin Johnsons that Dustin Johnson had while winning the 2016 US Open at Oakmont.
“I think sometimes (I) was trying to be a bit perfect around major championship golf courses, especially around this, I think I’ll force you to take your medication, since honestly, that’s the only option you have,” Burns said. “On this golf course, you just have to really release it. I think it’s too difficult to guide that around here. You’ll hit some in the rough.
This is the eighth time Burns has taken at least 36 holes lead in a PGA Tour event. He won the previous seven at the 2021 Valspar Championship.
uggetti: Seven of the nine players who won the US Open here at Oakmont are the first winners, and I continue to look at Viktor Hovland, one of the three players under par, as the perfect candidate to continue that trend.
Hovland has two very different rounds of statistics. On Thursday, he scored more than four strokes on the field in approach play, but lost more than three times on putters. On Friday, he lost half the strokes on the field on the approach and nearly two shots on the putter. That’s annoying, but I think it makes sense where he is in the tournament position. Top 15 strokes were obtained from the tee, with 111th place in approach play, short games and strokes: putting.
This makes his task extremely simple. If his putter improves, he will stay in the mix. He’s a ball striker too good to be there. Plus, although various players seemed to be broken depending on how hard the course played on Friday, Hovland remained very calm.
Hofland shrugged when asked at what point in his round he was approaching losing his heart.
“I wasn’t really close,” Hofland said. “I kept it together pretty well.”
Come at Oakmont on the weekend. It could become a huge asset in itself.
A sleeper to compete on the weekend?
Schlabach: Is it fair to call former world No. 1 and Masters Champion a sleeper? If so, Adam Scott might be a pick after posting a second straight round of equal 70 to move to the tie in fourth.
As 44-year-old Scott said after Friday’s round, he is about to play “Old Manper Golf.” According to Elias, he is the fifth oldest player in the top five after 36 holes in the US in the last 20 years.
“It’s just hard,” Scott said. “It’s hard to keep going when guys run. They seem to have come back a bit.”
Scott hasn’t done anything spectacular in the first two rounds, but he avoided the big numbers and hid his bogey with birdies. He had five bogeys and five birdies in the first round.
The Australian averages 313 yards away from the tee, hitting 17 of the 28 fairways. He has two strokes from the tee on the field. He also has two or more strokes on the approach, hitting 27 of his 36 greens in regulation, ranking second on the field.
“I was on the fairway from the tee, so it wasn’t too stressful in the round,” Scott said. “I think I played well from the tee and the rest of the game was fine from there.”
Scott didn’t have the top 10 on the 11 PGA Tour this season. The 2013 Masters Champion missed a cut at Augusta National, but joined the mix in Quaila Hollow and finished in 19th place.
His best golf seemed to have been in the rearview mirror. Or at least that’s what I wrote about earlier this week. Boy, I was wrong.
When Scott was asked to explain his window to win on Friday in the Major, he replied “Adjah.”
uggetti: On this board there is a player who thrives and tastes such a set-up, it is Brooks Koepka, he is only five shots, with only eight guys in front of him.
Koepka was about to get control of the tournament Friday morning. The front wasn’t that ideal as he made four bogeys and placed dampers on a solid show. But this is the US open, and Koepka has won twice before. No one stands up for these kinds of tests than Koepka.
As he explained Thursday, his recent work with his coach Pete Cowen helped him get his bad habits and his swing back on track after missing out on the first two cuts in this year’s majors.
“I’m starting to feel better. I’m starting to click,” Koepka said. “I think the ball flight is a bit fade and there are no two-way mistakes. It’s very consistent right now.”
Like Hofland, Koepka struggled around the greens, losing shots in both his short game and putting. If that improves slightly, he will be a factor this weekend.
The biggest disappointment?
Schlabach: Where do you start? There were many well-known golfers who missed out on the cut. Patrick Cantray, Wyndham Clark, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Rudig Åberg were over eight years old. Tommy Fleetwood was over nine years old. Dustin Johnson and Bryson Deccanbeau were over 10 years old. Sepp Straka was over 11 years old. Justin Thomas was over 12 years old. Justin Rose was 14 years old. And Shane Lowry was over 17 years old.
It has to be a decanbo, right? He defended us and was competing in the final round of the PGA Championship at the Cool Hollow Club last month. However, he couldn’t tackle Oakmont as he had the 777 card on Friday.
Dechambeau’s second scorecard included eight bogeys, one double bogey and three birdies. He is usually one of the best putters on the field, but lost about 1½ strokes on the green and required 61 putts on 36 holes. He never seemed to grasp the fast speed of the lightning. He wasn’t accurate from the tee (13 out of 28 fairways), and his new iron was not held largely as he hit 20 out of 36 greens in regulation.
