As DJ stutters, Bryson DeChambeau makes par at 7. Two holes to go before he can head off and devour 14 raw steaks.
The wind looks to have died a little but that doesnât help Dustin Johnson at the short par-3 7th. He comes up way short with his tee-shot after seeming to take too much turf and his rollercoaster putt up the false front surges way past the hole when it emerges into view on the top tier. It leaves him 15 feet for par but his putt has no conviction and pulls up short. A badly played hole, a bogey and DJ is back to +2.
Itâs all getting a bit much for Matthew Wolff and thatâs seven bogeys on his scorecard today and four in five on his second nine. From threatening the lead, heâs slumped to tied 19th (+1).
Bryson DeChambeauâs positive intent is rewarded at 6 (his 15th) as his huge drive leads to a birdie. His risky strategy is certainly being reflected in his scorecard: not for him the Faldo-esque full set of 18 pars; heâs made five birdies, five bogeys and five pars. Now -1 and tied for 10th.
Rafa Cabrera Bello sets the new clubhouse target of 2-under after a fantastic finish. The Spaniard was +1 with three to play and could easily have slipped back into the pack. But he birdied 6 and 7 before holing a six-footer at 9 to pick up three shots in his final four holes. Heâs rescued a 70 from nowhere and will now be in one of the final groups on Saturday.
A projected cut line has appeared on the official scoreboard. Computer says +6 gets you in but +7 or more and youâre heading home.
This should be good TV as Bryson DeChambeau attempts to drive the short par-4 15th. A mighty lash and his ball pulls up just short of the green. Golden birdie chance there. Tony Finau attempts the same but pulls his drive left and finds a rather surprising-placed creek running to the left of the putting surface. Dustin Johnson attempts to show thereâs more than one way to skin a cat and opts for the lay up, wedge option. And it could well pay off as he leaves a great look at birdie.
Under par count: 12. Thatâs down from 21 at start of play. Pieters is the clubhouse leader on even par but both Bubba Watson and Rafa Cabrera Bello are 1-under after 17 so could set the new mark. As for the cut, itâs hovering around +4/+5 but will probably go higher this afternoon.
Thomas Pieters, looking not as miffed as youâd think having dropped six shots in his final nine holes, says this of day two at Winged Foot: âItâs definitely twice as tough as yesterday with the wind.â Seems a fair assessment.
As Pieters will testify, once those bogeys start racking up, itâs hard to reverse the momentum. However, Rafa Cabrera Bello is proving it can be done as heâs followed bogeys at 3 and 5 with birdies at 6 and 7 to move back to -1 with two to play.
Itâs another Thomas Pieters bogey Iâm afraid and this one at 18 drops him back to even par. How things changed for the Belgian today. At one point he was cruising along and a shot clear of the field at 6-under. But if Winged Footâs front nine doesnât get you, the even harder back nine can be a card wrecker and Pieters came home in 41 after six bogeys and three pars. It all added up to a 74 and heâs gone from solo first to tied 14th. Time to restock.
And a final stat: just five players in the morning wave are under par for the day – Xander Schauffele, Bubba Watson, Daniel Berger, Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley. Respect to those quintet of Americans, three major winners among them.
Matthew Wolff has taken to majors like a duck to water. Again, impress your friends time with this:
Wolf is the first player in menâs golf history to begin his championship career with five consecutive rounds in the 60s.
Heâs having to scrap today (four birdies against two birdies after 10 holes) but Wolff is right in the hunt at -2.
Louis Oosthuizen caresses in a 20-footer for birdie at 13 and climbs up to tied third.
1) Heâs never won an event on American soil2) After a 67 yesterday, the South African surpassed Jack Nicklaus for the most rounds of 67 or lower in US Open history (8)
A smile and a cheery wave to the imaginary crowds from Bryson DeChambeau. The 224-yard par-3 3rd isnât a birdie hole but the former US Amateur champ turns it into one by draining his 25-footer. For the third time today he follows a bogey with a birdie and this latest red number puts him back to -1 for the tournament and looking dangerous in T11th.
The PGA Tour website actually has a âBounce Backâ stat which measures the percent of time a player is over par on a hole and then under par on the following hole. The top seven in the just-completed 2020 season are: Will Gordon, Gary Woodland, Dustin Johnson, Aaron Wise, Grayson Murray, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose. Note the three US Open champs in that list, showcasing how temperament is a vital weapon when trying to win this most attritional major.
Jon Rahm hit just two greens in regulation over his first 10 holes but he finds the par-4 11th in two and will have around 15 feet for birdie. Some short-game prowess has reduced the bogey count but lying 2-over for the day and +1 overall wasnât in this thoughts this morning.
Hats off to Lee Westwood for some US Open resilience today. Three bogeys in his first six holes suggested this could be a very long day indeed but the Englishman has played his next eight holes in 1-under to hang on in there at -1. Yesterdayâs 67 gave him a certain amount of wriggle room heading out this morning and, despite the slips, heâs still only four off the lead.
Matthew Wolff (-3) is in a whole heap of trouble at 1 (his 10th). He finds the thick stuff up at the green and has no control as he hacks out high into the sky. The ball floats far too far and almost runs off the other side of the green.
In other news, if Tony Finau could putt heâd be about five shots clear. His dubious speciality is missing six footers and another one slides by at 2. Back-to-back bogeys and heâs back to Evens.
If someone had analysed trends and data to try and predict the winner here, the best fit would have been Daniel Berger. The American is the ideal candidate in terms of age, world ranking, experience and form and the numbers even show that itâs better not to have won a major. Berger, who was sixth at Shinnecock two years ago, ticks that box too. So itâs validation for those responsible for âProject Bergerbot 2020â to see him with the best score of the day so far. Heâs 3-under on the card and Evens overall.
Thanks Gregg. Youâll notice the sudden lack of the name âPietersâ on the latest leaderboard. The Belgian had a tricky birdie try at 15 which he steered to close range. But he knocked the par putt twice as far away and looked to be staring a dreaded four-putt square in the face. He did well to hole the return putt but thatâs a fourth bogey in six holes on this troublesome second nine. At least he now has an easy run of par 4s measuring 488, 501 and 465 yards to close his round! Tough times for Pieters and his drive at 16 trickles into the rough.
Luis Oosthuizen has saved par with a monster putt on the 10th to keep himself in good company in a group of seven who are all lurking with intent on -2. Make that a group of six. Finau, on the 1st (his 1oth) was among them. Heâs not any more. He landed his second miles from the pin after struggling to make sense of the wind and three-putted as many have on this most difficult of holes.
Xander Schauffele fluffs a very puttable eagle attempt at the 9th after two wonderful shots got him to within 10ft. He just doesnât go after the putt with any conviction. A tap-in for birdie takes the young American from San Diego back to -2 for the championship, though.
Winged Foot has really sunk its teeth into Pieters in the past couple of hours. Having led at -6 not so long ago, he is has just arrived on the 15th frantically searching for his missing mojo. He looked to be in recovery mode after making par at the 13th, but another dropped shot at the 14th has taken him back to -3.
âI am stunned by the stat that no left handed has won the US Open,â writes David Gaskell. âI am a leftie and in my seventies. I have now bought a practice net for the garden. I am also looking for the odds, betting wise. Do you think Phil is setting up a âStingâ? He likes his bets.â Given he needs about five or six birdies in the next nine holes to make the cut, I very much doubt that David.
DJ thrashes wildly at his second on the 18th, ripping through the rough to try and get the ball over the false front that guards the 18th green. His ball falls short though and down, down, down it rolls. Heâs not going to get up and down from there in two is he? Oh, yes. Yes he is! A fine little scoop up for his third leaves him a right-to-left 10-footer that he absolutely nails. A fine par. Finau, meanwhile, taps home for par after waiting an age for the wind to die down. The flags are flapping at Winged Foot.
Tony Finau has hit a lovely drive down the 18th (his ninth), arcing beautifully to land on the tricky dog leg before bounding off down the fairway. Just making par here is a feat. Finau is at 1-2 for the championship and looks ever so relaxed. Dustin Johnson may be ruffled for the first time today though. He lands his drive in the rough to the left and could be staring at the first blemish on his card for round two.
Up ahead of Westwood on the 217-yard par-3 13th, Pieters has given himself a birdie chance with a sizzling iron off the tee. His ball lands with a plop and puts the brakes on before rolling gently down the slope about 15 feet from the pin. Having made two bogeys in the past three holes, how he would like to get the blood pumping again with a birdie. Itâs not to be, though. His putt squirts past to the right of the cup.
Lee Westwood is trying to get his round back on track after a testing morning, in which he made three bogies on the first eight before making birdie at 9. Heâs +2 for the day and -1 for the tournament. And he cracked a lovely tee-shot down the tricky par-3 10th to ensure he makes par there, too. He was whisker away from a birdie.
Hello, Gregg here. Iâll be with you for the next hour while Dave takes a little break. How are we all? Good to hear. Having taken a little peek at the scores for the holes on day two, the average on the vast majority of them is up on the first day. Winged Foot has sharpened its claws and many of those who have gone out this morning have been bloodied. Not the 2016 champion, though. Dustin Johnson has made a fine start, with two birdies from his first seven holes today, He is loitering with intent at +1.
And with that, I shall hand over to Gregg Bakowski to guide you through the next hour.
Pietersâ missed fairway at 11 leads to a second straight bogey. The ship is leaking oil suddenly and he drops to 4-under and out of the lead.
Par putts from 10 feet are worth their weight in gold in conditions like this and thatâs why Jon Rahm fist pumps at 15. Following his bogey-birdie start, the Spaniard has reeled off four pars to remain 1-under. As with DJ, official status: lurking.
Prowling DJ. The world number one goes 2-under for his round and +1 overall with a short birdie conversion at 15 (his sixth). That two-shot swing with Pieters means Johnson is now within six of the lead.
A first blip of the day from Thomas Pieters as a poor tee-shot at 10 leads to a bogey. Hopefully this wonât be a tale of two nines and he can get back on track. For now, heâs tied for the lead again with Justin Thomas, who tees off later today.
Strange but true: no left-hander has ever won the US Open. Phil Mickelson has obviously had multiple stabs at it, finishing runner-up six times. But Bubba Watson hasnât brought much to the table though, not managing a single top 50 in his last nine attempts. Heâs going okay here though: -1 for the day (7) and +1 overall. Not that Iâll be putting any money on him to win, mind.
A total of 21 players started round two in red figures. Thatâs now down to 15 as Winged Foot picks them off one by one. How many will still be under par at close of play?
Perhaps the subject of that last tweet should have been chosen more carefully. DeChambeau has just knocked in a 12-footer for birdie at 14 to climb to -1.
Back at 9, Pieters just misses with his birdie try on the courseâs first par 5 but thatâs a wonderful outward half of 2-under and he leads the 120th US Open by a shot from Justin Thomas.
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An ugly 5-5-5 start for Rickie Fowler. That equates to double bogey, bogey, par so a very positive take is that heâs improving on each hole. But, he started the day in red figures and is now 2-over. The recent uncertainties in his game appear to be being exposed by the tougher conditions today.
Daniel Berger is digging in after a difficult first day. The in-form American had to settle for a 73 yesterday but is 1-under after 5 today and back up to +2 alongside Johnson.
Heâs had some chances but world number one Dustin Johnson hasnât been able to build on his opening birdie-2 at 10. A trio of pars keep him ticking over although heâll want to find the more scenic waters of even par or better sooner rather than later. DJ currently +2 and T44.
When Pieters does threaten to wobble, his putter comes to the rescue. He faces an eight-footer for par at 8 but rolls it in with no fuss at all. Great stuff from the Belgian.
