Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n
Only five players are under par at Oakmont as things stand: JJ Spaun, Thriston Lawrence, Sam Burns, Ben Griffin and Viktor Hovland. Spaun, the overnight leader, and Lawrence share the lead at four under par.<\/p>\n
Burns looking forward to the weekend<\/p>\n
Sam Burns carded a brilliant five-under-par 65 on Friday to leave him three under heading into the weekend, having started the second round at two over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really think of much of a score,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThe golf course is really too difficult to try to figure out what\u2019s a good score and what\u2019s not. You\u2019re really just shot by shot and trying to play each hole the best you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s obviously a lot of golf left on a very tough golf course, so I think really this afternoon just getting rest and getting ready. I\u2019m looking forward to the weekend. It\u2019s a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it\u2019s one under, you\u2019ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s challenging out there\u2019<\/p>\n
Scottie Scheffler, the world No1, has been speaking to the media after his one-over 71 left him four over par overall. The American is remaining upbeat about his chances despite his position at present.<\/p>\n
\u201cMentally this was as tough as I\u2019ve battled for the whole day,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging out there. I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely not out of the tournament. With the way I was hitting it, today was easily a day I could have been going home and battled pretty hard to stay in there. I\u2019m four over. We\u2019ll see what the lead is after today.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"PGA:](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/\/bb3e7445-4dac-4f61-8acc-c97646545c85.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
CHARLES LECLAIRE\/IMAGN IMAGES\/REUTERS<\/p>\n
JJ Spaun continues his strong start with a birdie putt on the six. The American, 34, now leads the field by two strokes on five under par.<\/p>\n
Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceAnother double bogey for McIlroy<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a miserable start to day two for Rory McIlroy and things have just gone from bad to worse for the Masters champion. The Northern Irishman has to settle for a second double bogey in his first three holes, leaving him eight over par and with some serious work to do.<\/p>\n ANDREW REDINGTON\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n Jon Rahm is the first player today to vent his anger about the Oakmont greens, but is unlikely to be the last. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective,\u201d he said after drifting to four over after a round of 75. \u201cVery frustrated. Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn\u2019t sniff the hole.\u201d <\/p>\n Justin Rose has just seen his shot rebound off a tree and end up underneath a mobility scooter on the cart path. It\u2019s fair to say things are not going to plan for the 44-year-old here this week.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Not the start Rory McIlroy would have wanted, to say the least, as he double bogeys his first hole after having found the bunker with his opening drive. A scrappy start leaves him one stroke worse off than on the same hole on Thursday. Work to do for the 36-year-old.<\/p>\n The world No1 Scottie Scheffler has just wrapped up his second round with a one-over round of 71.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Sam Burns \u2014 who has also just finished an excellent second round of 65 to end the day on three under par \u2014 has been speaking to Sky Sports about just how demanding the course at Oakmont is.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be on the fairway around this golf course,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThe rough is thick but even if it wasn\u2019t, it\u2019s still tough to get to these pins regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy has just begun his second round from the 10th hole. The Northern Irishman posted a four-over 74 on day one and will know that he will need to make a fast start here.<\/p>\n Perez finishes his second round<\/p>\n Victor Perez, who earlier hit the first hole in one at a US Open at Oakmont since 1983<\/a>, has been speaking to Sky Sports about his stunning shot on the par-3 sixth. The Frenchman finished his second round with a score of 70, which leaves him one over par.<\/p>\n On his hole in one: \u201cIt\u2019s not the easiest pin in the front and I had just birdied a hole before, so I had a bit of momentum going into it. I was trying to hit it just past the hole and it was one of those ones where it goes your way.\u201d<\/p>\n On the conditions at Oakmont: \u201cIt\u2019s still tricky [today]. Obviously there\u2019s less wind which almost makes it a bit trickier because you feel you could be more aggressive. There\u2019s definitely a few shots out there with no wind that\u2019s making you think to be more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n A decent start for the overnight leader JJ Spaun, who acknowledges the spectators before firing his opening tee shot down the middle of the fairway. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is warming up. The Northern Irishman, who ended his first round on four over par, will start his second round at 6.25pm on the 10th hole.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n The overnight leader JJ Spaun, who remains in the lead at four under par, is about to begin his second round from the 10th hole. Meanwhile, Scheffler\u2019s second birdie in four holes moves him up to three over.<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n The good news for those yet to start is that nobody is getting away here. Sam Burns has been the standout performer, but most people are just surviving. It would be no surprise if something like three under is the lead by the end of the day, so over par scores may not be as bad as they sound. Only seven players are under par at present and only two of them are on the course. Brooks Koepka\u2019s up-and-down day continues as he drops to one over with one to play. Scottie Scheffler gets back to even par for his round. Far from his best, he is also far from out of this. <\/p>\n The overnight leader, JJ Spaun, is still ahead on four under par and the American will begin his second round shortly at 5.52pm from the 10th hole. The other players in the red at present at Oakmont are Thriston Lawrence, Sam Burns, Si-Woo Kim, Viktor Hovland, Ben Griffin and Thomas Detry. Rory McIlroy is due to tee off at 6.25pm from the 10th.<\/p>\n Burns misses out on share of lead<\/p>\n Sam Burns has been making quiet progress today but lets a chance slip at the par-three 6th, missing the edge from 12 feet and ending up with par. He\u2019s five under for the round.<\/p>\n Brooks Koepka is motoring along at even par for the weekend, which is far from an unhealthy score.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one way of getting around the hazards of the course, just put it straight in the hole. Come for the shot, stay for the chest bump. It\u2019s also, incidentally, the first in a major at Oakmont since 1983.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Watch it and soak it in\u2026<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n So, 6.25pm is the stated start time for the Masters champion, who\u2019s in a group with Justin Rose and Shane Lowry. None of them lit up the leaderboard on day one, at four over, seven over and nine over respectively.<\/p>\n A tough round for the world No1 Scottie Scheffler, who is propping up rather than players than he would like on the leaderboard right now. Mind you, George Duangmanee would take his position any day, after playing his first six holes in nine over. Yes, nine over. Four bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey to be precise, for the American.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Gosh this is a punishing course. Viktor Hovland, who\u2019d seemed the standout player of the day so far, has to pitch from a fairway bunker, with the subsequent double bogey dropping him back to one under and three behind the lead. <\/p>\n This is bad news for the five-times major winner, who\u2019s racked up three bogeys in a row. It means he\u2019s back to level par, two over for the day. He\u2019s still tied for ninth though, as it stands.<\/p>\n Mini fightback for Thomas<\/p>\n A turnaround in fortunes for Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, the latter following a bogey at 18 with another at the 1st to start his back nine. He\u2019s back to one under and three off the pace. Thomas, on the other hand, has made birdie at successive holes but is still down at, gulp, 10 over.<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n Viktor Hovland would be a popular winner if he came through this ordeal. The likeable Norwegian, yet to win a major, can make golf sound like an existential crisis and is not opposed to a healthy dose of self-flagellation. Sample: he famously said he sucked at chipping and only last month was saying he lacked \u201ckey pieces\u201d and was far from \u201ccontent\u201d. Anyway, he chips in for an eagle on the 17th and finds himself one off the lead. <\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n One man making a five-course dog\u2019s dinner of events is Justin Thomas. The world No5 these days is now 11 over after seven largely miserable holes. The nadir was taking three putts from all of three feet. It is a far cry from all that mid-week enthusiasm when he was rewinding to the 2016 staging at Oakmont. \u201cOne of the best rounds of golf I\u2019ve ever played in my career was on that Friday,\u201d he said. Funny old game, although his face suggests otherwise.<\/p>\n One for club golfers everywhere…<\/p>\n A first bogey of the round for Scottie Scheffler, who seemed to avoid a possible twisted ankle here. He\u2019s even thru six today.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Tyrell Hatton is back to two over par, carding his first birdie of the day at the par-four 5th, and if that seems unremarkable, well it\u2019s not bad at all for Oakmont. Brooks Koepka, meanwhile, is back to within one of the lead after a birdie at 17, thanks to a lovely little chip from the side of the green after a supreme up and down. Could that be a key hole?<\/p>\n A front nine of 47 for Chandler<\/p>\n Remember that long roll back down the green for Will Chandler? Well, if not, we have you covered. In any case, his struggles did not end there as he has posted a 12-over-par (!) front nine, dropping eight shots in the first three holes including a quadruple bogey at the 3rd. He\u2019s on 20 over.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Brooks Koepka<\/a> drops back to his day-one score of two under par after bogey at the par-four 15th. He found the heavy rough off the tee and nearly rescued himself with the approach, with the roll down the slope being rather short. The 20-ft putt won\u2019t fall either and he\u2019s back to square one (in a sense).<\/p>\n Another tough save for Scheffler<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler\u2019s second at the 12th leaves him in the rough and with a very tough chip, but as he so often does he drags himself out of trouble and gets down in two to save par. Viktor Hovland, meanwhile, gets his second birdie in three holes to move to one under. No mean feat doing that on that 12th, as Justin Thomas found out earlier.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceAccuracy at a premium at Oakmont…<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n Interesting to hear Brooks Koepka say a 45-minute tongue-lashing from no-nonsense coach Pete Cowen helped him during his first round here. This method goes back a long way. After the WGC in Memphis in 2017 the Yorkshire veteran first took Koepka to task for the \u201cdog\u2019s dead\u201d attitude and self-pitying shrugs. He sat him down in the practice area at the US Open at Erin Hills and told him he was embarrassing. Koepka duly won his first major and Cowen still has the signed flag inscribed with the message: \u201cThanks for the bollocking.\u201d<\/p>\n An unremarkable tee shot at the 11th threatens to undo all that good work from the previous hole, but the world No1 manages to lay up and get up and down in two from about 120 yards. An ominous sign for his rivals. Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka is down at three under courtesy of another birdie, tapping in after an almost banana-esque roll on his putt at the par-5 12th. That puts him tied for second. <\/p>\n No such luck for Justin Thomas though, with a double-bogey 7 on that same hole. He\u2019s nine over.<\/p>\n Birdie for Scheffler to start<\/p>\n Some updates. Here comes the world No1 and US PGA Championship winner, Scottie Scheffler. He started with an opening round of 73 but starts day two with a birdie, rolling in from about 20ft at the 10th.<\/p>\n Viktor Hovland, meanwhile, is back at level par courtesy of a birdie from off the green. Rahm and Dustin Johnson have both bogeyed the 1st, the former slipping back to even overall.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Now this is the major Koepka we remember! Having conceded that bogey on the 10th he bounces back with a lovely putt on the next hole to restore that two-under deficit. No such luck for group-mate Justin Thomas though, whose putt rolls past the lip of the hole on his attempted par save.<\/p>\n The Spaniard (-1), who tied for eighth at the US PGA Championship, tees off from the par-4 1st today, playing in a big-name group with Jordan Spieth (E) and Dustin Johnson (+5). That will be one to watch.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceKoepka trying to save par…<\/p>\n The American is starting at the par-4 10th hole and is now wielding the putter, but he\u2019s pushed it wide. That\u2019s a disappointing start after he birdied back-to-back holes yesterday to finish the round and now he drops back to one under.<\/p>\n A rather extraordinary passage of play, not that Will Chandler will appreciate it. The American aims for the green \u2014 and indeed finds it, albeit a distance from the hole \u2014 but his ball rather hypnotically rolls all the way back. For 40 whole seconds. Ouch.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Among the early starters today are the trio of Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, the latter starting the day two shots back from the lead on two under. His partners? Seven over and six over respectively, which gives you some idea of just how demanding it is at Oakmont.<\/p>\n Is this the toughest course in golf?<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n This US Open will not be pretty.<\/p>\n The best players in the world are about to be humbled by a course that is breathtaking only in its difficulty. Indeed, Jeff Hall, part of the USGA\u2019s set-up team, said: \u201cThe members seem to love going 15 rounds with Mike Tyson every day.\u201d<\/p>\n It may even be the toughest course in the world. Last Monday Rory McIlroy finished his scouting mission with two birdies for a round of 81. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel I played that badly,\u201d he shrugged. <\/p>\n Xander Schauffele, much fancied here for his psyche as well as his game, relishes that challenge and said: \u201cMaybe I\u2019m just sick. I don\u2019t think people turn on the TV to watch guys hit a 200-yard shot on the green. I think they turn on the US Open to see a guy suffer and shoot eight over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Rick Broadbent: Oakmont \u2014 is this brutal US Open course the world\u2019s hardest?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Oakmont brings contenders to their knees<\/p>\n Rick Broadbent, Oakmont<\/p>\n For a couple of hours, all the talk of Oakmont\u2019s terrors seemed overstated and this fantastic beast by the Allegheny River looked about as dangerous as a stuffed fish on a marble plinth.<\/p>\n The tough reputation has been well earned, though, and by the end of the first day at a sun-baked US Open players were using words like bloodbath, and Rory McIlroy<\/a>\u2019s promising start had been consumed by deep disappointment. After a bogey-free first nine, he dropped six shots, finished at four over par and was not in the mood to discuss it afterwards.<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler was just starting out on his own troubled path at that point and JJ Spaun was talking into a camera after setting the clubhouse pace with a round of 66. Spaun only convinced himself not to quit the game a year ago after watching the rom-com Wimbledon, about a jaded tennis player who wins the eponymous championship and gets the girl. He would settle for the trophy this week.<\/p>\n![\"2025](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/\/8d8d1a72-fc59-4ddd-af84-5531bd023e5f.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Rory](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/\/102de681-7464-490f-aeb2-d6461c1c90d0.jpg\")
Meanwhile, over with Scheffler…<\/p>\n