Wyndham Clark holds a commanding four-shot lead on the midway stage of the US Open, as Rory McIlroy misplaced floor after a rollercoaster second spherical at Shinnecock Hills.
Clark returned early on Friday morning to par the ultimate two holes of an opening-round 64, following a fog-delayed first day, then combined three birdies with two bogeys in a one-under 69.
The 2023 champion holed a long-range birdie on his remaining gap to maneuver to seven underneath, the bottom 36-hole rating ever in a US Open held at this main venue, placing him prime of a star-studded leaderboard full of previous main champions.
Xander Schauffele jumped to tied-second alongside 2022 winner Matt Fitzpatrick and American Sam Stevens, with Collin Morikawa an extra shot again after equalling the spherical of the day with a five-under 65 in difficult circumstances.
McIlroy threatened to be Clark’s closest challenger when he reached the flip in 33 and inside 4 of the lead, solely to combine two birdies with three bogeys and a double bogey on the again 9 to submit a one-over 71.
The world No 2 is joined on stage par by Scottie Scheffler, who posted a second-round 68 as he appears to finish the profession Grand Slam, whereas two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau missed the minimize for a 3rd consecutive main.
Again-nine struggles depart McIlroy chasing Clark
McIlroy holed from 10 ft to save lots of par on the first and made a affected person begin to his second spherical, earlier than a 393-yard drive on the par-five fifth arrange a two-putt birdie and lifted him nearer to Clark.
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McIlroy birdied the par-five fifth gap at Shinnecock Hills to kick-start his second spherical and shut on Wyndham Clark
The six-time main winner slotted in a 15-foot birdie on the eighth however missed a six-foot try on the par-five subsequent to get inside three of the lead, earlier than going lengthy of the inexperienced with approaches into the primary three holes of his again 9 and bogeying all of them.
McIlroy responded by firing a wedge to tap-in vary on the thirteenth and nailed a 40-footer on the subsequent, however undid these successive bogeys – and slipped again to stage par – when he double-bogeyed the par-four fifteenth.
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McIlroy made three consecutive bogeys through the second spherical, as he struggled with strategy photographs in excessive winds
The world No 2 needed to stand up and down from off the par-five sixteenth to save lots of par and scramble from the sand to keep away from a bogey on the seventeenth, with McIlroy combating distance management throughout an eventful back-nine 38.
“I just kept hitting it long,” McIlroy informed Sky Sports activities. “It was tough. I feel like our side of the draw played in the windiest of the conditions and the scores sort of bear that out, but I held in and hung in there as best I could.
“Even par going into the weekend isn’t terrible. Hopefully go out there and keep playing the way I’m playing. I’m doing the right things. I made a couple of mistakes, which put me behind the eight ball a little bit, but still a really solid two days.”
Fitzpatrick, Schauffele chase Clark as Scheffler strikes ahead
Clark held a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson after the opening spherical was accomplished and briefly moved 5 clear on Friday, with the American posting back-to-back rounds within the 60s at a significant for the primary time since his 2023 US Open win.
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Dustin Johnson made an eight on the par-four 14th as he tumbled down the US Open leaderboard through the second spherical
“The great thing about that is I didn’t feel like I had my best and I still am leading,” Clark stated. “Hopefully I can bring my A-game on the weekend.”
Schauffele – who has by no means completed outdoors the highest 15 on the US Open – posted a four-under 66 to maneuver to 3 underneath alongside Fitzpatrick, who birdied two of his final three holes, whereas Stevens (69) and Kim (67) full the quartet in second behind Clark.
Wyndham Clark is chasing a second US Open victory in 4 years
Solely 10 gamers stay underneath par, with Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala and Harry Higgs all rising to 1 underneath, as Scheffler produced a much-improved show as he carded only one bogey in a two-under 68.
Final month’s PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai sits within the group on one over alongside compatriots Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, as DeChambeau made one other early exit after posting back-to-back double bogeys in a five-over 75.
Jon Rahm performed his first 21 holes bogey-free but in addition missed the minimize when he dropped six photographs in a five-hole stretch throughout an eight-over 78, leaving him six over, with Viktor Hovland (+5), Patrick Reed (+5), Shane Lowry (+6) and Adam Scott (+8) additionally failing to achieve the weekend.
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