Johnson takes four-stroke lead; Shubhankar misses cut
SOUTHAMPTON, NY: Shinnecock Hills is no longer the only challenge at this US Open.
On a course that can cause problems in any weather, where triple bogeys or worse have been recorded on all but six holes, perhaps the most daunting prospect going into the weekend is Dustin Johnson with a four-shot lead.
Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma faltered at the very last step of the second round to miss the cut. Sharma finished with a bogey-double bogey in his last two holes to end the second round at six-over 76 and a 36-hole total of 10-over 150 to miss the cut, which fell at 8-over 148.
Johnson played smart on the few occasions he was out of position, holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh green and endured wind and two hours of rain on Friday morning for a 3-under 67. He was at 4-under 136, the only player still under par going into the weekend. Scott Piercy (71) and Charley Hoffman (69) were at even par.
“You’ve got to play really good golf if you want to shoot a good score, and I like where par is a good score on every hole, no matter what club you’ve got in your hand, what hole it is,” Johnson said.
Only six other players in the US Open have led by as many as four shots after 36 holes. All but one — Tom Mcnamara in 1909 — went on to win. 6TH ROUND RESULTS
Elena Tomilova 3 drew Vantika Agrawal 3; Aakanksha Hagawane 3 drew Monnisha GK 1.5; Divya Deshmukh 1.5 lost to Srija Seshadri 3.5; Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova 4 drew Batkhuyag Munguntuul 3.5; Thi Kim Phung Vo 4.5 drew Guliskhan Nakhbayeva 4.5; Anna Zozulia 4 bt Rakshitta Ravi 0.