Mass hysteria Four share lead while big names miss cut
TOWN OF ERIN – A fourway tie at the top of the leader board. Eighteen players within three shots of the lead, not a single one with a major championship to his name. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, packing their bags.
What in the name of Xander Schauffele is going on at the 117th U.S. Open?
On a hot, sunny day Friday, a slow-motion track meet broke out at 7,839-yard Erin Hills, with golfers sliding up and down the leader board and no one able to take control of the championship.
Brooks Koepka of Jupiter, Fla., Brian Harman of St. Simons Island, Ga., and Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey, both of England, shared the lead at 7-under-par 137 heading into the weekend. Koepka, Harman and Fleetwood all shot 70s and Casey had a 71 despite a triple-bogey 8.
“It’s not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an 8 on the card, but I’m a pretty happy man,” Casey said. “It was a bit of a roller coaster. I guess it’s hard to get through a U.S. Open or any major without some kind of hiccup.”
Oh, there were hiccups, all right. Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day — the top three players in the world — all missed the cut. That’s not a hiccup, it’s a belch — not to mention a big buzzkill.
“This is the United States Open. It’s a major. It means a lot to me,” Johnson said. “I’m
definitely disappointed I’m not playing the weekend, but there is a lot I can take out of it . ... So I just need to go home, relax a little bit, hang out with the family and I’ll see you at the Open Championship in a month.”
Then there’s Rickie Fowler, who was atop the leader board at 9-under until he stumbled to three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 11-13. He followed his brilliant 65 in the first round with a 73 but was just one shot off the lead, tied with Jamie Lovemark and J.B. Holmes at 138.
“I’m playing the weekend,” Fowler said. “I have a tee time on Saturday. You learn along the way to never really give up. You never know what one shot’s going to count for.”
The group at 139 included the aforementioned Schauffele, Si Woo Kim of Korea, amateur Cameron Champ, Brandt Snedeker and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who went out in 30 en route to a nifty 65.
Chez Reavie also shot a 65 and joined a group of six at 140. And it was just another shot back to Masters champion Sergio Garcia.
Even Jordan Spieth, tied for 43rd place after a 73 left him seven shots back at 144, thought he still had a chance to win. And he was probably right, because the forecast for Sunday calls for winds to blow at 15 mph and gust to 25.
So far, the wind has been little more than a minor irritant. No wonder 42 players were under par after 36 holes. When the wind kicks up at Erin Hills, especially if the course is dry, skilled ballstrikers stand out in the crowd.
“If it was going to be like this (relatively calm Thursday and Friday), it was going to be difficult to chase that many people down,” Spieth said. “But with some incredible golf the next couple of days, you can make up a significant amount of strokes.
“You could see somebody with an amazing round come from five-plus (back) to win the tournament, if what’s projected weather-wise is there. You never know.”
Well, somebody’s got to win the thing.
Maybe it’s Koepka, a bomber who is averaging 324.9 yards in driving distance through two rounds and has hit 25 of 28 fairways and 30 of 36 greens.
“I feel pretty confident,” he said. “And I’m excited. I’m driving the ball really well.”
Maybe it’s Harman, a lefthander who has made just one bogey in two days.
“I have no expectations,” he said. “I have no idea how the weekend is going to go. No one does. For me, if I can just stay where I am, just keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll have a chance.”
Maybe it’s Fleetwood, who seemed to forget he played in the 2015 U.S. Open and tied for 27th place.
“I’ve never done this before,” he said. “I’ve never played a U.S. Open, so tomorrow will be a very cool experience. It’s still Saturday; 36 holes is a very long time in a U.S. Open. Anything can happen on tour.”
Seems it already has.