OAKMONT, Pa. — Oakmont bit back Friday.
It’s not that the venerable venue hosting its record 10th U.S. Open this week was a pushover in Thursday’s opening round.
But it was a bit nastier in Friday’s second round.
It was particularly hard on the game’s biggest stars.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked player and an overwhelming favorite to win this week, fought his butt off to get himself inside the cut line and is 4-over par, seven shots behind leader Sam Burns.
Burns (more on him in a moment) leads at 3-under after shooting an eye-opening 5-under 65 on Friday and is one of only three players in the 156-man field under par.
The other two are first-round leader J.J. Spaun at 2-under and Viktor Hovland at 1-under.
Adam Scott and Ben Griffin, one of the hottest players in the game, are even par.
Scheffler, despite his struggles, played well enough to reach the weekend, as did Rory McIlroy, who birdied No. 18 to close at 6-over before continuing his bizarre anti-media petulant pouting campaign and blowing off interview requests.
For those counting at home, that’s six consecutive major championship rounds since his triumphant Masters victory in April that McIlroy has refused to be interviewed.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau did the same, bolting the grounds in a slow jog despite a USGA interview request after he stumbled off of 18 having shot 10-over in two rounds.
Oakmont will do that to you.
It did it to Dustin Johnson, the last player to win a U.S. Open at Oakmont, in 2016. He finished 10-over.
It did it to Shane Lowry, who was runner-up to Johnson and in good form. He posted 17-over in two days.
U.S. Open on June 13. Getty Images
Burns was one of the very few who didn’t seem to be bothered by Oakmont, despite entering this week having played in 19 majors and posting only one top 10, at the 2024 U.S. Open.
But on Friday, in his second round, Burns looked and sounded like he’s found something, posting the round of the tournament.
It was a score that few saw coming this week.
Asked if he saw a 65 possible in tournament play while playing practice rounds, Burns said, “Honestly, I didn’t really think of much of a score. The golf course is really too difficult to try to figure out what’s a good score and what’s not.
“It’s a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it’s 1-under, you’ll take it. I think today was really nice with the finish I had yesterday, and it felt like I played really well. I’m looking forward to the weekend.’’
The 28-year-old Burns, ranked 22nd in the world and a five-time PGA Tour winner, is just days removed from a playoff loss to Ryan Fox at the Canadian Open on Sunday, so he arrived at Oakmont in good form.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well coming off last week and into this week and my round [Thursday],’’ Burns said. “It’s really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can.’’
When Burns gets good looks, he often cashes them in because he’s one of the best putters in the game.
Scheffler offered his analysis on what makes Burns such a good putter.
“He plays golf, I think, very freely, and he’s got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,’’ Scheffler said. “And a lot of it is just very reactionary. He’s got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That’s really all there is to it.’’
Asked “how badly’’ Burns wants to win a major, Scheffler said, “It’s a complicated question. Sam is like me in a sense that he’s a hyper-competitive person. I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he’s put himself in position a few times at majors. He’s in position again.
“I’m sure going into the weekend he’s right where I would want to be on the leaderboard, so it should be a fun experience for him.’’
Burns revealed what he’s learned from his past struggles in majors.
“At times, I was trying to be a little too perfect around major championship golf courses,’’ he said. “Especially around here, it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times, that’s the only option you have.
“For this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It’s too hard to try to guide it around here. You’re going to hit some in the rough, you’re going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority. It’s going to be a fun weekend.’’