Four years after Justin Rose ended a 43-year wait for an English victor, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood headed into the third round of the US Open at Erin Hills in a four-way tie for the lead.
Paul Casey rode a roller-coaster to the second-round clubhouse lead at the U.S. Open on Friday, surviving a hair-raising trip that included a gut-wrenching triple-bogey and a thrilling run of five straight birdies at the Erin Hills course in Wisconsin.
McIlroy, who had stumbled through a lacklustre opening round on Thursday, again found the going tough after teeing off on the 10th hole.
"I really like this golf course", Johnson insisted.
The thrill of this year's US Open is that the victor could come from anywhere and anyone who has made the cut has a chance.
The Englishman shot a 1-under 71, but had to fight back from two bogeys and a triple bogey in his first six holes.
Brian Harman (30 years old), Brooks Koepka (27) and Tommy Fleetwood (26) all reached 67, and Erin Hills' first turn with a US Open had a leaderboard so crowded it is a wonder most of the big stars could not join in.
Paul Casey, starting on the back nine on Friday, actually moved into a tie with Fowler after birdieing the 11 hole but followed that with a bogey on 12.
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"I definitely hit it better off the tee and gave myself a lot more looks at birdie but at the end of the day I need competitive rounds with a card in my hand and I've been light on those this year".
Defending champion Dustin Johnson made only one birdie in his round of 75.
However, after dropping another shot on the 15th, Casey regained his composure superbly to birdie the 17th and 18th, the latter being the second longest hole in major history at 676 yards. He still had his worst score in a U.S. Open. McIlroy is headed for the Travelers Championship next week in CT, and he has three straight tournaments starting with the Irish Open through the British Open. And at this U.S. Open, he showed how a quick recovery is never too far away. Right behind him were 43 other players who broke par, breaking a championship record that had stood for 27 years.
"You don't get many rounds at the US Open that are stress-free", said Fowler, who got his round off to a flying start with birdies on three of his opening five holes. But he missed a pair of 10-foot birdie chances in that stretch, and one of the birdies he made was a two-putt from 20 feet on the par-5 seventh. PGA Tour rookie Xander Schauffele didn't make a bogey at Erin Hills until his 27th hole, had his hiccup with a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole but still managed a 73.
Na himself shot 68 and 44 players went on to break par on day one.
Rickie Fowler opened with a 7-under 65.
Erin Hills fought back on Friday and the world's top three players won't be around for the weekend at the U.S. Open.
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