LAST UPDATE | 19 Sep 2020
WINGED FOOT KICKED back hard on day two of the US Open as Patrick Reed ground out a narrow halfway lead in pursuit of his second major title.
After an opening day in which 21 players broke par, just three defied breezy conditions to do so on Friday as Tiger Woods missed the cut on 10 over par following a 77 and Rory McIlroy slid down the leaderboard with a 76.
Former Masters champion Reed added a 70 to his opening 66 to finish four under par and a shot ahead of fellow American Bryson DeChambeau, whose 68 was the lowest score of the day.
Overnight leader Justin Thomas recovered from five over par after 10 holes to shoot 73 and finish two under alongside Harris English and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Jason Kokrak was the only other player in red figures on one under.
“I feel good,” Reed said after a round containing five birdies and five bogeys. “I feel ready to go out and put myself in position hopefully to have a chance late on Sunday.
“I feel like the game is where it needs to be. I just need to tighten a few things up here or there, but the short game is sharp, and when I play around a place like this, that’s what you need.”
DeChambeau’s much-hyped physical transformation had earlier paid dividends as a 380-yard drive on the 557-yard par-five ninth – his final hole – was followed by a pitching wedge from 178 yards to set up an eagle from six feet.
McIlroy had been just a shot off the lead after a birdie on the first, but played the next six holes in six over par and eventually finished three over for the championship alongside Lee Westwood, who also returned a 76.
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, birdied two of his last three holes to make the cut with a much improved level-par 70, leaving him at plus-six for the tournament.
Cork amateur James Sugrue has missed the cut, however, shooting a nine-over 79 to leave him at plus-17 for the tournament, as has Graeme McDowell, who shot a 10-over 80 to bow out at plus-16 for the competition.
US Open Selected Scores
1. Patrick Reed (-4)
2. Bryson DeChambeau (-3)
T22. Rory McIlroy (+3)
T.49 Shane Lowry (+6)
CUT Tiger Woods (+10); Phil Mickleson (+13); Graeme McDowell (+17); James Sugrue (+17)
With reporting by Gavin Cooney
Fair play to ya Chris,don’t be afraid to fail , hope Wales go all the way.
They need to scrap that poxy yellow card rule , to many players are missing huge games for silly yellow cards . That ref was trigger happy with his cards , poor Ramsey gonna miss this biggest game of gis life for an accidental handball ,bullshit
Considering the length of this tournament, should have been an amnesty by the semi’s….. Stupid rules….
Crazy that there’s no amnesty.
Yellow Cards in consecutive games should result in a one match ban….. Other than that they shouldn’t count. Very harsh. He was brilliant today…..
Agree Ryan,he should at least be able to appeal it.
Totally agree. No way should you miss a semi or final..carry it forward and maybe make it a 2 game ban for next qualifying tournament? ??-
Belgium : A country that bottles great beer and big tournaments. Fair play to Wales.
England to sign up Colman in £10 million deal.
Emotional Cookie-monster motivates an entire country. Sports people of all grades appreciate the hard work that goes into creating the winning team effort. That was a proud moment for our Celtic comrades!!
Bale vs Ronaldo Semi-final… can’t wait
Team player v me feiner
I really hope they go all the way
Portugal have really rode their luck in their last 2 games and have not been at all impressive…. Wales have every chance….. could they repeat Denmark and Greece as being underdog champions? Either way I fancy them against Portugal.
Amazing amazing achievement by Wales which kind of puts were we are as a football team into perspective. Look at how they beat Belgium- playing football & not in anyway hanging on. We on the other hand seem to have this slight sense of euphoria about the euros yet we literally can’t play football. Still long ball rubbish. The sense is that we are on the right track – we’re not. And the media is still on about how great our fans are. Some joke.
Fair play to Wales. We have vastly improved since the last tournament. no disrespect to Brady but she’s a not Bail.
damn autocorrect. Brady is not Bail
Well england were you watching…??.I rest my case!!
What case is that?