US Open leaderboard: Collin Morikawa leads with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm a shot again

The cream rose to the highest on day two of the US Open as a quartet of main champions defied predictions of Brookline turning “nasty”.

Open champion Collin Morikawa led the way in which on 5 underneath par after an outstanding second spherical of 66 and was later joined at that mark by Joel Dahmen, with reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm and four-time main winner Rory McIlroy a shot behind.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was a part of the group one other stroke again, with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick three off the tempo on two underneath.

McIlroy had been in peril of falling out of competition when he coated the entrance 9 in 36, the world quantity three needing three makes an attempt to hack on to the inexperienced from thick tough on the third, earlier than holing from 23 ft to salvage a double bogey.

However after dropping a shot on the tenth, McIlroy picked up photographs on the twelfth, 14th and seventeenth to stay firmly within the hunt for his fifth main title and first for the reason that 2014 US PGA.

Scheffler was two over after seven holes however then birdied the eighth and thirteenth, holed out from 55 yards for eagle on the par-five 14th and picked up one other shot on the sixteenth in his bid for an incredible fifth win in 2022.

“I simply stayed actually affected person,” Scheffler mentioned. “I used to be hitting it good just about many of the day. Two foolish bogeys early within the spherical, however outdoors of that I hit it actually good.

“If just a few extra putts would have fallen in versus (working) across the edge, it might have been a extremely big day. However three underneath was a great rating for me, particularly being two over via six.”

Talking about his eagle on the 14th, Scheffler added: “I hit an excellent drive down the center after which had sort of a humorous lie the place it was sitting on a downslope and it made that shot into the inexperienced a lot tougher.

“I caught it a hair skinny and hit the tree. Thankfully it didn’t hit the tree and are available backwards, it sort of simply fell down in entrance of it. Had a great lie and hit a great chip and it went in.”

Fitzpatrick recovered from a hat-trick of bogeys to play his ultimate 5 holes in two underneath par as he seems to safe a Brookline double following his US Novice triumph right here in 2013.

“I performed actually, very well,” mentioned Fitzpatrick, who was fifth within the US PGA final month. “Three of my 4 bogeys had been three-putts, in order that sort of sums up the day.

“Felt like I hit the ball tee to inexperienced actually, actually good. I believe I hit one chip shot all day, in order that sort of summarizes how properly I felt like I hit it.

“I really feel like I’ve left a pair on the market, which to say in a US Open is fairly uncommon, however it’s optimistic going into the weekend.”

Twenty-five gamers had recorded scores within the 60s within the first spherical, equalling the second most in match historical past and simply two behind the document of 27 at Pebble Seashore in 2019.

However with a blustery wind serving to to dry out the course, six-time main winner Nick Faldo predicted circumstances would proceed to get more durable over the weekend.

“It truly is nasty, gusty, blustery, and there are some actually powerful holes,” Faldo, who misplaced a play-off to Curtis Unusual within the 1988 US Open at Brookline, mentioned after finishing commentary duties for American broadcaster CBS.

“To be trustworthy anyone in pink numbers shall be very completely satisfied and in an excellent spot. It’s solely going to get more durable. They will let this course go and it may very well be actually powerful.”

Nevertheless, with a thunderstorm which threatened to deliver stronger winds skirting The Nation Membership, the later starters had been capable of exploit good circumstances to climb the leaderboard.

South African qualifier MJ Daffue had reached six underneath earlier within the day when he holed from 80 ft on the seventh, solely to play his final eight holes in 5 over.

World quantity eight Viktor Hovland had been only a shot off the lead after two early birdies, however bogeyed six holes in a row across the flip and dropped three extra photographs on the closing stretch to shoot a dispiriting 77.