Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth Lead U.S. Open At Midway Point, Dustin Johnson And Branden Grace One Shot Back
by Alfie Lau
On a day when first-round co-leaders Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson fell back to earth, two of golf’s Young Guns seized the second-round lead at the U.S. Open.
Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth now lead at Chambers Bay with a (-5) score of 135. Reed, who started the day one stroke out of the lead, had a roller coaster round of 5 birdies, 6 bogeys and an eagle at the 284-yard par-4 12th for his second-round 69.
Reed made his move with four birdies in his first 11 holes and looked set to be sole leader after a birdie on the 16th hole had him at (-6). But a bogey on the 18th brought Reed back into a tie with Spieth and sets up a marquee final pairing on Saturday.
“I actually felt it was a pretty disappointing round,” said Reed. “To have five or six bogeys, didn't get up and down once, I was zero percent on up- and-downs today.
I hit the ball in the middle of the green on 18 and have no chance to putt a normal putt and stop near the hole, and have to play Mickey Mouse golf to try to make par, unfortunately is a bad way to end the day. But we're in a good position and we hopefully can have a good weekend and have a chance to win.”
Spieth was at the centre of the Friday morning news, both for his (-3) round of 67 and for being in the same group as Jason Day, who collapsed on the 9th fairway with a case of vertigo. Day is undergoing medical treatment and hopes to play Saturday as he sits only three strokes out of the lead.
“I was walking with him (Jason), the next thing I know I turned around and I think he got dizzy and slipped and fell,” said Spieth. “We (tried) to clear the scene and tried to keep the cameras off him and let him just rebound.”
The cameras were surely on the 21-year-old who’s trying to win the second leg of the Grand Slam after running away with The Masters two months ago.
Even after Day’s troubles, Spieth calmly walked up to the ninth green and made his 8-foot birdie putt to get to (-5) for the tournament and within striking distance of the lead.
image credit bryan outram
Patrick Reed Is Right Where He Believes He Should Be. At The Top Of The Leaderboard In The U.S. Open
The level-headed Spieth doesn’t let much faze him. “My patience and realization that this golf course is going to test your nerve and it’s how you rebound from it, my knowledge of that having played in a few of them certainly kicked in there and I was able to make a 2 where I could have made a 3 or worse,” said Spieth.
Spieth also isn’t afraid to speak his mind, especially about the 18th hole, which played as a 514-yard par-4 during the second round. Spieth made double bogey and was caught on television microphones calling it a dumb hole.
“I think 18 as a par-4 doesn’t make much sense,” said Spieth. “I think the hole doesn’t make sense because you can hit it down the left centre of the fairway and still end up in the right bunker in trouble . . . I think the tee should have been moved up more. . . I just didn’t know where I could hit that tee shot. I wasn’t going to hit a 3-iron off the tee and then hit 3-wood. So all in all, I thought it was a dumb hole today, but I think we’re going to play it from there again, so I’ve got to get over that.”
Johnson is only a stroke back, after shooting a (+1) round of 71 which included bogeys on his final two holes. “I thought I played pretty well today,” said Johnson.
“It played really difficult. When I got into trouble, I felt I hit good shots and got myself out of it and made some good up-and- downs. But I just didn't hole the putts like yesterday. That was pretty much the only difference.
I had a lot of good looks out there, even on the bogeys I made, I had good looks at par. And I missed quite a few short birdie putts. I feel like I'm putting it well. Hit some good putts. It's just sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't.”
image credit bryan outram
Alex Smith Managed To Land His Approach Shot Some 80 Yards Right Of His Intended Target As He Put A Lock On The Dead Last Position
Also sitting at (-4) is the little-known South African, Branden Grace, who isn’t scared of the big stage that is the U.S. Open. “All our dreams are to win Majors and to compete in the Majors,” said Grace. “This is something I’ve dreamed of. This is something I’ve prepared for. This is something I’ve practiced for.”
On the other side of the ledger, the title nobody wants, DFL, went to Alex Kim, who followed up his opening round 80 with an 86 to finish at (+26).
Kim started with a double bogey on the 10th when his approach went so far right that it ended up on a walking path on the 11th fairway.
A skulled sand shot into the left bunker and Kim had to scramble for his six. Add in two quads at the 17th and 7th, triple at the first and fourth, double at the third and two other bogeys – there were four birdies for Kim – and you have the worst score after 36 holes at Chambers Bay.
Of course, that’s not counting Matt Every, who withdrew after playing 10 holes during his second round and coming down with a stomach illness. Of course, that stomach illness may have been caused by the 78 Every put on the board Thursday.
The biggest winners were the 15 players sitting at (+5) and watching the final hole of amateur Nick Hardy. Hardy was at (+4), the 60th player at that score or better and when he made bogey at the par-3 9th, players like Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas, Jimmy Walker, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Webb Simpson and Angel Cabrera all had different weekend plans.
Don’t be surprised if Hardy receives some gifts from the pros who now have a chance, albeit small, of winning at Chambers Bay. As for Tiger Woods, he answered seven media questions after his second-round 76 had him close, but not quite DFL.
“On a golf course like this, you get exposed and you have to be precise and dialed in,” said Woods. “Obviously, I didn’t have that. Obviously, I need to get a little better for the British Open.”
Obviously, Tiger Woods is closer to being DFL at his next tournament, the Greenbrier, than he is at winning that tournament.
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