U.S. Open Round 2: Sam Burns Fires 65 to Seize the Lead as DeChambeau Misses the Cut

Twenty-four hours earlier, Sam Burns had walked off Oakmont wondering what just happened. On Friday he walked off it with the lead in the U.S. Open.

Burns, who had played his final four holes on Thursday in 5 over to drop to 72, came back in the morning wave and shot a 5-under 65. That put him at 3-under 137 and one shot clear of first-round leader J.J. Spaun after 36 holes. Viktor Hovland is alone in third at 1 under. Adam Scott and Ben Griffin are tied for fourth at even par, and Thriston Lawrence and Victor Perez sit at 1 over.

That is the whole list of players at par or better. Only three players are under par through two rounds, the fewest at a U.S. Open since 2018 at Shinnecock Hills, according to the USGA.

A 65 Nobody Saw Coming

Burns did it with irons first and putter second. He hit 14 of 18 greens, gained 3.21 strokes on approach and nearly three more on the greens, and finished nearly 10 strokes better than the field by strokes gained, per the USGA. Six birdies against one bogey, on a day when only seven players broke par and the field averaged 74.75.

The round still ended with a gut check. On his last hole, the ninth, Burns found a ditch off the tee, took a penalty drop and still saved par from more than 20 feet. The 65 is the third-lowest round in a U.S. Open at Oakmont, behind Johnny Miller's famous 63 in 1973 and Loren Roberts' 64 in 1994.

Burns lost a playoff to Ryan Fox at the RBC Canadian Open a week ago, and his best major finish is a tie for ninth at Pinehurst last year. Burns told reporters there is no hole at Oakmont where you can step up and swing without real thought, and that the mental load adds up over a round.

Spaun Bends, Doesn't Break

Spaun's bogey-free run ended at 20 holes with a 5 on the third, and the day turned into a grind. Six bogeys and four birdies added up to 72, and the last bogey, at the 18th, cost him a share of the lead. The part that kept him in it was familiar. Spaun made eight par putts from 7 feet or longer on Friday, per the USGA, after five of them on Thursday.

"I'm just glad that I kept it together," Spaun said, per the USGA.

Hovland's Wild Ride

Hovland put together the most entertaining 68 of the week. He opened at the 10th by holing a putt from the collar from about 50 feet, made a double bogey on the second, and then holed another 50-footer, this one a chip for eagle on the drivable par-4 17th. He and Burns each have 11 sub-par holes through 36, the most in any of the three U.S. Opens at Oakmont since the course went to par 70 in 2007.

"Definitely tired, exhausted because you're just focusing so much on every single shot," Hovland said.

Lawrence lived the other side of Oakmont. Lawrence got to 6 under, the only player to reach that number, then came apart with six bogeys and a double bogey over a nine-hole stretch for 74. Rain halted play with Lawrence standing over a 4-foot par putt on the last hole, and the round was not finished until Saturday morning. Thomas Detry had a similar crash, with three double bogeys in a three-hole stretch, even after holing out from 141 yards for eagle on the 14th.

The Cut Claims a Champion

The cut fell at 7-over 147, the highest at a U.S. Open since 2018. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau missed it, the first defending champion to do so since Gary Woodland in 2019. Woodland, Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson also went home, and Phil Mickelson made two double bogeys in his last four holes to miss as well. Justin Hastings is the only amateur still playing.

Scottie Scheffler survived, but it was not pretty. He birdied his first hole, then did not hit another fairway until the 17th, where he four-putted from 50 feet for bogey. He shot 71 to sit at 4 over, seven back, and it was his sixth straight over-par round at a U.S. Open.

"Today was, I think with the way I was hitting it, easily a day I could have been going home," Scheffler said.

Rory McIlroy flung a club on the 12th and smashed a tee marker on the 17th, then birdied his final hole to make the cut at 6 over. Jon Rahm shot 75 with 35 putts to fall to 4 over. "Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole," Rahm said. Shane Lowry picked up his ball on the 14th green without marking it and took a one-shot penalty.

Saturday at Soggy Oakmont

Thirteen players were still on the course when play was suspended at 8:15 p.m., and they finished early Saturday before the third round went off in twosomes. Not one of the top three has won a major.

Burns has the low round of the week and the momentum. Spaun has the scrambling numbers. Hovland has the highlight reel. Scott, chasing his first major title since 2013 in his 96th straight major start, is three back. Somebody in this group is about to find out what it feels like to sleep on a major lead.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. The PGA TOUR's Round 2 wrap (opens in a new tab) and the USGA's 36-hole report (opens in a new tab) have more.

Sources: PGA TOUR, USGA, AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images via PGA TOUR.