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Pittsburgh, June 13: You could feel it in the air at Oakmont Country Club on Friday—the kind of tension that only this place can create. It was Round Two of the 125th U.S. Open, and already, the course was chewing up egos and reputations like sunflower seeds. Just outside Pittsburgh, beneath streaks of muggy cloud cover, Oakmont reminded the world what golf at its meanest really looks like.
Perez Sparks Roar With Once-in-a-Generation Hole-in-One
If you blinked, you missed it. Victor Perez, standing on the sixth tee, grabbed a seven-iron and swung with nothing but intention. What followed was one of those rare moments that makes the galleries gasp—a ball that bounced three times, then vanished straight into the cup. Ace.
The Frenchman became just the second player in U.S. Open history to ace a hole at Oakmont, the first since Scott Simpson in 1983. His celebration was as raw as it was real—a stunned pause, a euphoric chest bump with his caddie, and then the release: arms up, grin wide, disbelief thick in the air.
What made it even more poetic? Perez had just carded a triple bogey two holes earlier. A career-defining moment wasn’t supposed to happen here, not now. But Oakmont doesn’t do scriptwriting—it just creates chaos. And sometimes, from the rubble, a story like this emerges.
Burns Keeps Calm, Shoots Day’s Best To Join the Chase
Across the course, Sam Burns was writing his own version of brilliance, though in a quieter register. The American’s 65 was the cleanest card of the day—six birdies, one bogey, and no theatrics. Just calculated, mistake-free golf on a layout where even par feels like theft.
Burns didn’t seem flustered, nor overjoyed. “Just kept my head down,” he said after the round. “You don’t really ‘go low’ here. You survive smart.”
At 3-under overall, he sits one behind leader J.J. Spaun, and crucially, carries momentum—and restraint—into the weekend.
Spaun Still Ahead, But Not Unchallenged
J.J. Spaun, the overnight leader after a dazzling 66 on Thursday, kept himself in front, though Friday offered fewer fireworks. A gritty 71, shaped by scrambling and smart course management, kept him at 4-under.
There were no heroics, but there didn’t need to be. At Oakmont, sometimes the quietest rounds speak the loudest. “Didn’t have my best stuff,” Spaun admitted, “but we held it together.”
With players like Burns and Viktor Hovland closing the gap, the 33-year-old Californian knows the pressure’s only going to tighten from here.
Koepka Wobbles, Then Recovers With Signature Grit
You don’t win four majors without knowing how to walk through fire. Brooks Koepka had flames licking at his heels for much of the morning—early bogeys, poor positioning, and a swing that seemed half a beat off.
But then came the rally: a chip-in birdie at the 17th, another on 11, a third on 12. For a brief spell, he was charging.
Two late bogeys halted the run, and he walked off the course at +2. Not perfect, not out of it. Exactly the kind of Friday round that keeps him dangerous.
Hovland’s Eagle A Lifeline In Testing Conditions
The man from Oslo knows how to find a spark. Viktor Hovland holed out for eagle from the fairway on the 14th—one of the round’s few moments of genuine lift for players fighting the grind. The shot pulled him into red figures and helped balance an otherwise up-and-down round.
At 1-under through 36 holes, Hovland is just three shots back. Not leading. Not chasing. Just waiting, as he often does, for the weekend to open up.
Stars Struggle As Oakmont Bares Its Teeth
Not everyone made it through unscathed. Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, looked flat. A four-over 74 left him scrambling to stay inside the cutline.
Jon Rahm shot 75, trudging his way to +4, visibly frustrated by the impossible angles and fleeting roll of the greens. Justin Thomas fared worse. A quadruple bogey on the par-4 fourth undid his round, and the missed cut was no surprise. Rory McIlroy battled throughout, but another inconsistent showing saw him slide down the leaderboard.
Oakmont never pretends to be fair. It doesn’t reward pedigree—it punishes the slightest misstep.
Church Pews, Ghosts, And The Weight Of Oakmont
The front nine alone played like a gauntlet. The Church Pew bunkers, stretching like jagged scars between the third and fourth holes, wrecked multiple rounds. Players who missed fairways weren’t just penalized—they were doomed.
More than one seasoned pro was overheard saying they’d never seen a course this fast, this brutal, this unrelenting. And yet, there it was—beckoning the field into another two days of madness.
Weekend Weather Adds Yet Another Twist
Forecasts suggest Saturday could bring rain and wind—an entirely different kind of test. That means softened fairways, possibly slower greens, but also unpredictable gusts and mental fatigue. In short, conditions that reward clarity under pressure.
The cut fell at +5, slicing the field down. And now, with Spaun at −4, Burns at −3, and Hovland lurking, it’s a congested, dangerous leaderboard.
Throw in Perez’s flair, Koepka’s killer instinct, and Oakmont’s fickle mood, and we might just be in for a finish that’s as unforgiving as the setting.
This isn’t just golf. This is the U.S. Open at Oakmont. And it’s starting to bare its fangs.
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