The sun broke through just after midday at The Los Angeles Country Club, shining a bright light on a U.S. Open stage that has set a new pace for compelling storylines. Round 1 co-leader Rickie Fowler set or tied two additional championship records – he recorded 18 birdies through 36 holes, shattering the mark of 14, and tied the 36-hole scoring record of 130. However, he only holds a one-stroke lead heading into what is shaping up to be a dramatic weekend of golf.
Here are 10 Stats to Know from Round 2:
1. The Round 2 course setup included two par 3s that played over 295 yards and the longest par 4 in U.S. Open history. First, the par 3s: The 7th, at 299 yards, ranks second all-time in U.S. Open history behind only the 8th hole at Oakmont, which played one yard longer in 2007; the downhill 11th played at 297 yards, the fourth-longest par 3 in U.S. Open annals. The par-4 16th hole played 555 yards, surpassing the 13th hole at Chambers Bay (551 yards).
2. This year marks the fourth time that Rory McIlroy has shot in the 60s in both of the first two rounds of a U.S. Open, having done it in 2011, 2019 and 2022. No other player has done it as many times.
3. Rickie Fowler is the first 18-hole leader or co-leader at the U.S. Open to begin his second round with three consecutive birdies (or better) since Payne Stewart did it in 1998 at The Olympic Club.
4. Since 1996, 24 of the last 27 U.S. Open champions were either leading or within two strokes of the lead after 36 holes. The exceptions are Matt Fitzpatrick in 2022 (3 back), Brooks Koepka in 2018 (5 back) and Webb Simpson in 2012 (6 back).
5. Xander Schauffele did not make a bogey this week until his seventh hole on Friday. His streak of 24 holes without a bogey from the start of Round 1 is the fourth-longest in the U.S. Open over the last 10 years. Ironically, Rickie Fowler ranks first in this category, setting the mark with 28 bogey-free holes to start the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
6. Min Woo Lee shot the best score in Round 2 with a 65. He is the third Australian in the last 20 years to do that at the U.S. Open. Robert Allenby shot the best score of the final round in 2004 at Shinnecock Hills (70); and Adam Scott shot the best final round in 2015 at Chambers Bay (64).
7. There have been three holes-in-one at this U.S. Open, all coming at the short 15th hole. If one additional hole-in-one takes place over the weekend, this year’s U.S. Open would tie the 1989 championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., for most in championship history.
8. Wyndham Clark won the Wells Fargo Championship in early May. Only four players over the last 50 years won a PGA Tour event and then won the U.S. Open within the next 60 days: Curtis Strange (1988); Tom Kite (1992); Tiger Woods (2000); and Martin Kaymer (2014).
9. Dustin Johnson made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the second hole yet battled back to post an even-par 70 for a 6-under-par 134 total. Still, no player over the last 30 years has won a major championship after making a quadruple during the championship.
10. Since the start of 2021, there have been 42 rounds of major championship golf played, including the first two rounds this week. Scottie Scheffler has sat among the top 10 at the conclusion of 26 of those rounds, a mark of 62 Percent.
Greg Midland is the USGA’s editorial director. Email him at gmidland@usga.org.
