Koepka leads LIV Golf group in mix entering weekend at U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. – Brooks Koepka will enter the weekend at dastardly Oakmont in good shape to make a run at his third U.S. Open title. Jon Rahm will chase his second, while four other LIV Golf players making the cut will seek their first in what promises to be a matter of survival on one of golf’s hardest tracks.

Koepka, the Smash GC captain, is tied for eighth at 2 over after a second-round 4-over 74 that looked better and better as the day progressed. The five-time major winner won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2017-18.

Legion XIII's Tyrrell Hatton and Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz are another shot back at 3 over and tied for 12th, while Hatton’s captain Rahm is at 4 over and tied for 23rd.

Ripper GC’s Marc Leishman is at 6 over and tied for 47th, with 4Aces GC’s Patrick Reed at 7 over after making the projected cut on the number when play was suspended late in the day.

Leishman and Ortiz are making the most of their opportunities after earning spots in final qualifying. Ortiz, making his 10th major start, has never been in better position at a major through 36 holes. For Leishman, it’s a familiar position at Oakmont; at the 2016 U.S. Open here, he was tied for 11th through two rounds.

Hatton shot an even-par 70, the best second-round score among the 14 LIV Golf players. Just six golfers in the 156-player field shot a better score Friday.

Leishman, Ortiz and Hatton – each a LIV Golf tournament winner – are seeking a breakthrough major title.

4Aces GC Captain Phil Mickelson appeared to be in good shape to make the cut in his 34th career U.S. Open start, playing even-par golf on his round through 14 holes. But he suffered two late double bogeys and missed a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole to miss the projected cut by one stroke.

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith also missed the cut by a shot while Iron Heads GC’s Jinichiro Kozuma was also at 9 over and playing his last hole when play was suspended.

Defending U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau shot a 7-over 77 that included eight bogeys and a double bogey to finish at 10 under. The Crushers GC captain, who entered with plenty of momentum after finishing T5 and T2 in the previous two majors this year, as well as a recent win at LIV Golf Korea presented by Coupang Play.

After finishing his second round, DeChambeau went directly to the driving range to work on his game.

KOEPKA SHOOTS 74: Koepka twice climbed within a shot of the lead during his first eight holes Friday. His last 10 holes, though, showed Oakmont at its toughest.

He suffered six bogeys in that stretch en route to a 4-over 74.

Koepka, who opened with a 2-under 68 on Thursday, wasn’t particularly happy, as he required 32 putts and gave away nearly 1-1/2 strokes to the field on the greens. The Smash GC captain used the early finish to work on his putting after his round.

RAHM’S PUTTING FRUSTRATION: Jon Rahm followed his opening 69 with a 5-over 75 that included six missed putts between 5-10 feet.

"I didn't play bad. I played quite good golf,” said the Legion XIII captain, who lost more than three strokes to the field on the greens Friday. “Didn't see anything go in beside a 7-footer on 7. That's it. That's a very hard thing to deal with to try to shoot a score out here.

"Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole, so it's frustrating."

At T23 and 3 over for 36 holes, Rahm will enter the weekend in lurking position, hoping for a big moving day performance.

Asked if the high scores at Oakmont allowed him to put his own score in perspective, Rahm replied: “Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective. Very frustrated.”

CHIP-IN EAGLE FOR HATTON: With Oakmont baring its teeth, Tyrrell Hatton stood over his par putt on the final hole in Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open. He was 52 feet from the pin but not about to settle for a two-putt.

“Really wanted to hole that putt on the last to shoot level,” the Legion XIII star said. “More of a pride thing, really,”

Not only did he make it, but his even-par 70 was one of the better scores of the day. In fact, just four players in Friday’s morning wave managed to break par.

Hatton’s final putt was a big moment but not the biggest of his second round. That came at the par-5 12th when he chipped in for eagle from 44 yards.

“That was a nice bonus,” said Hatton, whose best U.S. Open finish in eight previous starts is a tie for 6th in 2018 at Shinnecock.

At last month’s PGA Championship, Hatton played well early but stumbled on the weekend. This time, he hopes to build on his performances and make some noise.

“I said at the PGA I feel like I’ve done some decent work there, but as it turns out, I hadn’t,” he said. “Sort of got worse as the week went on there.

“When I got home, that was really when I noticed kind of where I was going wrong. I spent a lot of time trying to get the swing back to where I’d like to see it. That’s helped with trying to see the ball move left to right in the air again with the woods. That’s a little bit more comfortable for me.”

Hatton is making his 41st start in a major and was T12 when play was stopped Friday night due to weather. Asked if he was excited about headling into the weekend, he replied with a smile: “Just another day of playing golf.”

ORTIZ AT HALFWAY POINT: The best 36-hole position for Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz in his first nine major starts was a tie for 19th midway through the 2019 U.S. Open.

After shooting rounds of 71-72 to finish at 3 over through two rounds at Oakmont, Ortiz was T12 when play was halted Friday night due to weather.

Ortiz battled back from early disaster Friday that included a triple-bogey 8 at the par-5 fourth sandwiched between two bogeys. After that, he played the final 13 holes in a bogey-free 3 under, nearly acing the 161-yard par-3 13th.