Keep that card
Jason Kokrak: The long hitter shook off a trio of early bogeys to roll in three birdies over his final five holes en route to a 1-over 71. At 1 under for the tournament, Kokrak, who has never won a PGA Tour event, remains on the first page of the leaderboard
Toss that card
Jordan Spieth: The three-time major champion continues to struggle. He shot an 81 on Friday, his worst score in a major. Ten of the 13 amateurs in the field fared better than Spieth.
On the course with …
Bubba Watson: A self-proclaimed "head case" who is easily distracted, Watson said he had part of his brain on the golf course and the other at home in the Florida Panhandle with Hurricane Sally approaching. Watson said he made preparations to leave New York if his family made that request. "Golf is golf, and life is more important than that," he said on Friday after shooting a 1-under 69 to improve to 1 over for the tournament. Watson started the second round tied for 57th — just inside the cut line. He knocked in three straight birdies before making the turn and was still 3 under before a double bogey on the final hole.
U.S. Open moment
Bryson DeChambeau made the 557-yard par-4 ninth hole his personal playground Friday. The bulked-up DeChambeau, a hot topic of conversation since the PGA Tour season resumed, scorched a driver off the tee, leaving just a pitching wedge shot into the green. He then made the eagle putt. "I feel like there's so many holes out here that I can take advantage of that some people can't," DeChambeau said.
Chip shots
• Former Gophers golfer Erik van Rooyen (4 over) and Spring Lake Park graduate Troy Merritt (6 over) will play the weekend.
• Tiger Woods (10 over) missed the cut, just as he did at Winged Foot in 2006. It's the only venue where Woods has missed the cut twice in a major.
• At 13-over-par, Phil Mickelson turned in worst-ever 36-hole score at a U.S. Open.
Key hole
No. 10, 228-yard par-3: Just four players managed to make a birdie.
Quote of the day
"It's almost like they set it up to ease us into the tournament, then showed us what it's really supposed to be like." — Patrick Reed, on condition changes from Round 1 to Round 2.
Day 3
TV coverage of the third round begins at 10 a.m. on Ch. 11. The final group tees off at 1:25 p.m..
NEWS SERVICES
