2025 U.S. Open leaderboard: Sam Burns scorches Oakmont, Viktor Hovland sits firmly in pursuit through Round 2

Only three players are under par through 36 holes of the 125th U.S. Open

Oakmont Country Club has delivered as advertised across the first two rounds of the 2025 U.S. Open leaving most of the 156-man field battered and beaten by the toughest golf course in the United States. Evidence of that brutal test is the leaderboard, which features only three players in red figures entering the weekend.

Sam Burns leads the way at 3 under as he got the better of Oakmont on Friday with a sensational 65 that set the new low round of the week and tied for the third-lowest score ever compiled at an Oakmont-hosted U.S. Open. Burns followed a similar script to the one J.J. Spaun laid out with his Thursday 66, taking advantage of starting on the less-difficult back nine to go out in 31 before keeping his head on the more difficult front side. 

Burns bogeyed No. 1 but bounced back with birdies on Nos. 2 and 4, getting to 5 under on his round and 3 under for the tournament. He closed with five straight pars to reach the clubhouse and post a number that no one could match. 

Among those chasing Burns is Viktor Hovland, who likewise got off to a terrific start on the back nine, including an eagle at the drivable par-4 17th to get to 3 under. 

From that point, he rode a rollercoaster of bogeys, birdies and a double to finish at 1 under after shooting a 68. That was good enough for a top 10 in the clubhouse, but once Friday's round concluded, Hovland found himself in solo 3rd, two back of Burns. 

In between those two is Spaun, who finally put some bogeys on the card on Friday en route to a 72. However, given nearly everyone else in the afternoon wave dropped out of red figures, he must to feel solid about still being in 2nd at 2 under.

With how difficult Oakmont has been playing, none of those three can feel safe entering the weekend, but they have given themselves more margin for error than those chasing, who are all currently over par. That includes names like Brooks Koepka (+2), Jon Rahm (+4), Collin Morikawa (+4) and Scottie Scheffler (+4), all of whom still have a chance given how few players are under par and how quickly the leaders could drop back to the field. There are a number of big names, including defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, won't be part of the weekend after failing to make the cut at 7 over. 

That sets up a fascinating weekend at Oakmont starting with a Moving Day that may well live up to its name Saturday. 

2025 U.S. Open leaderboard breakdown, Round 2

1. Sam Burns (-3): His 65 is one of the all-time great rounds at a U.S. Open when considering how difficult Oakmont played Friday with only a handful of rounds under par all day. He has statistically been the best putter on the PGA Tour this season, and that showed up in a big way Friday as he was third in the field in strokes gained putting at +2.99. More impressive was his ball-striking where he was second in the field at +3.21. Coming off a runner-up at the Canadian Open, he's playing the best golf of his season right now. We'll see how he handles the pressures of leading the U.S. Open on the weekend, but combining great iron play with great putting is a recipe for success at Oakmont. 

2. J.J. Spaun (-2): Spaun showed a lot of grit in his second round as there were times where it looked like it could go off the rails, but he bounced back from nearly every bogey with a birdie to answer. He seemed to run out of gas a bit late, closing his round with three bogeys and a birdie in his final four holes, and that was almost to be expected after the way he got around bogey-free on Thursday by holing seemingly everything from midrange. That's hard to do consistently on greens like those featured by Oakmont, but he showed on Friday he won't simply fade away. Spaun has the game to hang around atop of the leaderboard. . 

3. Viktor Hovland (-1): Hovland has reached ordan Spieth-like territory of chaos during his rounds, as he will pile up birdies and bogeys and hope that after 18 holes it ends up in red figures. What made his Friday so stunning is that he led the field in strokes gained around the green, which has long been his Achilles heel. If he can be a bit better finding fairways off the tee and keep this feel with his short game, he'll be a major threat on the weekend. 

T4. Adam Scott, Ben Griffin (E): Even at 44, Scott is still one of the steadiest players around. It's fitting that he's opened with back-to-back even-par 70s. He's going to lurk and see if those guys at the top make a mistake that he can pounce on as he looks for his first U.S. Open title. Griffin, meanwhile, had it to 3 under for a bit Friday before falling back, but he's been the hottest player this side of Scottie Scheffler for more than a month now, and his confidence hasn't been shaken at all by Oakmont. 

T6. Victor Perez, Thriston Lawrence (+1): Lawrence got it to 6 under at one point early in his second round, leading by three, but everything unraveled from there. He will have to regroup in a big way going into the weekend if he's going to contend. Perez, meanwhile, authored the highlight of Friday with his hole-in-one on the 6th hole, becoming just the second man to accomplish that feat in U.S. Open competition at Oakmont. 

T8. Russell Henley, Brooks Koepka, Si Woo Kim, Thomas Detry (+2): Both Koepka and Detry had it to 3 under during their second rounds, but they couldn't hold it together and slid five off the pace. Still, all four of these players are firmly in the mix going into the weekend and will be looking for their opportunities to put some birdies on the card and apply pressure to the leaders. 

T12. Jason Day, Tyrrell Hatton, Max Greyserman, Keegan Bradley and seven others (+3): Other than Burns, it was Day and Greyserman who posted the two best rounds of the day, shooting 67s to move from near the cut line to into the top 20 going into the weekend. Hatton continues to sniff around major leaderboards, while Bradley continues to trend towards being a playing captain at Bethpage later this year. 

T23. Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and 10 others: The group at 4 over features some heavy-hitters, and while they are seven back of the lead, they still have a legitimate chance at winning this tournament. The problem is there is no more margin for error, and none of them feel particularly great about how they're playing right now. (Scheffler had a long, frustrated range session on Friday afternoon.) Still, this group is one good round away from applying a ton of pressure to the leaders. 

T36. Jordan Spieth, Sungjae Im and seven others: Both Spieth and Im backed up considerably after strong first rounds, Spieth shooting a scratchy 75 and Im struggling tremendously on Friday afternoon with a 77. 

T45. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and 12 others: McIlroy doubled two of his first three holes and was outside the cut line for much of the day, but he rallied late to finish with a couple of birdies on the back nine, including a terrific birdie on the 18th to ensure he made the cut. Schauffele had that kind of fight back to close his first round Thursday, but he continues to struggle to find it with his irons or on the putting surface and fell back to 6 over with a 74. From this far back, either McIlroy or Schauffele would have to produce something spectacular on Saturday to have a chance at winning, but they have two additional tee times, which is more than many can say. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 8:29 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Thorbjørn Olesen double bogeys the 18th in driving rain to miss the cut by 1

Oakmont delivered a lot of pain on Friday, but Olesen perhaps got the worst of anyone. As the final groups were trying to finish out their round, the rain that had stayed away all day finally arrived, pouring down on the players with winds picking up to make Oakmont play even tougher. 

Olesen got through the 8th with a par to stay at 6 over, but hooked his tee shot on the 18th into the hazard and went on to make a double bogey and finish one shot outside the cut line at +8. 

The horn to suspend play due to dangerous weather sounded right after Olesen's group finished up, and he was left stewing off to the side of the green under his umbrella, knowing a terrible weather break cost him the weekend at the U.S. Open

[Jun 13, 2025 at 7:37 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Phil Mickelson makes two double bogeys in his final four holes to miss the cut by one

For almost all of Friday, Phil Mickelson looked like he would make the cut at 54 years old. A birdie on the 11th hole moved Phil to 4 over, three inside the projected cut an all he needed to do was land the plane to make the weekend in what may be his final U.S. Open. However, somewhat fitting of a career in which this tournament tormented him with close calls, Mickelson made double bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes to drop back to 8 over. He would give himself a 14-footer for birdie on No. 18, but could not get it to drop and will miss the cut by one shot. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 7:08 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy birdies 18 to make the cut at +6

After nine holes on Thursday, Rory McIlroy was 2 under and looked like he might win the 2025 U.S. Open. After nine holes on Friday, he was 7 over and looked like he'd be gassing up the jet on Friday night. Ultimately, he fell somewhere in between with a grinding 72 in the second round to get into the clubhouse at 6 over, safely inside the cut line. 

McIlroy double bogeyed two of his first three holes of the day and quickly found himself at 8 over, outside the projected cut line, which was expected to hover between 6 and 7 over. He birdied the 9th to get back on that number, but another bogey on No. 11 put him in peril once again. Despite his struggles, McIlroy was able to produce the shots he needed late to get to the weekend, making a long putt on the 15th for birdie to get back to 7 over, and then played the 18th to perfection for some insurance that moved him to +6. 

The 18th was a frustrating reminder to Rory of how well he could play here, as he bombed a driver 373 yards down the middle of the fairway and hit a perfect approach that spun just back down the hill behind the hole to pin high a few feet away. It was a brief moment of brilliance in the midst of one of the worst stretches of his career, really, as the last month he's seemed completely lost on the course. 

Even so, he'll get two more days at Oakmont to try and figure things out, and even if a 10-shot comeback seems highly unlikely, if not impossible, perhaps he can capture something out there on Saturday and Sunday. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:53 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau shoots a Friday 77 to miss the cut 

Bryson DeChambeau will not have a chance to go back-to-back in the U.S. Open, as the 2020 and 2024 champion had a disastrous second nine on Friday to finish at 10 over for the tournament, well outside the cut line. 

DeChambeau had finished in the top 10 in five of the last six majors, but like last year's Open Championship, he will not be part of the weekend at Oakmont. He was battling through his first nine, going out in 37 after starting on No. 10, but a double-bogey-bogey stretch from Nos. 5-7 was his undoing. On each of those holes his problems with distance control with his irons bit him, as he went long with irons on all three holes and left himself difficult up-and-downs from the rough or a bunker. 

It is an incredibly disappointing way for his championship to end, as he came into the week as the second-favorite behind Scottie Scheffler and ahead of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:35 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

J.J. Spaun bogeys No. 18, posts 72 to head into the weekend at 2 under

Nearly six hours after Sam Burns posted his 65 to make 3 under the clubhouse lead, he has become the solo leader at the 2025 U.S. Open. Throughout the afternoon wave he has been trailing or had company at the top from some combination of J.J. Spaun, Thomas Detry and Thriston Lawrence. However, Oakmont has taken its toll on the leaders this afternoon, with all three making bogeys recently to put Burns on top alone. 

Spaun battled admirably throughout the day, making bounceback birdies after most of his dropped shots on Friday, but after a great birdie on the 17th to get back into a share of the lead, he gave that right back on the long 18th. Spaun made a mistake from the fairway, bounding his approach over the green and leaving a delicate chip. He left that short of the ridge that funnels the ball down to the hole and couldn't make the slippery downhill putt he left for par. 

Still, at 2 under he is in second alone currently and just one off Burns' lead going into Saturday. There are only four players in red figures currently as Oakmont is bludgeoning the field, and Spaun still has to be thrilled about his position entering the weekend. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:30 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Thomas Detry makes a double bogey on No. 5 to drop out of the lead

Detry spent 13 holes grinding to a 2 under round and a tie for the lead and in one hole he undid all of that hard work. Detry made a double bogey 6 on the par-4 5th hole after a 4-putt that was absolutely brutal to watch. Detry missed two putts from inside 4 feet and walked off the green understandably frustrated with his miscues with the putter. He now faces the extremely challenging closing stretch on the front nine, as he battles to try and stay in red figures. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:22 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy makes a long birdie to get inside the projected cut with three to play

While DeChambeau is unraveling late in his second round, McIlroy is showing some impressive fight to try and make the cut. After slipping back to +8, McIlroy moved back inside the projected cut line at +7 with this long birdie putt on the 15th, finally seeing something drop on the greens. 

McIlroy hit the green on the long par-3 16th, which is the hard part there, and will have the drivable par-4 17th to try and get another birdie before going to the tough 18th. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:19 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Bryson DeChambeau's struggles continue with another bogey to fall to +10

DeChambeau's hopes of winning back-to-back U.S. Opens are effectively over, as he has fallen three shots off the cut line with two holes to play with a disastrous second round. He is five over in his last five holes, going bogey-par-double-bogey-bogey, missing a short par putt on the 7th that was never even close to hitting the hole. His frustrations have been mounting all day and after putting new irons in the bag to hopefully fix his distance control issues, he's missed a number of approach shots from the fairway on his second nine on Friday and clearly still has work to do in that area. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 6:15 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

J.J. Spaun and Thomas Detry join the lead at -3

The lead remains at 3 under, with Sam Burns the only man in the clubhouse at that number, but he now has two players joining him in J.J. Spaun and Thomas Detry. Thriston Lawrence has backed down to -2 with a bogey at the 2nd, but Spaun bounced back from a bogey on No. 16 to birdie the 17th with another long putt. 

Right before Spaun made that putt on No. 17, Detry continued his strong round with a birdie on the 4th, getting up-and-down from the rough right of the green on the par 5 to join the group at 3 under. He still has a ways to go to get into the clubhouse, but is enjoying one of the best rounds of the afternoon at 2 under, while Spaun just has to get through the 18th and he will be able to post a number and see if he can't be part of the lead for the second straight day. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 5:53 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

J.J. Spaun bogeys No. 16, drops back to 2 under

The 18-hole leader is no longer in a share of the lead as he has been for most of the day on Friday. J.J. Spaun couldn't get up-and-down from the greenside bunker on the par-3 16th and dropped his second shot of the day to fall to 2 under. He's now one behind Sam Burns in the clubhouse and Thriston Lawrence on the course, as he's still got 8 holes left in his second round to try and hold onto a share of the lead (or somehow take it by himself). Spaun will have the drivable par-4 17th to try and get that bogey back, but then will have to make his way down the difficult 18th before he can end what has been an incredibly long afternoon at Oakmont. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 5:46 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Bryson DeChambeau doubles the 5th, drops to +8 and outside the cut line

The defending U.S. Open champion has some work to do on his final four holes of the day if he's going to make it to the weekend. DeChambeau missed the fairway on the par-4 5th and chopped out to 114 yards away before airmailing the back pin with his third, finding the back bunker that left him almost no chance to get it close. DeChambeau couldn't make a long bogey putt and dropped from +6 to +8 with the double bogey, sliding outside the cut line (right alongside Rory McIlroy) and needing at least a birdie on his final four holes to get to the weekend. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 5:35 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Phil Mickelson appears headed for the weekend in what could be his final U.S. Open

No one has been tormented by the U.S. Open more than Phil Mickelson. The 6-time runner-up has come perilously close to capturing that elusive title that has kept him out of the career grand slam club, but at 54 years old and with no more exemptions into the tournament after this year, Mickelson admitted prior to this year's even that it may be his last U.S. Open start. 

If that's the case, he is going to go down swinging, as the 6-time major champion is well inside the cut line on his back nine on Friday afternoon. Mickelson opened with a 74 on Thursday but has managed to play even par golf thru 11 holes in his second round, rolling in a birdie on the 11th to get back to 4 over for the championship. 

With the cut line projected to finish at +7 (and, at least, sitting at +6), Mickelson has some shots to play with as he comes down the stretch of his second round. He'll still need to keep it on the rails and avoid disaster holes, but it's looking highly likely that we'll get at least two more rounds of Mickelson at the U.S. Open. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 5:04 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Cut line update

The current cut line has moved to +6, as there are 75 players tied at that number or better. The projected cut remains +7, as just 15 more players need to drop from 6 over or better to 7 over to push the cut line there, and with some players still yet to make the turn, there is a lot of golf still to be played. 

Some of the notables still on the course battling to make the weekend include: 

• Bryson DeChambeau (+5 thru 11*)
• Phil Mickelson (+5 thru 10)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+6 thru 12)
• Wyndham Clark (+6 thru 11*)
• Gary Woodland (+6 thru 11*)
• Patrick Cantlay (+6 thru 11)
• Akshay Bhatia (+6 thru 10*)
• Tom Kim (+7 thru 13)
• Ludvig Åberg (+7 thru 12)
• Tommy Fleetwood (+7 thru 12*)
• Rory McIlroy (+8 thru 11)

[Jun 13, 2025 at 4:33 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Thriston Lawrence makes back-to-back bogeys, falls back into a tie for the lead with J.J. Spaun

The lead is back to 4 under, as it was to start the day, as Thriston Lawrence's hot streak came to a swift and abrupt stop once he reached the 14th and 15th holes. After three straight birdies, Lawrence made back-to-back bogeys to drop back to 4 under, with J.J. Spaun making a birdie on the 11th to get back to where he began the day. 

It is going to be a grind for both Lawrence and Spaun as they look to complete their second rounds, but so far they've managed the nerves and challenge of Oakmont pretty well. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 4:28 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy makes a long birdie on No. 9 to get to +7, right on the projected cut line

McIlroy's battle to reach the weekend will be one of the stories of Friday afternoon, and after two double bogeys in his first three holes of the day, he finally broke through with something positive on the difficult 9th hole. McIlroy hit his approach 33 feet beyond the flag, safely avoiding the bunker short, and then rolled it in for birdie to move back to 7 over.  

McIlroy now turns to the back nine, which has been the less difficult side by a few shots on Friday, and will look to make another birdie to feel truly safe, as it's not a guarantee that +7 makes it to the weekend but +6 is effectively a lock. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 4:00 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Thriston Lawrence pushes the lead to -6 for the first time with three straight birdies

The South African is now the solo leader by 3 after his third consecutive birdie got him to -6, while J.J. Spaun made his third bogey of the day to drop back to -3. Lawrence started his run with a 25-footer on the 11th, added a two-putt birdie on the par-5 12th and most recently rolled one in from 20 feet out on the par-3 13th to become the first player in the field to reach 6 under. 

Given the carnage we've seen so far in the second round, few expected either of Spaun or Lawrence to be able to extend the lead on Friday afternoon, but Lawrence has come out of the gates swinging. The challenge for him is holding it together for all 18 holes, as we saw a number of players go low early after starting on No. 10, but come back to earth once they made the turn to the front side. For now, he has a 3-shot lead and will look to keep the good vibes rolling for as long as he can. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 3:43 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy both in danger of missing the cut 

Two of the four pre-tournament favorites coming into the week are now in serious danger of missing the cut, as both DeChambeau and McIlroy are going backwards in Friday's second round. DeChambeau started the day at +3 and has four bogeys and one birdie on his card already just seven holes into his second round, including a run of three consecutive bogeys to drop to +6. McIlroy, meanwhile, made two double bogeys in his first three holes and while he's stabilized his round with four pars since, he is going to need at least one, if not two birdies coming in to make the cut. 

The projected cut number is currently +7, but it's about a coin flip between +6 and +7 at the moment. At present, there are 76 players at +6 or better and 87 at +7 or better. The cut line will be the top 60 and ties, but with most of the afternoon wave still on their first nines and Oakmont playing a solid 4.5 shots over par on average, we will see plenty more bogeys and others to drop folks further back. 

Other notables out on the course right now with cut line concerns include: 

• Ludvig Åberg (+5)
• Wyndham Clark (+5)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+6)
• Gary Woodland (+6)
• Tommy Fleetwood (+7)
• Tom Kim (+8)
• Patrick Cantlay (+8)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (+8)

[Jun 13, 2025 at 3:18 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Thriston Lawrence and Ben Griffin make birdies to close the gap on J.J. Spaun and Sam Burns

There are only five players under par currently at the 2025 U.S. Open, and the lead is now shared by J.J. Spaun and Thriston Lawrence at 4 under. Spaun had it to 5 under briefly before a bogey on No. 7 dropped him back to where he started his day, and he now has company as Thriston Lawrence birdied the 11th (his second) to get to 4 under. 

Just behind those two are Sam Burns, who posted 3 under with a scintillating 65 earlier in the day, and now Ben Griffin, who rolled in his second birdie of the front nine to also reach the -3 mark. 

Griffin doing this on the front nine, which has been the far more difficult side on Friday, is particularly impressive, and he's in the best form of just about anyone on the PGA Tour over the last month-plus. Lawrence, meanwhile, has 16 holes left in his round and will face the challenge of the front nine as his second side later this afternoon. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 2:48 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

J.J. Spaun pushes lead to 5 under with a birdie on the par-3 6th

We have seen some incredible tee shots on the 6th today, headlined by Victor Perez's hole-in-one, and while J.J. Spaun couldn't match an ace, he did throw a dart a the flag to set up his second birdie of the day to reach 5 under for the first time. 

Spaun has held it together impressively on Friday after sleeping on the lead, continuing to execute a smart game plan at Oakmont. He now holds a two-shot lead over Sam Burns and Thriston Lawrence, and with only six players in red figures, if he can somehow put together another round in the 60s, he could put some serious distance between himself and much of the field going into the weekend. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 2:32 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

J.J. Spaun staying steady, holding onto 1 shot lead thru 5

After his bogey-free 66 on Thursday, few expected Spaun to be able to back that up with a similar performance in Friday's second round. Sure enough, his first bogey of the week arrived on No. 3 on Friday afternoon, but Spaun bounced back in impressive fashion on the par-5 4th. Spaun was able to reach the green in two and chipped from on the putting surface to avoid the way the rough cut into the green, setting up a short birdie putt to reclaim the lead at 4 under. 

Spaun backed that up with a two-putt par on the 5th and is continuing to play extremely steady golf and leaning on a hot putter to keep him on the top of the leaderboard. He's still got 13 holes on Friday to do the same, but he's handled the nerves of sleeping on the solo lead at a major impressively to start his second round. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 2:09 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Xander Schauffele off to a hot start at -2 thru 2*

It has been a rough year for Xander Schauffele, but after winning two majors a year ago, he proved he is capable of big time performances in the biggest events of the year. Schauffele had a rough first nine on Thursday, but was able to grind his way back to a respectable 72 to stay in the hunt and carried that positive momentum into Friday. 

Schauffele began his day on the back nine and got off to a quick start, with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes to get back to even for the tournament and 2 under for the day. 

That is just three off the lead held by Sam Burns, Thriston Lawrence and J.J. Spaun, with Burns in the clubhouse, Lawrence yet to tee off and Spaun just three holes into his second round. Schauffele hasn't shown his best this year, but perhaps the challenge of Oakmont has intensified his focus and allowed him to bring out his A-game as he seeks his third career major title. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 1:52 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy opens with a double bogey to fall to +6, in danger of missing the cut

The first nine holes of Rory McIlroy's 2025 U.S. Open couldn't have gone much better as he made the turn at 2 under, but since then the wheels have fallen off. McIlroy shot a 6-over 41 on the front nine (his second nine) on Thursday and had to return to that same nine to begin Friday and is not finding it any easier. 

Rory found a fairway bunker off the tee and tried to take his medicine and just chip out sideways, but instead left it in the thick rough. That compounded mistake led to a missed green to the left, and he could not get it up and down, making a double bogey 6 to fall back to +6 for the tournament. 

That brings a missed cut firmly into play, as the projected cut is currently +7 provided scoring remains similar to what it was in the morning wave. That means McIlroy has maybe a one-shot cushion and will have to get around the next 17 holes extremely cleanly if he wants to make it to Saturday. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 1:40 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Sam Burns pours in a 23-footer to save par on No. 9 and shoot a 65 

Much like Thursday when J.J. Spaun opened with a 66 from the morning wave after starting on No. 10, Sam Burns has set a new low round of the tournament after starting his second round on No. 10 in Friday's morning wave. 

Burns got going early, making birdies on the 11th and 13th holes to get himself back to even for the tournament, and finished with a closing flurry by birdieing the 17th and 18th to shoot a 4-under 31 on the back side. The challenge for Burns was getting through the more difficult front nine without giving those shots back, as the front played three shots tougher than the back on Friday morning. Burns dropped a shot at the first, but bounced back with birdies on Nos. 2 and 4 to keep his momentum rolling. 

From there, he followed Spaun's blueprint of playing smart, solid golf and not taking on unnecessary risks on the tough outward nine. Burns made five straight pars to close, including a sweeping 23-footer on the 9th to save par after driving it in the hazard left. 

That putt got Burns into the clubhouse at 3 under, which has a very good chance of being the 36-hole lead given the difficulty of Oakmont and the challenge Spaun will have backing up his 66 with another round of even par or better. Either way, Burns' putter makes him a tremendous threat to win this week, as he's got a case for being the best putter on the PGA Tour this season and has carried that over to Oakmont. 

On Friday, he picked up nearly 3 strokes on the field with his putter and another 3 strokes on approach, which is the right kind of combo for success around a golf course like Oakmont. The challenge will be maintaining that form through the weekend, but after a runner-up finish in a playoff last week at the Canadian Open, Burns is certainly playing his best golf of the year at the right time. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 1:13 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Brooks Koepka shoots 74, Jon Rahm shoots 75 as they drop out of the top 10 on Friday 

After he birdied the 17th hole in spectacular fashion with a chip-in, Brooks Koepka was 3 under and tied for second at the U.S. Open with 10 holes to play. He looked like the Brooks of old, playing smart, solid golf at an incredibly difficult course and pouncing on the few opportunities to make birdies. 

Unfortunately for Koepka, things can unravel quickly at a U.S. Open, and he would go five over on those final 10 holes, making six bogeys and one birdie as he struggled with the front nine at Oakmont that is playing considerably tougher than the back. He started to get a bit wayward off of the tee and compounded issues with some speed control problems on the greens, backing up to 2 over for the championship, currently tied for 16th. 

On the other side of the course, Jon Rahm was having similar issues, although he started on the front nine and began backing up immediately on Friday, bogeying No. 1 to set an unfortunate tone for the round. Rahm was grumbling and muttering to himself all day, frustrated with his swing, the greens and everything in between as he couldn't get anything going in his second round. Some putts didn't break enough, others broke too much and by the end of it all, he'd made four bogeys, one double and just one birdie in a disappointing 75 from the man who entered Friday as the betting favorite. 

Rahm's round dropped him to 4 over, all the way back in a tie for 41st at the time he signed his card. He is 7 back of the clubhouse leader, Sam Burns, who fired a 65 to post the best round of the tournament so far and set 3 under as the mark to chase on Friday. Koepka, for his part, is just five off that lead, and there's a real chance 2 over is flirting with the top 10 by the end of the day. 

Both players will be a bit frustrated not to have applied more pressure to the rest of the field with a better second round performance, but they're going to be far from alone in shooting scores in the mid-70s today at Oakmont. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 12:52 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Sam Burns trying to close out the round of the tournament 

Burns is working on a 5 under masterpiece right now, and just needs to get through the ninth hole unscathed to post the best round of the week. He picked up his sixth birdie of the day on the 4th to get to 5 under for the day and 3 under for the tournament, one back of J.J. Spaun's lead as he is about to begin his second round as part of the afternoon wave. 

From there, Burns missed a great look at birdie to tie the lead on No. 6, but has been able to steadily plot his way along the tough inward nine at Oakmont -- including hitting one of the best tee shots of the day at the 299-yard par-3 8th to set up a two-putt par. Now he faces the tough 9th as his final hole of the day, but if he can make a par he'll post 65 and the clubhouse lead after 36 holes that is going to have a very good chance of being the overnight lead. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 12:06 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Brooks Koepka nearly matches Perez's ace on No. 6, moves back to E 

After moving to 3 under for the tournament late in his first nine, Brooks Koepka has been working steadily backwards as his second round progressed, but he stopped the rot with a gorgeous tee shot on the par-3 6th. After Victor Perez made the second ace in Oakmont U.S. Open history just a couple groups ahead of Koepka, he threatened to make it the second of the hour, dancing his ball around the cup to set up another birdie. 

That moved him back to even par for the championship, as he's 2 over on his round and trying to battle to stay in the mix going into the weekend. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 11:47 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Victor Perez makes a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th

For as difficult as Oakmont is playing, we are seeing some incredible shots the first two days of the U.S. Open. Patrick Reed set the bar for the shot of the tournament extremely high with his albatross on No. 4 on Thursday, but he's now got a little company in the form of a hole-in-one from Victor Perez on the 192-yard par-3 6th. 

It was a perfect 7-iron, landing just shy of the hole and releasing straight into the cup. What was maybe more impressive than the shot was the celebration, as Perez and his caddie executed an incredible chest bump. Typically golfers are terrible at celebrating after big shots, but Perez nailed both the shot and reaction. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 11:38 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Tyrrell Hatton makes an outrageous chip-in eagle on the 12th

It has been brutal out there on Friday, but we have seen some moments of brilliance from the best players in the world as they battle Oakmont. Tyrrell Hatton had backed up to 4 over when he arrived at the par-5 12th, but after coming up just short and right with his second, Hatton played the slopes perfectly with his third to chip in for an eagle. 

Hatton is known for his self-deprecating commentary on the course, but even he impressed himself with this one and had a big smile on his face knowing just how good that shot was to get back to 2 over for the tournament and 1 under for his round. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 11:22 am ET · Robby Kalland]

The front nine continues to take its toll

As we've seen a number of times over the last few days, players who dart out to a strong start after beginning their day on No. 10 have a hard time maintaining that pace when they turn to the front. Brooks Koepka has given 2 shots back since turning to the outward nine, bogeying Nos. 1 and 2 to fall back to E for the tournament and 2 over for his round. Viktor Hovland birdied the first to get to 3 under, but gave that back and more with a double on No. 2. 

And then there's Scottie Scheffler, who is in full grind mode just trying to make it to the weekend. He bogeyed the first with another three-putt on his day, birdied the second, and then found the church pews on the third off the tee (his third visit to that bunker in two days). That tug left has been a consistent miss off the tee today and he let his frustration out on the tee box. 

Scheffler would go on to make a bogey to fall back to +5 after another three-putt. He fared better on the third than Collin Morikawa did in the same group, as Morikawa chipped the ball off the front of the green after going long and made double to fall back to +3 for the tournament and his round. 

[Jun 13, 2025 at 10:40 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Jordan Spieth makes double on the 9th, in danger of missing the cut

Spieth looked to be in great form on Thursday, shooting an opening round 70 that had him in the top 20. However, Friday has not gone as smoothly for the 2015 U.S. Open champion, as he's struggled to find fairways in his first nine holes and has backed all the way up to 5 over as he makes the turn. 

After three bogeys in his first six holes, Spieth found the penalty area on the left off the 9th tee, took a drop in the rough, found the greenside bunker with his third and couldn't get up-and-down from there to save bogey, making a double bogey 6. That has him in 70th place as he makes the turn to the back nine at Oakmont, needing to at minimum stabilize his round if he's going to make the weekend. The cut line figures to grow as the day progresses, and will almost certainly not finish at +4 where it is now. But at +5, Spieth probably doesn't have much more margin for error to make the cut, which could get to 6 over by the end of the afternoon.