Dustin Johnson shot 3-under-par 67 and followed with a 69 in a marathon 36-hole day to tie Andrew Landry for the lead in the rain-delayed 116th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.
Landry hit only one shot all day, holing a 10-foot birdie putt to complete a 66 and will play his second round Saturday morning before the cut is made to 60 players plus ties, and tournament officials try to get back on track with the third round.
“Fortunately, I came and played last Tuesday, the week before, and it had rained really hard Monday night, so I got to play it with it really soft,” said Johnson, who tied for second in the U.S. Open last year at Chambers Bay when he three-putted the final green with a chance to win.
“It was a long day today, but I felt like I played really solid all day for all 36 holes. I drove it really well. Hit a lot of great iron shots. Felt like I rolled the putter really nicely too. So very pleased with how it went today.”
Said Landry: “I think the U.S. Open just suits my game so well that I’m just able to manage these things, because I’m not a guy that’s going to go out and shoot 60 and 61 and 62. I’m just a consistent guy that’s going to shoot 68 and make a lot of pars.”
Lee Westwood birdied the last two holes of a first-round 69 and was one stroke back in solo third, while Sergio Garcia of Spain followed an opening 68 with a 70 and was another shot behind in a tie for fourth with Scott Piercy, who also shot 68-70 in the first two rounds, and Shane Lowry of Ireland, who had three birdies on the back nine of an opening 68.
Daniel Summerhays birdied five of seven holes through No. 17 in a second-round 65 and was three strokes back in a tie for seventh with Andy Sullivan of England, who had a second-round 68, and Jim Furyk (71), who was 1-under after 17 holes of round two, amateur Scottie Scheffler, Bubba Watson, Danny Lee of New Zealand and Kevin Streelman, who all had opening 69s.
Adam Scott of Australia was at even par for the tournament and tied for 14th after an opening 71 and 17 holes of round two, while Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson and U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau were tied for 21st after opening 71s.
Defending champion and second-ranked Jordan Spieth opened with a 71 and was in a tie for 29th that included Brendan Steele of Idyllwild and UC Riverside, who started 71-71.
Top-ranked Jason Day of Australia opened with a 76 and was right on the cut-line in a tie for 56th at 5-over after playing the first 17 holes of round two in 1-under, while Phil Mickelson (74) was 3-over in round two for 16 holes and in a tie for 93rd that included third-ranked Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 77.
