4 biggest surprises through 36 holes at the U.S. Open
The first U.S. Open ever at Los Angeles Country Club began with a bang under prime scoring conditions Thursday before continuing the high drama Friday as the course fought back.
There's plenty of star power near the top of the leaderboard, with Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Dustin Johnson featuring prominently.
Those players contending isn't much of a shock, but there are still several surprises from the action over the opening two days. Here are the four biggest.
Wyndham Clark in 2nd
Wyndham Clark has been one of the better players on the PGA TOUR this year, ranking 14th in scoring average and notching his first win at the Wells Fargo Championship in May. Despite the recent success, it's still fairly shocking to see Clark near the top of the leaderboard in a major given his track record in golf's biggest events. The 29-year-old has played in only six majors in his career, recording four missed cuts and zero finishes inside the top 70.
Another surprise with Clark's current standing is how he's gone about his business at LACC. He ranked first in the field Thursday in strokes gained: putting and fifth in the category Friday. Not bad for a guy sitting 49th on TOUR in putting this year.
Rickie Fowler's birdie count
The record for most birdies ever at a single U.S. Open is 22. It's probably a safe bet that Fowler will smash that record at this year's event at LACC. Fowler followed up his 10-birdie, record-setting round of 62 Thursday with another birdie binge Friday in more difficult conditions. He added eight more to his tally to give him 18 birdies for the week and a one-shot edge heading to the third round.
Rickie Fowler's 18 birdies this week would be the most - or tied for the most - birdies made across all 72 holes at the U.S. Open in 23 of the previous 30 years.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 17, 2023
Fowler making plenty of birdies is no surprise as he ranks 15th on TOUR this season in birdie average at 4.15 per round. Even with that background, Fowler averaging nine birdies per round through the opening two days at a U.S. Open layout is downright silly.
Justin Thomas beat 3 people
Thomas' struggles are undoubtedly the biggest surprise through 36 holes at LACC. The 15-time PGA TOUR winner beating only three players in the 156-man field, finishing at 14-over following an 81 Friday. That's the second-highest score anyone posted in 312 rounds over the opening two days of action.
While Thomas struggled in all aspects of the game at LACC, his driving was the main culprit behind his shocking performance. The 30-year-old ranked dead last in the field in strokes gained: off the tee by over half a shot to the next closest player.
It's been a rough year in the majors for Thomas. The two-time PGA champion missed the cut at Augusta and tied for 65th at Oak Hill in May.
Dustin Johnson shot even par ... with a quad
Dustin Johnson was brilliant for 17 holes Friday at LACC - a good thing for his chances considering the other hole was a trainwreck. After opening his round with a par on No. 1, Johnson carded a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 No. 2 to plummet back to 2-under for the championship. While that poor performance would cripple most golfers, Johnson again showed that his bounce-back ability is arguably the best in the sport, pouring in five birdies against a bogey to shoot even for the day.
Dustin Johnson is the only player in the last 30 years to make a quadruple bogey in a U.S. Open round and still shoot par or better.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 16, 2023
Despite the up-and-down round, Johnson is in the mix for the championship, just three shots back of the lead at 6-under.