American golfer Rickie Fowler took sole lead at the US Open after the second round on Friday in Los Angeles (California), where the Spanish Jon Rahm went through serious problems and was close to missing the cut.
Fowler, number 45 in the world ranking, was one of the last players to enter the LA Country Club field. The Californian had marveled the day before, achieving the best round in the event’s 123-year history with 62 shots (eight under par), a mark that, astonishingly, was equaled minutes later by his compatriot Xander Schauffele.
Before returning to the field on Friday, both were passed by fellow American Wyndham Clark, but Fowler managed to finish the second day back in the lead at this Grand Slam tournament.
Hunting for his first trophy in four years, Fowler signed a crazy second round, with eight birdies and six bogeys, for a total of 68 shots (-2) and an accumulated 130 (-10) that equals the best result in the first 36 holes of the event’s history.
“I didn’t actually watch anything (from the tournament) this morning. I just hung out with my wife, my parents, some family time,” Fowler explained.
The American will start the decisive weekend with only one shot advantage over Clark, and two over former world number one Rory McIlroy and Schauffele himself, who could not keep up on Friday and finished in 70 shots (par).
The American Dustin Johnson, member of the Saudi LIV Golf circuit and winner of the tournament in 2016, was also placed among the applicants. Johnson took sixth place after a second round of 70 strokes (par) and an accumulated 134 (-6), one ahead of Scottie Scheffler, number one in the world ranking.
Juan Sebastián Muñoz managed to make the cut
After a first day with very bulky scores, those responsible for the third Grand Slam of the year toughened the conditions at the LA Country Club.
One of the players who paid the most for the new atmosphere on the field, where the cloudy sky finally gave way to a warm sun, was the Spanish Jon Rahm, the world number two.
The winner of the last Augusta Masters, who had stayed par on Thursday, continued in this vein in the first part of the course on Friday but fell apart in the second, with four bogeys and no birdies in the last nine holes. The result was a card of 73 shots, three over par, which left him with a cumulative 142 (+3) in 49th place, right on the cutoff limit.
Rahm’s anger, which opened his ‘Majors’ showcase with a win at the 2021 US Open, increased as the round progressed until he threw his club onto the grass after one of his inaccurate shots.
The Latin American player in the best position is the Chilean Joaquín Niemann, located in 30th place with an accumulated score of 140 (even). The Mexican Abraham Ancer and the Colombian Juan Sebastián Muñoz also surpassed the cut, both with 142 strokes (+2) in place 49, while the Chilean Mito Pereira, the Colombian Nico Echavarría and the Argentine Emiliano Grillo were eliminated.
Muñoz put his stay in the tournament at risk with a bad round (74 shots, four over par, and two bogeys in the last three holes), but the 68 on the first day was enough to keep him in the competition.
For his part, Echavarría, in his first US Open, was left out by a blow. This Friday he delivered a card of 71 shots, one over par, which was not enough to lift the 72 on Thursday.
SPORTS
with AFP
More sports news
#Rickie #Fowler #continues #set #records #Open #Juan #Sebastián #Muñoz #cut