The Californian Ricky Fowler demonstrated this Friday with two strokes under par that his exceptional return on Thursday was not a coincidence and he establishes himself as a great candidate to win the United States Open. The Spanish Jon Rahm, for his part, suffered a lot and closed with the accumulated 2 that marked the cut.
It seemed very difficult to repeat a card of 62 as he did the day before, but Fowler returned to play under par with 68 shots this Friday. He was enough to lead the general in Los Angeles (USA) with -10 and put some distance before the two main pursuers of him, Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy, both with three under par in the second day.
The Northern Irishman deserves a separate mention because he finished his tour on Friday with six birdies on the last nine holes. McIlroy demonstrates his good form and his intention to repeat the title that he already lifted in the 2011 edition.
Xander Schauffele completed his run on Friday with par for the field, but Thursday’s -8 keeps him among the strong candidates. The second part of the course was complicated by three consecutive ‘bogeys’ between thirteen and fifteen.
It was not a good second day in Los Angeles for Rahm after closing Friday with a card of 73 strokes, three over par on the course. The one from Barrika is in position number 49 in the table and very far from the candidates for the title.
The Spaniard suffered to make the cut, again choking on bogeys on holes twelve and seventeen, as on Thursday. To this he added four more on four, seven, eleven and eighteen.
Very far from what his day promised, which he started with an eagle on the first hole, a very long putt from outside the green that went directly to raise the ovation of those present.
Rahm brushed birdie on the last hole, hitting the flag, which would have been a great end to a fateful day, but he ended it with a bogey after missing the last putt. It was the sixth of the day for him and with this shot on Friday he ended up 12 shots behind the leader for the man from Barrika.
His compatriot Sergio García closed these first two days with 1. After the par on the course on Thursday, he could not play under par on Friday. It was an irregular day for him, combining three ‘birdies’ with four ‘bogeys’ that, however, allowed him to meet the first objective of making the cut.
Despite this, the man from Borriol feels that he has golf for more than just qualifying for the weekend in the Californian city. “Apart from a couple of holes where I had a little slump, I think I’ve been fine. It is difficult in fields like these to do few. I have tried until I had no more energy left. I am happy to make the cut but disappointed because I notice that I am playing for much more but he does not want the thing, “García told the media.
The Spanish David Puig, in his debut in a ‘major’, also managed to make the cut with a card similar to that of Rahm and 2 overall.
Only the Mexican Abraham Ancer, the Colombian Sebastián Muñoz (both with 2) and the Chilean Joaquín Niemann with the pair of the field, qualified for Saturday and Sunday among the Latinos.
The cut was marked at 2 and left out three US Open champions like the American Jordan Spieth (3), the British Justin Rose (4) and the German Martin Kaymer (6). Other illustrious names such as Phil Mickelson, Max Homa and Justin Thomas will not play with them this weekend either.
