Rose's Unreal Putting Day Good for U. S. Open Lead
Friday, June 14, 2019

    TV viewers will breath a sigh of relief after today's second round of the U. S. Open after having to sit through an interminable all-day affair from Pebble Beach in yesterday's first round. The first teams teed off before 7 a. m. Pacific time, and the last teams didn't finish until about 9 p. m. Eastern, 6 p. m. Pacific, including one of the marquee groups - Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth.

    When the smoke had cleared, Rose was all alone at the top at 6-under-par 65, after sinking what appeared to be a total of 500 feet of putts. The Englishman made them from everywhere, and three birdies at the end gave him a one-up lead over Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Louis Oosthuizen and Aaron Wise. To put Rose's round in perspective, he hit only seven fairways, then went on to hit just nine greens in regulation. 

    Among the others, Rory McIlroy is at 3 under, Brooks Koepka at 2 under, Tiger at 1 under and Phil Mickelson at 1 over 72. The 72 shooters are tied for 58th and go all the way down to 76th. There are 21 players tied for 77th.   

    Gator Billy Horschel and Seminole Daniel Berger are both in the group who shot 2-over 73. Rory Sabbatini shot 72 even with an ace on a shot that took two bounces and slammed off the pin and into the hole.  

    The course played easier on the first seven holes, with the players struggling to make birdies and keep from making bogeys and worse over the final 11. In many cases, it didn't work. The smaller greens proved to be trouble for most, with a great many seemingly good shots taking unwelcome bounces and winding up in bunkers or heavy rough around the greens, making it difficult to get it up and down. 

    The players switch early and late starting times today and it promises to be another long afternoon.  

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