Yesterday’s leaders of the afternoon swing struggle in the morning

The best players of the afternoon swing in the first round of the U.S. Open struggled mightily in their second rounds at Oakmont. 

During the afternoon swing yesterday, five players had an under-par round — all five of them are now over-par. Each of the players shot a combined score of 28 over par in their second round of action on Friday morning. 

The stars of the morning swing were Sam Burns and Viktor Hovland, both of whom had hot starts. The former earned a 4-under-par 31 front nine — the same score J.J. Spaun had on his front nine yesterday — and the latter carded a 3-under-par 32 front nine. 

Burns finished his day with the best score at Oakmont this year — 5-under-par 65. Hovland had an up-and-down back nine and ended his day with a 2-under-par 68.

“Look, it’s a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it’s 1-under, you’ll take it,” Burns said of his round. 

“It just feels like you have to play absolutely perfect and have some good breaks going your way, as well,” Hovaland said of Burns round. “But it’s definitely doable.”

The American, Burns, sits at 3-under-par and tied for second heading into the weekend, and the Norwegian, Hovland, sits at 1-under-par and tied for fifth.

Shot of the morning: 

It was a pretty tame early morning on Friday, with the longest hole outs made from just alongside the green, until Victor Perez nailed a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole from 192 yards out with his seven iron. 

Perez’s hole-in-one was the second ever in the U.S. Open at Oakmont in history and the first ever on the sixth hole at Oakmont. Back in 1983, Scott Simpson converted a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole. 

The Frenchman’s hole-in-one was much-needed, as he tripled bogeyed on his third hole of the day much earlier in the round. Thanks to his shot on the sixth hole, Perez had an even-par round and is 1-over-par, good for T-9 heading into the weekend. 

Best shot around the greens

Viktor Hovland’s eagle on the par-4 17th hole was one of the more impressive and clutch shots around the green all day. 

Hovland hit his drive long, was in the rough and just short of the bunker. He got his club onto the ball — which was deep into the grass — and holed it for an eagle that brought him to T-2. Without his hole-out eagle, Hovland would sit at 1-over-par rather than 1-under-par

The Norwegian has four top-tens in his career at Major Championships, including a solo second-place in the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, but he has yet to get over the hump. The chip-in eagle and five other birdies he had on the brutal Oakmont course make it look possible.