Sam Burns fired himself into US Open contention at the halfway point after taming Oakmont.
The 2023 Ryder Cup player carded a brilliant five-under-par 65 to move to three-under and become the clubhouse leader after the morning wave of second rounds.
He was one shot behind overnight leader JJ Spaun, who began his round at lunchtime on Friday.
The brutal Oakmont course, with punishing rough and treacherous greens, has chewed up and spat out some of the world’s best players so far, but Burns was able to thrive.
Starting at two over after Thursday’s opening round, he produced a blemish-free 31 with four birdies to make the turn at two under.
He dropped a shot at the first hole, his 10th of the day, but recovered with birdies at the second and fourth before draining a 22-foot putt to save par.
World number one Scott Scheffler is back at four-over after a 71, which consisted of four birdies and five bogeys and may be one of the better rounds of the day.
Brooks Koepka was sitting at two under overnight but dropped down to two over after a difficult second nine holes saw him hit five bogeys.
Jon Rahm was another player who endured a torrid time, especially on the greens, as he tumbled down the leaderboard after a five-over-par 75.
“Honestly, I’m too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective,” the Spaniard said.
“Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn’t sniff the hole, so it’s frustrating.”
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Indeed, the terrifying course in Pennsylvania was playing even tougher on Friday, with just two of the players who have completed two rounds sitting under par.
Norway’s Victor Hovland joins Burns in the red after he carded a two-under-par 68 to sit one under overall.
Hovland was at three under with four holes to play but two dropped shots, at the sixth and eighth holes, proved costly.
