Rose clubhouse leader at Open with 2nd-round 70

3:03 pm | June 14, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

6:51 PM ET

  • ESPN News Services

No record this time, but Justin Rose still has the lead at the U.S. Open after finishing the second round on Friday.

Rose shot 1-under 70 to reach the halfway point at Pebble Beach at 7 under — good for a one-shot lead over Louis Oosthuizen, who teed off Friday afternoon. Oosthuizen birdied No. 1 to get within one shot of the lead.

Rose’s 70 pairs with the 65 he shot Thursday, a first-round result that matched Tiger Woods in 2000 for the best score at an Open played in Pebble Beach, California.

“There’s a long way to go,” Rose said Friday. “And yet I couldn’t [help] think — here and St. Andrews [Golf Club] would probably be the two most iconic places to lift a bit of silver. I couldn’t think of anything better. But if you don’t mind, I’m just going to wait a couple of days.”

The Englishman, who won the U.S. Open in 2013 and is ranked fourth in the world, saved bogey after losing his tee shot off the cliff to the right of the No. 4 fairway. He saved par from a gnarly lie in the rough to the side of the eighth green.

He played alongside Tiger Woods, who closed with two straight bogeys — his only two of the day — and shot 72 to finish at even par.

Two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka shot his second straight 69 to finish 4 under.

Francesco Molinari‘s momentum came to a halt when his second shot on No. 8 failed to clear the chasm between the fairway and the green.

After stepping gingerly down the slope to find the ball in an unplayable lie, Molinari took a ride in a golf cart back to the fairway to drop for a penalty shot.

The defending British Open champion made double-bogey and fell back to 3-under par after a stretch of three birdies in eight holes had put him in a tie for second at Pebble Beach.

The day’s lowest round thus far belongs to Jim Furyk, who shot 67 to reach 2 under. The 49-year-old Furyk is the 2003 U.S. Open champion and was captain of the Ryder Cup team last year.

Another 49-year-old, Phil Mickelson, plays in the afternoon. He’ll start the day at 1 over, the current cut line. The top 60 players and ties will move on for the weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Powered by WPeMatico