BROOKLINE, Mass. — Of the New England contingent at the 122nd U.S. Open, only Woodstock, Vt.-native Keegan Bradley will be around for the weekend after turning in an up-and-down 1-under-par 69 and is at 1 under for the tournament in an eight-way tie for 16th place.
He was 6 under on a stretch from Nos. 7-14, erasing a 3-over start that included a double bogey at the short fifth. The difficult closing stretch included bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16.
Worcester-born Scott Stallings finished at 6 over following a 72.
Holden’s Fran Quinn, the oldest player in the field at 57, opened with a double bogey and finished at 13 over for the tournament.
Amateur Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley had four birdies on the front side (his final nine) to finish at 1-under 69 for the day and 6 over for the two days.
Bird house
Three-under 67 was the lowest round of the morning wave between Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Brooks Koepka. While Koepka and Scheffler were playing together and each made an eagle 3 at the 14th, Scheffler and Burns are sharing a house this week.
“I am a little upset he’s beat me by one. But yeah, it’s cool to see him playing well,” said Burns, who is 2 under for the first 36 holes. “Obviously, he’s had a fantastic year, and it’s kind of motivated me to try to play a little bit better and try to keep up with him.”
Barnes had six birdies on the day against a bogey and a double bogey at the 10th, which was the hardest hole on the back nine.
Fitzpatrick finds length
Matt Fitzpatrick has some history at The Country Club, where, in 2013, he became the first English winner of the U.S. Amateur since Harold Hilton in 1911.
He’s playing well again at this course, and he’s doing it in an unusual style, often outdriving his playing partner, Dustin Johnson.
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound Fitzpatrick (2 under through two rounds) is averaging 309 yards per drive, equal to that of the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Johnson (1 over).
“I’ll be honest, before the round when I saw I was playing with D.J., part of me was thinking, ‘don’t try and go after it when D.J. hits,’ ” Fitzpatrick said. “Like, don’t try and keep up, because I know I’ve got some extra length.
“Hitting the drives I hit this week so far and seeing where he’s hit his has been quite eye-opening for me. It’s great for me to give me more confidence going into the rest of the year, rest of the next five years. It’s keep doing what I’m doing, and it’s paying off.
“I’ve just got to try and hopefully just take more advantage of it. If now on paper I’m hitting it past DJ, you look at the success he’s had, if I can emulate that, then I’ll be a very happy man.”
Ace too late
Cameron Young was understandably frustrated on Friday. The New York native was seen as a dark horse contender after finishing tied for third at the PGA Championship last month and coming back to the Northeast, where he learned the game from his father, David, the longtime pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, a little north of New York City.
With five holes to play, he stood at 9 over. He birdied the short fifth hole, and then recorded the first hole-in-one of the tournament, using an 8-iron at No. 6, which played 165 yards from a forward tee.
“I’ve been hitting it right all week, so I flipped an 8-iron, and kind of went straight at it, and by some miracle it went in,” said Young, who was 8 over when he stepped to the tee.
His run didn’t end there as he birdied both Nos. 7 and 8 to get to 4 over. He was in the fairway and tried to give himself a chance to extend his stay.
“Knowing I had to make birdie, I kind of pulled the 9-iron and didn’t make it.”
Amateurs sticking around
Fifteen amateurs started the week in the U.S. Open, four survived the cut of 3-over 143.
Travis Vick, who just helped Texas to the NCAA national championship turned in a 69 and is 1 under overall. Austin Greaser was at 2 over while Sam Bennett and reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad made the cut on the number.
Take cover
The wind was up on Friday morning compared to 24 hours earlier, and for the pairing of Justin Thomas, Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland it resulted in plenty of scrambling. The trio hit just 16 of 42 fairways (38 percent) and were a combined 11-over-par for the day — with Thomas and Finau at 72 for the day and a 77 for Hovland.
Of the high-profile group, only Thomas made the cut as Finau finished 5 over and Hovland 7 over. The reigning PGA Championship winner, Thomas stands at 1 over.
Go deep
Among the people checking out the action at The Country Club was former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
By the numbers
The Country Club played about a half stroke easier on Friday than it did in the opening round, with the scoring average dropping from 72.768 to 72.138.
The par-3 second hole played the hardest at 3.484 while the par-5 eighth was once again the easiest at 4.598.
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Staff reporters Jason Mastrodonato and Karen Guregian contributed to this report.
