Rickie Fowler maintained his lead Friday as Xander Schauffele fell to third after the second round of the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Fowler, a native of Murrieta, held a one-stroke lead over Wyndham Clark, with a 2-under 68. Clark bested him with a 3-under 67 as did Rory McIlroy, who moved into a tie for third with Schauffele.
The San Diego State alum, who along with Fowler posted 8-under 62s Thursday for the lowest scores in U.S. Open history, dropped after he shot an even-par 70. He suffered through three bogeys, but rebounded on the 17th and 18th holes with back-to-back birdies.
Schauffele and McIlroy, No. 3 in the World Golf Ranking, are two shots off the pace.
Fowler, 34, stayed hot, following his 10 birdies on Thursday with eight more on Friday, to break a U.S. Open record. His five PGA Tour wins include the 2015 Players Championship, but he also has experienced a prolonged slump.
“I really haven’t, I feel like, played to my capabilities yet, and knowing what I’ve been able to salvage and still get some solid finishes and putting myself in contention, I just feel like I’m getting older, so I’m more mature,” he said. “I do feel like I’m in a better position with my game now than I was back then.”
Charley Hoffman, another local – he graduated from Poway High – made a move Friday with his own own 3-under 67, to jump into a tie for 12, eight strokes back of Fowler.
As for the world’s top two golfers, Scottie Scheffler remained in the hunt and Jon Rahm struggled.
Scheffler sat in a tie for eighth with Sam Bennett, five strokes off the lead. Rahm barely made the cut, after enduring a 3-over 73 round on Friday.
Phil Mickelson fell just short of making the cut, along with Max Homa, winner of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January, and Jordan Spieth.
Fowler’s and Schauffele’s marks were far from Thursday’s only records.
Six players had shot 63 at the U.S. Open, most famously Johnny Miller in the final round of the 1973 Open to win the tournament by one stroke over John Schlee.
The most recent 63 came in the final round in 2018 by Tommy Fleetwood, who went from six strokes behind at the start of the round to finishing one stroke off the lead.
The 62s match the lowest score in a major championship, set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 British Open.
Fowler equaled his lowest round on the PGA Tour, which came in the second round of the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Schauffele’s previous best round in a major championship was a 65, which he has accomplished four times, most recently in the fourth round of the 2021 British Open.
The 71.38 stroke average was the lowest first-round scoring average in the 123 U.S. Opens, eclipsing the previous record of 72.29 at Baltusrol Golf Club in 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
It was the first time no player had shot 80 or higher in the in the first round of a U.S. Open.
The six players with rounds of 65 or better during one round of the U.S. Open was also a record. The previous record was four in the second round of the 2009 U.S. Open, played at Bethpage State Park.
– Staff and wire reports
