Rickie Fowler Takes Control at Halfway Point of US Open with Impressive Play

Rickie Fowler Leads the Pack at US Open, Chasing His First Major Title

The US Open is well underway and Rickie Fowler has taken a one-shot solo lead into the weekend after another strong performance at Los Angeles Country Club on Friday. He shot 68 in the second round to pull away from his compatriot Xander Schauffele.

After he and Schauffele broke the record for the lowest single-round score ever shot at a major on Thursday, an eight-under 62, Fowler equaled Martin Kaymer’s effort in 2014 by holding ten-under overall at halftime with Wyndham Clark just behind him.

Fowler’s performance was anything but smooth sailing – it was a rollercoaster ride that saw him shoot six bogeys including four across seven holes after turning. Despite this up-and-down nature of his game, he remains optimistic about challenging himself further and executing the best he can come Saturday.

The Rise of Wyndham Clark

American golfer Wyndham Clark has starred yet again to leapfrog tied-third place Schauffele into solo second place. After missing out twice previously, Clark seems comfortably on course to beat his best-ever major finish: a top-75 finish at last year’s PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy Keeps It Interesting

An electric finish from Rory McIlroy kept fans engaged as he finished three-under and headed into the weekend two shots behind leader Fowler along with Schauffele who trailed off with an even-par 70 in Round Two.

McIlroy was teetering dangerously above par before rattling off six birdies across his last nine holes. He keeps coming back despite experiencing ups and downs throughout his career since winning The US Open championship title back in 2011. Despite the nine-year wait, McIlroy remains resilient and optimistic about his chances of winning yet another major.

Defending Champion Matt Fitzpatrick

The defending champion of The US Open, Matt Fitzpatrick, made it a hat-trick earlier in the second round by hitting a hole-in-one at the tournament alongside France’s Matthieu Pavon and American Sam Burns. Unfortunately for Fitzpatrick though, he couldn’t keep up with his momentum and ended the day at one-over par overall after double bogeying two holes later.

Speaking to reporters post-round, he expressed frustration over not being able to get his driver going but remained hopeful that if he could find a way to do so come Saturday then there was still a chance of him bouncing back into contention.

American Harris English Holds Fifth Place

Harris English sits alone in fifth place at seven-under overall; one shot ahead of Australia’s Min Woo Lee and compatriot Dustin Johnson who managed to recover well from an early quadruple bogey on Hole Two before carding even-par for Round Two.