Little, wee Merion no flimsy pushover

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This article was published 15/06/2013 (4811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ARDMORE, Pa. — Phil Mickelson made his first birdie on his last putt. Billy Horschel never missed a green. It was all they could do to barely break par against Merion, which is turning out to be the real star of this U.S. Open.

Nearly half the field did not finish the second round when it was suspended by darkness. Moments after the horn sounded to stop play, Mickelson opted to finish his round and drilled a 20-foot birdie putt for a 2-over 72. That gave him a share of the clubhouse lead with Horschel, who made it as easy as possible by hitting every green in regulation for a 67.

They were at 1-under 139.

Even with the round not finished, it was becoming clear that this U.S. Open might be up for grabs until the very end. Tiger Woods, who grimaced with every shot out of the rough because of pain in his left elbow, was at 3-over 143 and still very much in the game.

“I don’t know how anyone is going to separate too far from the field,” Mickelson said.

“There might be a hot round tomorrow, and they might get a hot round on Sunday, but unlikely to be the same player.”

No one was hotter than Horschel, playing in his first U.S. Open since he was a 19-year-old in college.

Nothing is tougher than Merion, the little course in the tony suburbs of Philadelphia that even in rain-softened conditions is showing plenty of might. And to think there was chatter at the start of the week about the potential for the first 62 in major championship history.

“Perhaps next time you guys will believe when we say it’s really not that easy that it’s really not that easy,” Geoff Ogilvy said after a 70. That put him at 4-over 144, which gave him and dozens of others a legitimate shot going into the weekend.

Luke Donald (72), Justin Rose (69) and Steve Stricker (69) were at even-par 140.

The surprise were a pair of amateurs — Michael Kim of the University of California and Cheng-Tsung Pan of Taiwan. They were 2 under for their round and among those who didn’t finish.

Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., is 5-over through 10 holes. Weir’s round so far included a birdie, two bogeys, and a double-bogey.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., are well over the projected cut at 7-over. Both are 9-over par — Hughes through nine holes, and Hearn finished 10. Calgary’s Ryan Yip is 11-over for the tournament through 16 holes, and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., finished his second round at 16-over 157.

The long day, brought on by storm delays on Thursday, began with cool conditions and patches of light rain that eventually gave way to sunshine. That led players to wonder how much tougher Merion will be once it starts to dry out.

“It’s not as easy as people think,” defending champion Webb Simpson said after a 75 put him six shots behind the clubhouse lead.

“I heard 15, 16 under floating around. And it’s going to be a normal U.S. Open winning score, I think.”

Horschel hit all 18 greens in regulation, a stellar achievement at a regular tour event, let alone the U.S. Open. It sent USGA officials searching for hours to find the last time anyone failed to miss a green in the toughest test in golf. Records of that detail only go back as far as 1989. That last documentation of someone doing that was Johnny Miller when he closed with a 63 at Oakmont to win in 1973.

David Graham used his putter on every hole — three from the fringe — when he shot 67 to win the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion.

“I didn’t know I hit every green until I walked off 18,” Horschel said. “It’s a cool thing. But like I said, it’s not the first time I’ve hit all 18 greens. I’ve done it plenty of times in my career. Obviously, it’s at a U.S. Open, but I think the softness of the greens helped that.”

— The Associated Press