Even though he finished with a double bogey 6 on his final hole minutes ago, Rory McIlroy is head and shoulders ahead of the best players in the world half way through round two at this 111th version of the US Open at a very difficult Congressional CC, just outside Washington DC..
His US Open record setting 36 hole score of -11, 131 is currently 8 better than anyone else in the field and 1 better than the former 36 hole record held by Ricky Barnes (132 ,2009 Bethpage Black) ( see list of records posted after leaderboard)
Former PGA Tour pro and veteran broadcaster Frank Nobilo echoed my sentiments after listening to Rory's post round interview yesterday when he was asked to describe his opening -6 65... " I hit 3 wood, 8 iron to about 6 feet on 12 ( 12 is a 471 yd brute), then 3 wood, sandwedge to 10 feet at 17 ( a mere 456yds )..
Unbelievable... He is toying with one of the toughest courses in US Open history, and while the afternoon flight is just going out, he can only beat himself now, and that is what will make the weekend must viewing for me, to see if he can hold his nerve this time, after his collapse from similar positions at the Open Championship at St Andrews last year and again at the Masters earlier this year when he shot 80 on Sunday to blow a 4 shot lead.
Top 10 leaderboard ( for a complete Scoreboard and to see Rory's scorecard click on PGA Tour on the right side of this post)
1 - Rory McIlroy -11 F -5 65 66 - - 131
2 - Y.E. Yang -3 1 E 68 - - - 68
T3 7 Robert Garrigus -2 F -1 70 70 - - 140
T3 1 Sergio Garcia -2 F E 69 71 - - 140
T3 19 Zach Johnson -2 F -2 71 69 - - 140
T3 7 Brandt Snedeker -2 F -1 70 70 - - 140
T3 1 Ryan Palmer -2 2:19 pm ET* - 69 - - - 69
T8 4 Kyung-tae Kim -1 F +1 69 72 - - 141
T8 2 Alvaro Quiros -1 F E 70 71 - - 141
T8 2 Robert Rock -1 F E 70 71 - - 141
T8 14 Heath Slocum -1 3 -1 71 - - - 71
T8 4 Louis Oosthuizen -1 1* +1 69 - - - 69
T8 2 Johan Edfors -1 1* E 70 - - - 70
T8 2 Henrik Stenson -1 1* E 70 - - - 70
T8 2 Davis Love III -1 1:57 pm ET* - 70 - - - 70
List of Rory records set thus far courtesy pgatour.com
>> His 11-under 131 sets the record for the best score after 36 holes in the 111-year history of the U.S. Open. The previous record was 132, set by Ricky Barnes in 2009 at Bethpage Black.
>> At 11 under, he’s also the lowest in relation to par after two rounds Barnes and Tiger Woods (2000) were 8 under through 36 holes.
>> After making birdie at the 17th hole, McIlroy moved to 13 under for the tournament. That breaks the record held by Woods and Gil Morgan for the lowest score ever at any point in U.S. Open history.
>> Became the fifth player to reach double-digits under par in U.S. Open history. Besides Woods, Morgan and Barnes, Jim Furyk did the trick in 2003.
>> Became the fastest player to reach double digits under par at the U.S. Open when he got to 10 under through his first 26 holes.
>> Became the fourth player since 1992 to suffer just one bogey-or-worse hole through the first 36 holes, and the first during that span to play his first 35 holes at the U.S. Open without a bogey (McIlroy suffered a double bogey on his final hole Friday). Ricky Barnes (2009), Phil Mickelson (2004) and Stephen Leaney (2003) also recorded just one bogey through their first 36 holes; each of the three posted their bogey in the first round.
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
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