Rickie Fowler leads the way, first-time major winners in contention, the course strikes back and more from Friday at the 2023 U.S. Open

LOS ANGELES — When co-leader Rickie Fowler birdied his opening three holes on Friday, it seemed as if we were in for another getable day at the 2023 U.S. Open.

But during the afternoon at Los Angeles Country Club, the sun came out, the winds picked up and brought the scores with it. On Thursday, 55 players were even par or better. That number dropped to 41 on Friday, with an average score of 72.22, 0.84 more than Thursday’s record low of 71.38.

A handful of would-be first-time major champs are near the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes in Beverly Hills. Fowler strung together another solid round at 2-under 68 and sits alone in the lead at 10 under, one shot clear of Wyndham Clark (67). Sitting T-3 at 8 under are Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, with Harris English rounding out the top five at 7 under.

From Fowler’s peaks and valleys round to a lacking atmosphere and notable names on their way home, here’s what you missed from a busy Friday at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Rickie Fowler

Eight birdies. Six bogeys. Four pars. Rickie Fowler had himself a colorful, circle and square-filled scorecard in the second round.

The 34-year-old started out like he finished on Thursday and added three birdies right out the gate before a heat-check bogey threw some water on his hot start. He then sandwiched a pair of birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 around a bogey on the 299-yard par-3 seventh before he caught some carnage on the back nine.

“The birdies are out there if you put yourself in the right position,” said Fowler, who called the course a solid test, “but as you can see, bogeys are very easy to make.”

Fowler bogeyed three of his opening four holes on the second nine but had another birdie and bogey sandwich with circles on Nos. 15 and 17 and a square on No. 16. A par on the 18th sealed the deal on the 68 and gave Fowler a one-shot advantage leading into Moving Day.

“I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good in a tournament, let alone a major,” said Fowler. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Fowler was open and honest with the media after his round talking about his past struggles and what got him to this point.

“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 explained. “I do feel like I’m in a better position with my game now than I was back then.”

“I have a better understanding of everything,” he elaborated. “I know more about my swing, myself, my mental approach, and I would say having a family now and a great support group around us, I just feel like I have a lot more going for me than I did then.”

A little perspective can go a long way.

Course conditions

There was a strong fan reaction to the opening round which saw the lowest ever scoring average for a Thursday at the U.S. Open (71.38) and the pair of record-setting 62s shot by both Fowler and Schauffele.

There’s a difference between a getable course and an easy course. LACC is far from easy, but with tame conditions, it’s getable if you find the fairway and dial in an approach. On Friday you could still score, but the course fought back a bit.

“They played most of the tees back, which make it’s harder. The pin placements were pretty good. I mean, what I like is they haven’t tricked anything up yet,” said Charley Hoffman (67), noting how the USGA didn’t make the course difficult for difficulty’s sake. “They have good pin placements, and if you’re in position you can attack. If you’re not, you are sort of trying to make par.”

“I mean, I think fans enjoy watching us struggle, but they also enjoy watching us make birdies and hit the ball close,” he added. “So I think this golf course has been extremely fair so far and I assume they’re going to push it a little bit more on the weekend.”

Count reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith as a fan of the set up.

“I think I just — I think I just love the turf, the way it runs out. I think it will start to play firmer and faster as the weekend goes on,” said Smith (67), who sits in 10th at 4 under. “But yeah, hopefully this place gets really baked out and we can have some fun out there.”

Unlike Smith, put fellow LIV player and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka in the camp of those who aren’t a fan of LACC.

“I’m not a huge fan of this place. I just think that there’s a — I’m not a huge fan of blind tee shots, and then I think there’s just some spots that no matter what you hit, the ball just ends up in the same spot,” Koepka explained. “I think it would be more fun to play on just like a regular round than it would be a U.S. Open. I mean, there’s, what, two 8s yesterday. That doesn’t happen.”

Lacking atmosphere

Defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick made the third ace of the week early in the second round and didn’t know it. Part of that is due to the fact that it was a somewhat-blind shot given the rough blocks the view of the hole. The other part was the fact that the atmosphere so far this week has left something to be desired.

“Yeah, I wish it would have been louder. I wish it was a few more people,” said Fitzpatrick of the moment. “But, yeah, I’m surprised there’s not been as many people out as I thought this week.”

When the defending champion is complaining about the lack of atmosphere at a major championship, that’s a problem.

“I mean, the crowds aren’t as big out there,” Harris English agreed. “A couple tee shots and a couple greens there’s really nobody around because the fans can’t get around a whole lot.”

There are pros and cons to holding a U.S. Open at a place like LACC. Pro: it’s an incredible, exclusive venue with scenery that fans never get to witness during a major championship. Con: the members have the majority of the tickets and the course is incredibly difficult for fans not in hospitality suites to maneuver.

On Friday the course shifted gears and started to play more like a traditional U.S. Open venue. The atmosphere, however, was stuck in neutral.

Sam Bennett

“I’m just ball-striking this course to death.”

Sam Bennett has a level of confidence that most can only wish for. The kid’s self belief is off the charts, and he has got the game to back it up. The Texas A&M product won the 2022 U.S. Amateur and in his first-ever Masters appearance this spring, he made the cut and finished T-16 as the low amateur.

“My goal? I don’t know. I didn’t really have a goal. I mean, to win,” Bennett said on Friday when asked of his expectations coming into the week. “I put myself in a situation, I find myself in a good spot going into the weekend, then I’m really excited to tee it up tomorrow.”

In his first-ever major appearance at last year’s U.S. Open, the Madisonville, Texas, native made the cut and finished T-49. After 36 holes at LACC, Bennett is T-8 at 5 under and in position for another stellar finish. He just might be the real deal.

Big names and big scores

The top of the leaderboard sets up well for what should be a fun weekend. Speaking of the weekend, a few notable names won’t be teeing it up again at LACC, including a pair of early week and fan favorites.

Justin Thomas finished T-153 (that’s not a typo) at an abysmal 14 over thanks to an 11-over 81 (also not a typo) on Friday. Then there’s SoCal kid Max Homa, the conductor of the hype train that derailed with a 4-over 76 in the second round thanks to consecutive double bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek