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U.S. Open: Key storylines at the turn

Jay Busbee
Senior writer

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — We wouldn’t call Pebble Beach on Friday a difficult course, exactly, but it was a touch more rugged than Thursday. Still, if you didn’t make your move Friday, others were, none more so than our new leader and owner of the prettiest scorecard of the day ...

Now leading the U.S. Open … Gary Woodland?

If you’re not a golf aficionado, chances are you haven’t heard of Gary Woodland. Which is fine; he probably hasn’t heard of you either. Woodland is one of those reliable Tour players who wins a tournament every couple years and shows up at the top of the leaderboard early in majors, so he’s right on schedule. Worth noting: he’s carded top-8 finishes in two of his last three majors — and he faced down a tough Pebble Beach with a sterling -6 round Friday — so it’s highly possible he’s rounding into championship-winning form.

It’s Justin time

Justin Rose, leader after Day 1, has done nothing particularly well this U.S. Open. He’s ranked in the middle of the pack in Greens In Regulation, driving distance, and strokes gained everywhere from tee to cup. So why is he still at the top of the leaderboard? Because while he’s doing nothing really well, he’s doing nothing poorly, either. Slow and steady is working for Rose, at least for the moment.

Moving everywhere, going nowhere

Louis Oosthuizen had one of the most ridiculous cards you’ll ever see at a major. After the 4th hole, he carded exactly one par, going (deep breath): bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey-par-bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie for a net gain of ... zero strokes. Good thing he was already in a strong position, -5 on the week; he ended up at -6 and three strokes back of Woodland.

Come on, golf gods, let Phil have one

You know the book on Phil Mickelson: needs only the U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam. He’s come in second an astounding six different times, and Pebble Beach might just represent the last chance he can outthink, rather than overpower, a U.S. Open course. Phil gave it a hell of a run Friday, carding six birdies against four bogeys and briefly dipping as low as -4, three strokes off the lead. He was canning long birdies like it was 2004, and he was also getting himself into messes in the rough like it was ... well, every single year for Phil. He’s got a long way to go and a lot of players ahead of him ... but come on, golf gods, throw ol’ Phil a bone.

Koepka lurkin’

Brooks Koepka has won the last two U.S. Opens, and if you think he’s anywhere close to out of this one ... you really shouldn’t be. Koepka has carded double Gronks — that would be 69-69 — and now sits five strokes off Woodland’s lead. Last year at the PGA Championship, Woodland was two strokes clear of Koepka after three days — and ended up losing to Koepka by three strokes. Just saying.

Swing and a miss

Ian Poulter had a rough afternoon at Pebble Beach. At +4, he headed home early, but we’ll always have the memory of Ian in lavender and pink. No matter how hard we want to forget it.

The U.S. Open rolls on Saturday, continuing into prime time on the East Coast. It’s going to be a fine weekend for golf.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.