Sam Burns is playing free at Oakmont's treacherous course. It's put him atop the US Open leaderboard going into the weekend
Sam Burns came into Friday knowing that he could play at Oakmont. He also knew what the course could do to him, having finished with three bogeys and one double bogey during Thursday's opening round.
Burns chose not to dwell on how his round ended and instead focused on the five birdies that came earlier.
'I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes,' he said to reporters after his round Friday. 'So, I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together. I feel like I've been playing well coming off last week and into this week and my round yesterday. Really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can.'
What came on Friday might be the round of his life.
On this most difficult of courses – only three players are under par after 36 holes – Burns shot a 5-under 65 that left him in sole control of the US Open halfway through the tournament. It's the first time he's had at least a share of the lead at this point in a major championship and was just two shots shy of the course record 63, set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 edition of this tournament.
Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour but has only finished in the top 10 at a major once – at last year's US Open at Pinehurst. He's known as one of the best putters on the tour but is coming off a week where his putter failed him at a critical moment.
On the first playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open last week, Burns had a five-foot putt to win the tournament. Instead, his ball hit the lip of the cup and rimmed out; on the second playoff hole he three-putted and would finish in second.
This week, there has been no sign of a hangover.
'I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have,' Burns said Friday of playing Oakmont. 'I think for this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.'
The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub Burns will start Saturday with a share of the lead and will have the eyes of the many spectators at Oakmont on him, a stark contrast to Friday when the biggest crowds only paused to watch his shots when Scottie Scheffler's group was passing by a nearby hole.
Scheffler and Burns are good friends and often travel together on tour, but it's the No. 1-ranked Texan who is usually in the spotlight.
Such was Burns' play on Friday that Scheffler was answering questions about his buddy after his round was over.
He plays golf very freely, and he's got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,' Scheffler said, 'and a lot of it is just very reactionary. He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it, it's as simple as that.'
That's the lesson that Burns learned at Pinehurst No. 2 last year when he finished tied for ninth. It's counterintuitive, especially on such a big stage, but Burns said his whole mindset is based on allowing Oakmont to be the beast that it is.
He told reporters he had no real goals for a score he'd like to shoot. He wasn't obsessing over the putts that didn't go in because he felt like doing so would be greedy. And, as one of the players in the tournament without a major championship to his name, the most important thing was taking the pressure off.
'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times. Sos trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me,' Burns said.
Oakmont has so far rewarded the players who take a patient approach with it. It has a way of humbling players who try to impose their will on this monster of a track.
Take Thriston Lawrence for example. The South African started Friday with a par and then three straight birdies. Playing with confidence, he let his driver hunt after that, going for the big drives that he likes to hit and playing aggressively as he played himself into a three-stroke lead.
Oakmont rewarded that confidence with three straight bogeys. Then another. Then two more. Then a double bogey. And when he was about to finish up his round, the skies opened up and USGA officials suspended play for the night, much to his chagrin.
This course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, isn't rewarding many players this week – let alone forgiving their mistakes. Burns' short game, and willingness to take what he gets, is helping him get to the top.
'Look, this golf course is very tough and you're going to get the ball out of position and you're going to get in some spots that are tricky. I think being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important,' he said.
The question now coming into the weekend is how long will Burns stay atop the leaderboard. He's put himself in historically good position – 11 of the last 12 US Open champions were in the top five after the first two rounds.
He's sanguine about it all.
'It's a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it's 1-under, you'll take it,' he said, adding, 'I'm looking forward to the weekend.'
His friend Scheffler hinted there might be a bit more fire underneath that calm exterior.
'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' Scheffler said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again.
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