Surveying the 2025 U.S. Open After (Nearly) 36 Holes

The second round of the 2025 U.S. Open was suspended at 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday night due to lightning in the area.

Through a nearly complete 36 holes of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, high-profile talent lurks in the shadows, but the top of the leaderboard isn’t what many people would describe as star-studded. Sam Burns (22nd in the world) leads J.J. Spaun (25th in the world) by a shot, two players with a collective six PGA Tour wins and one top 10 in major championships. Viktor Hovland, Ben Griffin, and Russell Henley are the only top-15 players in the world within five shots of the lead, though five-time major champion Brooks Koepka also sits five back and within striking distance. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay, Joaquin Niemann, Tommy Fleetwood, and Sepp Straka will all experience this weekend’s U.S. Open from the comfort of their homes.

Sometimes a top player has a bad week. Sometimes a group of top players has a bad week. And sometimes the combination of mega-thick rough with diabolical, firm, lightning-fast greens and small landing areas injects championship-derailing variance. In simpler terms, when effective landing areas play smaller than the scale of the current game, solid shots will inevitably wind up in hairy locations.

Oakmont’s setup this week may produce the carnage for which many fans clamor, but it also hands out punishment somewhat indiscriminately.

Viktor Hovland danced around saying as much in his post-round comments on Friday:

“When the fairways are getting firmer and there's some slopes in the fairways, it's almost a little bit too much … No. 9, No. 12 and then No. 15, they're getting a little bit dicey. You almost have to be all the way up in the left corner to maybe have it stop on the fairway.”

He also talked about how you can score if you’re getting favorable bounces before adding, “But you're just not very far off before you're making a bogey or a double bogey, and that can happen multiple holes in a row.”

For those who are concerned about a potential Sunday battle between unfamiliar faces, it’s too early to worry. Anything can happen in a major championship, especially at Oakmont. But if the chief concern was producing a leaderboard that allows the best players in the world to distinguish themselves, the golf course wouldn’t be set up like this.

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A Frustrated World No. 1  

Sitting seven shots back at T-23, Scottie Scheffler’s championship isn’t off to a dream start. Nonetheless, he’s grinded his way into holding on to a chance of winning. Outside of the unpredictability a setup like this welcomes, Scheffler’s biggest obstacle to contending on Sunday appears to be discomfort with the state of his golf swing.

Well after finishing his Friday round, in which he posted a 1-over 71 that gained 3.7 strokes on the field, the top-ranked player in the world toiled away on the range. As he pounded away at range balls in search of his swing, he grew visibly frustrated, gesticulating and throwing up his arms as long-time swing coach Randy Smith attempted to guide him back onto the rails.

Through two days, Scheffler has gained just 0.28 strokes per round on approach (62nd in the field), a fine number but one that is well below the best iron player in the world’s standards.

Scheffler could very well soar up the leaderboard Saturday afternoon and change the entire complexion of the championship. My guess, though, is that the combination of the setup and Scheffler’s lack of conviction over the ball will prevent him from mounting the type of charge we’re conditioned to expect from the three-time major winner and current best player in the world.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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