41st U.S. Senior Open Home | Tickets

What Happened

For Furyk, the presence of fans at this championship is a very welcome sight.

“We came back in July or June [last year], whenever it was, and I played the entire year on the PGA Tour without really seeing a fan,” said Furyk, 51, a native of West Chester, Pa. “You miss the excitement. You miss the buzz. I hear theories out there that it affects the way certain people play. I don’t know. I feel like I have a job to do and I’m excited to play and nervous either way when I’m competing. But it sure is nice to have the fans back out cheering for us.”

A plethora of players – 10 to be exact – stand at even-par 140, including two with 10-stroke differentials between Rounds 1 and 2: Andrade (65-75) and Greg Kraft (75-65). Also among the group are 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples (69-71) and Jay Haas (69-71), who at 67 is the oldest player in the field. For Kraft, positioning was the key to his dramatic turnaround on Friday.

“I actually played not that bad yesterday, but I was on the wrong side of the hole all day,” said Kraft, 57, whose best finish in three previous U.S. Senior Opens is a tie for 48th at Scioto Country Club in 2016. “I had nine putts that were very makeable birdie putts, but they were all defensive putts. Today I got it under the hole, which made a big difference.”

2018 champion David Toms had a roller-coaster day before finishing 36 holes at 1-over 141, in another sizable pack of 12 players that includes 2015 champion Jeff Maggert, 2016 champion Gene Sauers, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and past major winners Mark O’Meara and Mike Weir. Toms opened with a double bogey on No. 10, the toughest hole on the course by far on Friday with a 4.83 stroke average, then reeled off five birdies in his next eight holes. A 4-over 39 on the front nine dropped him from the top three on the leader board into the current logjam of players tied for 14th place.

A total of 67 players – including five past champions and four amateurs – made the 36-hole cut, which fell at 7-over 147.

What’s Next

Inclement weather is expected for Saturday, and Round 3 tee times were moved up. The first tee times off both Holes 1 and 10 are scheduled for 10:15 a.m. CDT, with the leaders scheduled to start at 12:10 p.m. CDT. The round will be broadcast live on NBC’s Peacock from 3-4 p.m. EDT and on Golf Channel from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. EDT. 

Notable

• Greg Kraft opened with 75 and followed it up with a round of 65 to join those tied for fourth place. Only one player in U.S. Senior Open history has opened with a round of 75 or higher and gone on to win: Hale Irwin in 1998 (77).
  
  
• In taking his first-ever 36-hole lead or co-lead in a 50-and-older event, Jim Furyk (64) beat the field scoring average by 11.12 strokes. When he shot a record-low 58 in a PGA Tour event, he beat the field by 10.65 strokes.
  
  
• Thirty-four amateurs started the championship, the highest total since 35 in 2012, and four made the cut, led by Todd White at 3-over-par 143, in a tie for 31st place. That total is the most to make the cut since six amateurs did so (out of 29) in 2008.
  
  
• Two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Kenny Perry – who won the 2013 championship at Omaha – shot 71-78 to miss the cut by two strokes. Four other past champions – Roger Chapman (2012), Olin Browne (2011), Fred Funk (2009) and Brad Bryant (2007) – also missed the cut.

Quotable

“If I learned anything watching Phil, it was his demeanor. He seemed to be very focused and very single-minded when he was out there. Each shot was like his last shot, and I think, if anything that I learned, it was that. Just take it one at a time.” – Jay Haas, on whether he drew any inspiration from Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship win at age 50

“I thought the golf course played very, very tricky with the wind today. I’m disappointed in the score. I felt like I played better than 75, and I’m still in it. So just go prepare for tomorrow and go out and hit some drives in the fairway and see if we can make a few birdies.” – Billy Andrade, after shooting 75 in Round 2

“That’s the first time I can remember that happened to me in at least 10 years. I’m not saying it would be that unusual, but I haven’t had that happen. You end up in divots a lot, but not against a divot.” – Jim Furyk, who managed to hit the green from the 14th fairway despite having a loose divot resting against his ball

“I think the biggest thing playing in the number of USGA events is the patience that it’s taught me. Look, I bogeyed the first hole out of the gate today, which is a 500-yard par 4. You understand, hey, there’s 17 more opportunities out there. Don’t press. Stay the course, stay steady, which as you well know, the setups call for that.” – Todd White, an amateur from Spartanburg, S.C., who shot 71-72 to make the 36-hole cut in his first U.S. Senior Open and his 30th USGA championship

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