US Open Wrap: Rickie Fowler hits 18 birdies in two days, McIlroy two behind lead – SCORES

Fowler’s 18 birdies over the first two days are the most in championship history and kept him in pole position to claim a first major title.

The Editorial Team|June 17, 2023

Categories: DP World Tour, PGA Tour, The Majors, US Open

Rory McIlroy vowed he would never give up seeking more major titles after heading into the third round of the 123rd US Open just two shots off the lead.

McIlroy covered his last nine holes in five under par to card a second round of 67 at Los Angeles Country Club, where Rickie Fowler set the pace after a rollercoaster 68.

Fowler, whose opening 62 equalled the lowest score in any men’s major, made eight birdies, six bogeys and just four pars to post a 10-under-par halfway total of 130, equalling the lowest in a US Open set by Martin Kaymer in 2014.

Fowler’s 18 birdies over the first two days are also the most in championship history and kept the 34-year-old in pole position to claim a first major title.

Cementing his name in @USOpenGolf history.@RickieFowler is on a tear at LACC. pic.twitter.com/qLmfisUIiV

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 17, 2023

McIlroy, who is seeking his fifth and a first since the US PGA Championship in August 2014, said: “No-one wants me to win another major more than I do.

“The desire is obviously there. I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years and I keep coming back.

“I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, whether I get rewarded or punched in the gut I’ll always keep coming back.”

Quote of the day

“What are you doing?”@RickieFowler says 🤷‍♂️

The solo leader is having some fun with it @USOpenGolf.pic.twitter.com/vru5omEM9y

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2023

Rickie Fowler responds to a fan’s query of ‘What are you doing?’ with a shrug, despite three-putting the seventh.

Shot of the day

Come for the ace, stay for the reaction 😄@MattFitz94 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/cUqF64a4bW

— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 16, 2023

Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick did not see it go one, but definitely DID make the third hole-in-one of the week on the short 15th.

Round of the day

It’s a fantastic round 2 of 65 (-5)!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

So many positives to take from today, made so many great par saves to keep the momentum going aswell! 6 birdies and 1 bogey, currently sits at T5 for the tournement and 3 shots back as it stands 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼✅⛳️⛳️🔥#USOpen pic.twitter.com/ejNmtI1pmv

— Min Woo Lee Tracker (@trackingminwoo) June 16, 2023

Australia’s Min Woo Lee carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in a second round of 65.

Statistic of the day

Rickie Fowler’s 8 bogeys this week are the most by an outright 36-hole leader at the U.S. Open since Graeme McDowell also had 8 in 2010.

McDowell entered the weekend -3. Fowler is -10.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 17, 2023

Halfway leader Rickie Fowler’s mistakes have been offset by a record 18 birdies over the first 36 holes.

Easiest hole

The reachable par-four sixth hole played to an average of 3.670 as 68 of the 156-man field made birdie, although evidence suggested it was better to play the hole conventionally rather than attempt to drive the green.

Hardest hole

The easiest hole was immediately followed by the hardest as the 299-yard, par-three seventh played to an average of 3.510. Just seven players made birdie and 13 made a double bogey.

Weather forecast

Fog could greet the early starters on Saturday, but mostly sunny skies should take over before lunchtime with temperatures climbing well into the 70s. That will cause southwest winds to pick up to possible highs of 18mph.

Key tee times (all BST)

2307 Sam Bennett, Min Woo Lee
2318 Dustin Johnson, Harrish English
2329 Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy
2340 Wyndham Clark, Rickie Fowler

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	STROKES
1	Rickie Fowler	-10	62	68	130
2	Wyndham Clark	-9	64	67	131
T3	Rory McIlroy	-8	65	67	132
T3	Xander Schauffele	-8	62	70	132
5	Harris English	-7	67	66	133
T6	Dustin Johnson	-6	64	70	134
T6	Min Woo Lee	-6	69	65	134
T8	Sam Bennett	-5	67	68	135
T8	Scottie Scheffler	-5	67	68	135
10	Cameron Smith	-4	69	67	136
11	Tony Finau	-3	68	69	137
T12	Charley Hoffman	-2	71	67	138
T12	Brian Harman	-2	65	73	138
T12	Justin Suh	-2	69	69	138
T12	Ryutaro Nagano	-2	71	67	138
T12	Dylan Wu	-2	68	70	138
T12	Gary Woodland	-2	70	68	138
T12	Denny McCarthy	-2	71	67	138
T19	Nick Hardy	-1	70	69	139
T19	Romain Langasque	-1	71	68	139
T19	Eric Cole	-1	69	70	139
T19	Andrew Putnam	-1	68	71	139
T19	Austin Eckroat	-1	71	68	139
T19	Sam Burns	-1	69	70	139
T19	Keith Mitchell	-1	68	71	139
T19	Ryan Gerard	-1	69	70	139
T19	Bryson DeChambeau	-1	67	72	139
T19	Si Woo Kim	-1	67	72	139
T19	Viktor Hovland	-1	69	70	139
T30	Joaquin Niemann	Par	68	72	140
T30	Sahith Theegala	Par	74	66	140
T30	Billy Horschel	Par	73	67	140
T30	Brooks Koepka	Par	71	69	140
T30	Mackenzie Hughes	Par	67	73	140
T30	Yuto Katsuragawa	Par	69	71	140
T30	Patrick Rodgers	Par	71	69	140
T30	Gordon Sargent(a)	Par	69	71	140
T30	Collin Morikawa	Par	71	69	140
T39	Tom Kim	+1	73	68	141
T39	Matt Fitzpatrick	+1	71	70	141
T39	Hideki Matsuyama	+1	72	69	141
T39	Jacob Solomon	+1	68	73	141
T39	Jordan Smith	+1	70	71	141
T39	Adam Svensson	+1	71	70	141
T39	Kevin Streelman	+1	72	69	141
T39	Tyrrell Hatton	+1	74	67	141
T39	Sergio Garcia	+1	70	71	141
T39	Patrick Reed	+1	72	69	141
T49	Sam Stevens	+2	75	67	142
T49	Maxwell Moldovan(a)	+2	71	71	142
T49	Aldrich Potgieter(a)	+2	70	72	142
T49	Abraham Ancer	+2	70	72	142
T49	Padraig Harrington	+2	73	69	142
T49	Cameron Young	+2	72	70	142
T49	Russell Henley	+2	71	71	142
T49	Patrick Cantlay	+2	71	71	142
T49	Ben Carr(a)	+2	70	72	142
T49	Sebastián Muñoz	+2	68	74	142
T49	David Puig	+2	69	73	142
T49	Ryo Ishikawa	+2	69	73	142
T49	Shane Lowry	+2	72	70	142
T49	Tommy Fleetwood	+2	73	69	142
T49	Jon Rahm	+2	69	73	142
T49	Adam Hadwin	+2	70	72	142
T49	Ryan Fox	+2	68	74	142
CUT	Nico Echavarria	+3	72	71	143
CUT	Vincent Norrman	+3	70	73	143
CUT	Thriston Lawrence	+3	70	73	143
CUT	Phil Mickelson	+3	69	74	143
CUT	Adrian Meronk	+3	70	73	143
CUT	Mito Pereira	+3	71	72	143
CUT	Alex Noren	+3	68	75	143
CUT	Jordan Spieth	+3	72	71	143
CUT	Davis Thompson	+3	72	71	143
CUT	Taylor Moore	+3	71	72	143
CUT	Patrick Cover	+3	70	73	143
CUT	Paul Barjon	+3	67	76	143
CUT	Kyle Mueller	+3	76	67	143
CUT	Andy Svoboda	+3	70	73	143
CUT	Simon Forsström	+4	71	73	144
CUT	Adam Schenk	+4	75	69	144
CUT	Chris Kirk	+4	71	73	144
CUT	Nick Taylor	+4	72	72	144
CUT	J.J. Grey	+4	71	73	144
CUT	Thomas Pieters	+4	71	73	144
CUT	Tom Hoge	+4	72	72	144
CUT	Sepp Straka	+4	70	74	144
CUT	Justin Rose	+4	76	68	144
CUT	Corey Conners	+4	70	74	144
CUT	Max Homa	+4	68	76	144
CUT	Seamus Power	+4	72	72	144
CUT	Ross Fisher	+5	73	72	145
CUT	Taylor Pendrith	+5	72	73	145
CUT	Wilco Nienaber	+5	75	70	145
CUT	Emiliano Grillo	+5	74	71	145
CUT	Kurt Kitayama	+5	75	70	145
CUT	Austen Truslow	+5	72	73	145
CUT	Deon Germishuys	+5	72	73	145
CUT	Scott Stallings	+5	71	74	145
CUT	Lucas Herbert	+5	70	75	145
CUT	Roger Sloan	+5	72	73	145
CUT	Francesco Molinari	+5	72	73	145
CUT	J.T. Poston	+5	74	71	145
CUT	Adam Scott	+5	73	72	145
CUT	Stewart Cink	+5	70	75	145
CUT	Mac Meissner	+5	70	75	145
CUT	Barclay Brown(a)	+5	71	74	145
CUT	Brent Grant	+6	72	74	146
CUT	Luke List	+6	75	71	146
CUT	Keegan Bradley	+6	72	74	146
CUT	Taylor Montgomery	+6	71	75	146
CUT	Preston Summerhays(a)	+6	73	73	146
CUT	Sungjae Im	+6	71	75	146
CUT	Matt Kuchar	+6	72	74	146
CUT	Martin Kaymer	+6	73	73	146
CUT	Michael Thorbjornsen(a)	+6	74	72	146
CUT	Jordan Gumberg	+6	72	74	146
CUT	Bastien Amat(a)	+6	73	73	146
CUT	Alejandro Del Rey	+7	68	79	147
CUT	David Nyfjall	+7	73	74	147
CUT	Olin Browne Jr.	+7	75	72	147
CUT	Corey Pereira	+7	71	76	147
CUT	Michael Kim	+7	74	73	147
CUT	Jens Dantorp	+7	74	73	147
CUT	Ryan Armour	+7	74	73	147
CUT	Gunn Charoenkul	+7	73	74	147
CUT	Jesse Schutte	+7	72	75	147
CUT	Nick Dunlap(a)	+8	77	71	148
CUT	Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira(a)	+8	74	74	148
CUT	Pablo Larrazabal	+8	71	77	148
CUT	K.H. Lee	+8	73	75	148
CUT	Paul Haley II	+9	73	76	149
CUT	Carlos Ortiz	+9	76	73	149
CUT	Karl Vilips(a)	+9	74	75	149
CUT	Christian Cavaliere(a)	+9	72	77	149
CUT	Omar Morales(a)	+9	71	78	149
CUT	Wenyi Ding(a)	+9	72	77	149
CUT	Michael Brennan(a)	+9	74	75	149
CUT	Matthieu Pavon	+9	71	78	149
CUT	Jason Day	+9	73	76	149
CUT	Berry Henson	+10	74	76	150
CUT	Carson Young	+10	74	76	150
CUT	Aaron Wise	+10	79	71	150
CUT	Victor Perez	+11	76	75	151
CUT	Cam Davis	+11	72	79	151
CUT	Frankie Capan III	+11	78	73	151
CUT	Alex Schaake	+11	77	74	151
CUT	Hayden Buckley	+11	77	74	151
CUT	Matthew McClean(a)	+11	73	78	151
CUT	Joel Dahmen	+12	74	78	152
CUT	Alexander Yang(a)	+13	79	74	153
CUT	Isaac Simmons(a)	+14	77	77	154
CUT	Justin Thomas	+14	73	81	154
CUT	David Horsey	+16	77	79	156
CUT	Brendan Valdes(a)	+16	78	78	156
CUT	Hank Lebioda	+20	77	83	160

The Editorial Team

The editorial team at Golf Today strives to provide readers with captivating content that celebrates the rich heritage and exciting developments in the world of golf. Their collective expertise and dedication ensure that Golf Today remains a premier destination for golf enthusiasts seeking the latest news, insightful analysis, and engaging stories from the world of golf.

Updated: November 29, 2023