Sam Burns is a one shot leader from fellow American JJ Spaun while a raft of golfing heavyweights floundered in the second round of the U.S Open at the beastly Oakmont Country Club.
While defending champion Bryson DeChambeau led the exodus of big names to miss the halfway cut, Sam Burns fired the low round of the championship, a brilliant five-under 65 to snare the clubhouse lead at three under.
JJ Spaun is one shot back after following up his opening round 66 with a 72 on Friday (Saturday AEST).
Seeking his maiden major, Norwegian super talent Viktor Hovland is the only other player above Australian Adam Scott (even) on the leaderboard and one of only three players in red numbers at one under after posting a second-round 70.
Burns, who shot a final-round 62 on Sunday at the Canadian Open before losing in a play-off, also started his second round on the back nine and birdied 11, 13, 17 and 18.
He responded to his lone bogey at the first hole by putting his approach at the next hole to about six feet.
American world No.1 Scottie Scheffler had five bogeys and four birdies in his 71 to be left at four over, alongside countryman Collin Morikawa (71) and fellow dual major winner Jon Rahm, who exploded after shooting a 75.
The second-round spoiler left the superstar Spaniard seven shots adrift of Burns.
"Honestly, I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think about any perspective," Rahm said.
"Very few rounds of golf I played in my life where I think I hit good putts and they didn't sniff the hole, so it's frustrating."
Masters champion Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole in a round of 72 to be six under and just inside the cut line.
Australian Marc Leishman, who had begun promisingly with a 71, suffered in his second round with a 75 that included a double-bogey six at the ninth hole to also hover at six over.
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of 14 LIV Golf players in the field, started his day two shots off the pace but dropped back after a 74 that featured eight bogeys.
After out-duelling McIlroy down the stretch to reign last year at Pinehurst, DeChambeau won't feature on the weekend after slumping to 10 over with a second-round 77.
At nine-over following rounds of 77 and 72, Australian Min Woo Lee was also sent packing, along with dual major winner Justin Thomas, 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson, fellow former world No.1 Justin Rose, LIV Golf dominator Joaquin Niemann and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg.
Incredibly, Johnson and Niemann were among some 60 players to finish at 10-over or worse, with American George Duangmanee racking up a +35 total with horror rounds of 86 and 89.
With agencies
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