LOS ANGELES — Rickie Fowler picked up exactly where he left off on Friday afternoon.
After setting a tournament record 8-under 62 with Xander Schauffele on Thursday, Fowler scored three birdies on his first three holes of round two at the Los Angeles Country Club. It was at this stretch that he passed Wyndham Clark, who briefly took the solo lead after an impressive second lap in the morning wave of the US Open.
Despite having a very unstable round — Fowler made eight birdies and six bogeys — he finished the game on 2-under 68. That put Fowler at 10-under for the week, a shot ahead of Clark and the rest of the field.
Rory McIlroy is in third place with 8-under thanks to a solid finish that included four birdies in his last five holes. Xander Schauffele equalized him there with a late birdie on Friday night. Harris English is fifth with 7-under and Dustin Johnson leads a group with 6-under. Former Masters breakout star and former US amateur champion Sam Bennett also made the top 10.
The cut was set at 2-overs, knocking out big names like Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Max Homa and Justin Thomas – who managed a tough 11-over on Friday.
Keep up with all of Friday’s action with Yahoo Sports:
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele set a US Open record with their 62s in the opening round on Thursday. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)