2014 U.S. Open: Live scores, leaderboard updates and more from Friday’s second round at Pinehurst

It should come as no surprise, but Martin Kaymer is a heavy favorite to win the 114th U.S. Open. The German machine is now 1/2 to win his second major championship, sitting on a six-shot 36-hole lead at Pinehurst No. 2.

That margin matches Rory McIlroy (2011) and Tiger Woods (2000) for the largest lead at this point in a U.S. Open. His two-day total of 130 after back-to-back rounds of 65 is the lowest mark in U.S. Open history, edging that masterpiece by McIlroy at Congressional by a shot. It’s hard to see Kaymer regressing back to the field at this point, and it’s even harder to see anyone chasing him down. If the USGA makes conditions much tougher, as is their wont, that should actually be better for Kaymer. After winning The Players a month ago, we knew we’d hear more from Kaymer again ... just not this soon and in not such a convincing manner.

Martin Kaymer turned in a record-setting first two rounds at the U.S. Open, setting the Pinehurst course record for low round in a U.S. Open and setting the 36-hole U.S. Open record in the process. At 10-under, he holds a six-stroke lead heading into the weekend. Now, the question is can he continue to roll along all the way to the second major championship of his career.

He’ll be the focus on moving day at Pinehurst with the rest of the field chasing. Kaymer played in the morning wave on Friday, but as the 36-hole leader will be the last player to tee off on Saturday. He will be joined in the final pairing by Brendon Todd, who is 4-under. It’s been hard to find a flaw in Kaymer’s form thus far. He’s hit the ball well off the tee, is among the leaders in greens in regulation and has just one bogey in 36 holes. Leading a U.S. Open on the weekend can add pressure, but Kaymer is an accomplished player and has excelled on the weekend in big tournaments before.

Martin Kaymer hits the midpoint of the U.S. Open with the lowest score in the 114-year history of America’s national championship. Kaymer backed up that startling opening round 65 with another round of 65 on Friday to get to 10-under. He’s the first player ever -- in any of the major championships -- to start with those two dazzling numbers.

Kaymer held an eight-shot margin on the field for most of the day, but Brendon Todd “closed” it to six shots with a round of 67 in the afternoon draw. That matches the largest 36-hole lead in the U.S. Open, joining Rory McIlroy (2011) and Tiger Woods (2000). He’s just the sixth player to reach double-digits at the U.S. Open, at any point, whether it’s 36 or 72 holes.

Bubba Watson called the crowned Pinehurst No. 2 greens “unfriendly” heading into the U.S. Open and it turns out the entire course wasn’t too kind to the defending Masters champion. At 6-over, Watson finished on the wrong side of the 5-over cut line and is one of the notable names not sticking around for the weekend. Jason Dufner, Hunter Mahan and Luke Donald also missed the cut.

Watson got off to a rough start on Thursday and was never able to recover. He carded five bogeys and a double bogey on his way to an opening round 76. He played better on Friday, shooting an even-par 70, but it wasn’t good enough to make up the ground. Watson bogeyed three of four holes before making the turn, a costly stretch. He never appeared to be overly comfortable with the course setup and struggled to hit fairways.

The USGA’s switch from traditional U.S. Open broadcast partners ESPN and NBC has been well-publicized by now. Next year, all of their championships will move to FOX for the first year of a 12-year deal for about $1.2 billion total. The negotiations and how the final decision was made, and announced, to go with FOX were widely panned over several months last year.

Friday afternoon was ESPN’s last broadcast, with NBC taking over full-time on the weekend. The network has had an association with the national championship for more than 30 years now, and Chris Berman offered a farewell statement as the broadcast came to a close.

The second round of the U.S. Open is coming to a close with the afternoon wave heading into the final few holes of their rounds. While players have been able to find red numbers here and there, no one has been able to string together enough birdies to threaten Martin Kaymer at 10-under. Brendon Todd is currently the closest, six back at 4-under.

Todd continues to play solid golf as he has for much of the season. He’s avoided issue thus far in the second round, playing bogey free golf while carding three birdies. Todd is one of five players at 3-under or better. Jordan Spieth and Brandt Snedeker are both 3-under, joined in a tie for third place by Kevin Na. Snedeker shot a 2-under 68 in the second round. He’s now carded 10 birdies through 36-holes and would be much closer to Kaymer on the leaderboard if not for a pair of double bogeys at No. 11. For a comparison, Kaymer has 11 birdies through 36 holes, but has avoided the trouble holes that have plagued Snedeker at times.

Phil Mickelson hasn’t putted very well during the first two rounds of the U.S. Open. He opened the tournament using a claw putting grip only to ditch that after 18 holes and roll with a traditional grip in the second round. Nothing he has tried has worked, but even when he appears to hit a solid putt, he isn’t catching many breaks. Like at No. 14 when his putt lipped out despite being halfway down.

Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.

Fortunately for the field at the U.S. Open, the USGA does not have a 10-shot rule in place at its most prestigious championship. Martin Kaymer has run away from everyone, playing a different course, it seems, en route to back-to-back rounds of 65 and a 10-under score at the midpoint. It’s the first time -- ever -- at any major championship that someone has opened with those two scores. The closest score to Kaymer is 3-under, and the group 10 shots off the pace is in a tie for 15th (!) place.

With no 10-shot rule in place, the USGA simply takes the top 60 and ties from the starting 156-man field. Right now, the projected cut line is 5-over, meaning all those at 6-over and higher will be packing their bags on Friday night. That includes some of the favorites at the start of the week and some of the biggest names in the sport. Perhaps the top player who will be jetting off Friday night is Bubba Watson, who will miss the cut at the U.S. Open shortly after winning a green jacket for the second time.

Pinehurst No. 2 is playing slightly easier on Friday than it did on Thursday, but the improved scoring conditions haven’t helped the field chase down Martin Kaymer. Although a few players in the afternoon are in the red for the day, no one has approached Kaymer’s round of 65. With the final groups of the day approaching the turn, Kaymer still holds a seven-shot lead.

Kaymer sits alone at 10-under with five players currently tied for second place at 3-under. That group includes Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar, both of which are 2-under on the day. Kuchar is in the midst of another solid round with a pair of birdies and no bogeys. A day after carding six birdies, three bogeys and a double, Brandt Snedeker has settled down some. He’s birdied four holes with his only dropped shots coming on a double bogey on No. 11. The 11th hole has been a tough one for Snedeker this week, playing it 4-over through two rounds. Kevin Na was briefly alone in second at 4-under before giving a shot back.

“You can’t imagine yourself doing something colossally as stupid as that, but I did it,” Wood told reporters after Mahan shot a 2-over 72 that included a double-bogey six on the par-4 18th hole, thanks to the mistake on the fairway. “I won’t forgive myself very soon after this.”

Wood tried to explain the head-scratcher that had Mahan and Donaldson, who had pretty much played himself out of the tournament with a triple-bogey six on the previous hole, swinging at the wrong balls.

The Nethlerlands just got done whopping Spain in the World Cup, but take heart Spanish fans, one of your heroes is providing the afternoon entertainment at the U.S. Open. Miguel Angel Jimenez, the most interesting man in golf, pulled off an impressive hole-out eagle from a Pinehurst sand trap. The shot was great, but we all edged up to see how he would commemorate and celebrate this fine turn of events. He opted to go with a Chi-Chi Rodriguez move, sheathing his weapon for the adoring crowd.

It was less than a week out that the Mechanic celebrated a hole-out eagle by dancing in the fairway over in Austria, and this was a suitable encore.

Martin Kaymer has been a good player for years now. He is a major champion. He has been No. 1 in the world. But I am not sure anyone really saw this performance coming. After shooting a record-setting 65 yesterday, Kaymer backed it up by doing the exact same thing today. It appears as if everyone will be playing for second behind Kaymer this weekend. The field will need to play lights out and hope Kaymer slips up.

One of the guys chasing Kaymer is the sentimental favorite and six-time U.S. Open runner-up, Phil Mickelson.

This isn’t the Lefty highlight you were expecting to see, but Scott Langley used all of the cup to drain this birdie on the 8th hole at Pinehurst. We’ve seen several shots bang off the flagstick the past two days, but this one caught a fortunate backstop.

He’d make a birdie on the next hole as well to get to 1-under, one shot off the lead of the B group (everyone not including Martin Kaymer, who’s in eight shots clear at 10-under).

Ryan Moore began his second round of the U.S. Open at 6-over, on the wrong side of the projected cut line. He didn’t waste any time making up ground and positioning himself for the weekend. Sinking a birdie putt at No. 3 helped, but Moore bypassed the flatstick on No. 5, chipping in from the fairway for an eagle.

One hop and in is certainly one way to avoid issue on the crowned Pinehurst greens. No. 5 yielded five eagles during the first round, but Moore’s chip in for eagle was the first of the day at the hole on Friday. He’s now 3-under through five.

The afternoon wave is beginning to make its way around Pinehurst in the second round and while everyone has a lot of ground to make up to catch Martin Kaymer, a few top players will need solid second rounds just to make the weekend. The cut currently sits at 4-over, which puts a number of notable names in danger of an early exit.

Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan are among the players left to sit and wait. All three players are 6-over through 36 holes and likely on the wrong side of the cut line. That could change, however, if the afternoon wave struggles and the cut line rises. Just nine players from the morning wave managed to post an under-par round, possibly leading to the cut line rising throughout the afternoon. The top 60 players and ties will make the weekend.

Sergio Garcia is often a punching bag at the major championships, and those folks were treated to a nice little moment of schadenfreude during his second round of the U.S. Open. Garcia’s tee ball went wandering off into some of those “native sandy areas” we’ve been hearing about all week at Pinehurst. You can either get by with a basic hardpan lie, or you can get screwed and have your ball land in or against some junk (we saw Ken Duke make an outrageous par after getting an obscene lie earlier on Friday).

Unfortunately for El Nino, his ball settled in the area of a sizable clump of wiregrass that didn’t make things any easier off the waste area. But he still went right after it, playing what looked to be an attempted cut shot from right to left.

No player had ever shot a round of 65 in a U.S. Open at Pinehurst before Thursday. Now, Martin Kaymer has done it twice. He followed an opening round 65 with another 65 on Friday to drop to 10-under and open an eight-shot lead.

While many have struggled to avoid the trouble Pinehurst No. 2 presents, Kaymer has had no such issues. He’s dropped only a single shot through 36 holes to go along with 11 birdies. He turned in a clean card in the second round with five birdies and 13 pars. That isn’t to say Kaymer played perfectly, he ran into some issues around the green but continually responded with an up-and-down. Kaymer was steady on the greens once again, calmly rolling in several par putts. Kaymer’s back-to-back 65s allowed him to make a little U.S. Open history. His 130 score through 36 holes is the lowest 36-hole total in U.S. Open history, breaking Rory McIlroy’s record of 131 from 2011.

Although there is still a lot of golf to play, the 2014 U.S. Open is shaping up to be Martin Kaymer and the field. The 29-year-old has followed up a strong first round with an equally strong second round and currently leads by eight strokes.

Kaymer shot a 5-under 65 on Thursday, the best round ever shot in a U.S. Open at Pinehurst. He may break his own record less than 24 hours later as he is 5-under through 14 holes. If he picks up another stroke or two along the way, he could come in at 64 or better. Kaymer is once again putting himself in good position to excel. He’s avoiding issue and taming the challenging greens. He’s yet to drop a shot in the second round and has carded just one bogey through 32 holes.

A U.S. Open is never easy, and the challenge this week is largely up around and on the “turtleback” Donald Ross designed greens at Pinehurst No. 2. A good short game was hailed as the most important aspect of a player’s arsenal at this Open, with chipping and wedge shots at a premium as approaches fall and roll off those greens and into collection areas.

That didn’t bode well for the ridiculously talented Dustin Johnson, who should be America’s top young player and challenged to the wire on Sunday at multiple majors in the past. Johnson can bomb it off the tee, is pretty solid with his irons, and doesn’t have too bad a putting stroke. But he’s pretty shaky with wedges in his hand, pulling off delicate shots around the green. He should be a regular on the first page of the leaderboard at majors, and should have a couple major wins in the future, but this week was might be tough.

This is the definition of putting your golf ball on a string.

Kevin Stadler hit the shot of the day so far during the second round of the U.S. Open, holing out from about 85 yards on the short par-4 13th. It’s a hole that’s only 383 yards, an incredibly short par-4 for the pros.

Hunter Mahan and Jamie Donaldson made rookie mistakes that are a rare occurrence even for most amateur games. And it’s a double error that could cost either or both players tee times over the weekend. Approaching the 18th green (their ninth hole of the day), each hit the other’s ball up towards the green, resulting in a two-stroke penalty for each.

“You certainly don’t see it too often at this level,” Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of rules, said on ESPN as the two golfers made their way back down the fairway to try again. “But if you play a ball other than your ball, it’s a two-stroke penalty in stroke play and you have to go back and correct [it].”

Martin Kaymer is running away with the U.S. Open on Friday afternoon, cruising with a six-shot lead in the second round at Pinehurst. Paul Azinger is impressed, and for a moment, it seemed the broadcast was taking a NSFW turn.

Settle down, Paul.

We’ve used this twice now on Jason Dufner, who at one point held a share of the lead on Thursday afternoon.

He’s now in a tie for 58th place and in danger of missing the cut.

We are back for another day of U.S. Open action at Pinehurst Number 2. Some overnight rain has softened the course and so far, the leaders from yesterday are taking advantage of the more receptive greens and favorable scoring conditions.

Martin Kaymer - After shooting the lowest score ever, a 65, during a U.S. Open at Pinehurst Number 2, many wondered what Martin Kaymer would do for an encore. Well, the 29 year-old German has kept it rolling this morning. Kaymer made birdie on his opening hole, the par-5 10th. He then added another birdie on the 13th hole, draining a 25-foot putt. And then poured in another at the 16th hole.

So we’ve been hammered over the head all week with terms like “wire grass” and “native sandy areas” to describe all the waste and junk that run alongside and around the fairways at Pinehurst. It’s a totally different look for a U.S. Open, this Coore/Crenshaw restoration back to the original Donald Ross layout in the Sandhills. There’s no rough, but just a bunch of hardpan and then big clumps of stuff so it’s kind of a crapshoot -- your ball could find an nice spot, or it could nestle up against some “native grasses” and put you in jail.

Ken Duke didn’t hit an awful shot or send his ball off the fairway, but he did get one of the worst bounces and lies this week. HIs shot rolled off the front of the green and up against one of those huge clumps.