U.S. Open 2016: Live updates, scores, leaderboard, highlights and more from Oakmont

Welcome to the 116th edition of the U.S. Open, which started Thursday morning at Oakmont Country Club just outside Pittsburgh. It’s one of the hardest golf courses in the world, and Oakmont’s predictably proving to be a stiff test.

This is Oakmont’s record ninth time hosting American golf’s national championship. The USGA, the national governing golf body, last brought it there in 2007, when Angel Cabrera won his first major by a stroke, at plus-5. Ernie Els won there in 1994, and he’s one of three players in the field to be making his third U.S. Open start at Oakmont. (The others are Phil Mickelson and Pittsburgh-area native Jim Furyk.) Jeff Maggert played there in 1994 but not 2007.

There are 156 players on the course for the tournament’s first two rounds, the first of which is delayed overnight due to weather, in its third rain-induced stoppage already.

The USGA will cull the field down with a top-60 (and ties) cutline after the second round, which should help things move more quickly on a course that has a way of slowing golfers down even as it speeds up their putts.

World No. 2 Jordan Spieth is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the championship since Curtis Strange did it in 1989. Spieth beat Dustin Johnson by a stroke in last year’s event at Chambers Bay. In total, 12 of the 156 players are U.S. Open champions from past years, stretching back as far as Els in 1994 and 1997.

The course was founded just after the turn of the 20th century, by a designer who wanted to strike a hard balance between brutally difficult and unflinchingly fair. The course has some of the fastest and most sloping greens anywhere, which strain even the world’s most precise putters. Its rough is thick enough that players were complaining about it long before the first round teed off, and its deep fairway bunkers function as auto-bogeys for most players unfortunate to find themselves stuck here.

There are also some fun quirks. The Pennsylvania Turnpike literally runs through the middle of the grounds, and there’s nothing in golf exactly like the club’s famous Church Pews bunker between holes No. 3 and 4.

Due to three weather delays and an eventual postponement, nine of the 156 players in the field were able to complete their first rounds on Thursday. That has left a lot of golf to be played over the coming days, and they’re playing from sunrise to sunset, basically, on Friday.

Andrew Landry birdied his only hole of the day on Saturday to finish his round at 4-under, and he’s the leader as he waits for his second round. He’ll start that second round later on Friday, after an earlier tee time wave.

Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood ended their first rounds just a shot back of Landry, each at 3-under. Johnson played the only bogey-free round in the field, and he’s in great contending shape.

Only a quarter of the field managed to get through the second round on Friday and half the field is yet to even begin the round. Those who played found a course that was getting drier and faster as the day went on. Dustin Johnson managed to follow up a first round 67 with a second round 69. He sits tied for the lead at 4-under, but is through 36 holes, giving him the clubhouse lead.

First-round leader Andrew Landry stroked just one putt on Friday morning and then didn’t play the rest of the day, and he entered his second round on Saturday tied at 4-under with Dustin Johnson atop the leaderboard.

The field was eventually able to get through the second 18 on Saturday. The course continued to get faster and it proved to be a problem for several big names. Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose all missed the cut. Johnson held the 36-hole lead at 4-under, one shot ahead of Landry.

The third round began a little later than usual on Saturday and was forced to roll into Sunday after play was again suspended due to darkness before the field was able to catch up. The field did make up considerable ground, however, with all but the last few groups completing their rounds.

Dustin Johnson held the lead heading into the round, but Shane Lowry took his place at the end of the night. Lowry played 3-under on the round through 14 holes, improving to 5-under for the tournament. That was good for a two shot lead heading into Sunday morning ahead of Andrew Landry. Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are all in contention at 2-under chasing their first major championship.

Jason Day and Branden Grace carded the rounds of the day, both shooting 66. Day sits at 1-over heading into the final round while Grace is 1-under and in good position.

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