2016 U.S. Open leaderboard: Dustin Johnson holds a share of the lead heading into Saturday

OAKMONT, Pa. – After rain forced three weather delays and postponed first-round play at the U.S. Open on Thursday, the USGA and its 156-player field of golfers got in a long day of play under clear skies on Friday. Dustin Johnson is the leader in the clubhouse after he posted a 1-under 69 in the second round to improve to 4-under overall.

The second round is now well underway, and the USGA plans to work through the third round of play on Saturday to set up a regularly scheduled Sunday final. Half the field began the second round but roughly just a quarter of the overall field made it through a full 36 holes before the horn blew.

While Johnson holds the clubhouse lead, he’s currently tied with Andrew Landry for the overall lead. Landry shot a 66 in the first round and is yet to begin his second round. The remaining field will start teeing off early on Saturday morning while the players currently on the course finish their rounds. Lee Westwood at 3-under is among the players chasing. Sergio Garcia posted a second-round 70 to sit at 2-under for the tournament.

The torrential rain that hit the Pittsburgh area Wednesday night and Thursday had a dampening, softening effect on the racetrack-like golf course at Oakmont Country Club. The course is known for its fast greens and runny fairways that feed into deep sand traps, but players have mostly done a laudable job of avoiding the worst trouble. Several suggested in the run-up to the tournament that rain would lead to lower scores, and that’s aligned well with the actual events of the week.

There have still been plenty of bad shots and missed putts, to be sure, but 13 players are currently under par. The last time the championship visited Oakmont, in 2007, Angel Cabrera won at 5-over. Even if the course toughens up with less or no rain in the next two days, even par might not be enough to win.

The top of the leaderboard is a mixture of dark horses and the usual suspects. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson aren’t much in contention, but Johnson, Westwood, Garcia and Bubba Watson are all very much within championship striking distance.

That should leave a gallery of more than 30,000 with plenty of decent viewing options on Saturday, when another full day of golf awaits. That’ll set the stage for what ought to be a captivating closing 18 holes on Sunday, unless weather interrupts again.