US Open Highlights from Oakmont

Oakmont, Pa. — John Larm, the Torrey Pines US Open champion, shot a 75 on Friday, putting him at five over par as he left the course.

“I just couldn’t make a putt. That was the main issue,” Rahm shared. “I felt like I played well overall. It wasn’t that bad, but I missed some crucial ones, especially a seven-footer. It’s tough to shoot a good score here.”

When asked how he felt about the first two days, Rahm expressed his frustration: “Honestly, I’m really upset. I’m mad, I’m frustrated, just feeling a bit hopeless in my head.”

Rahm took 35 putts during the round and managed to hit 12 of the 18 greens, but he ended the day in 109th place, trailing the field by three strokes.

In a surprising turn, Victor Perez scored a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole, which moved him from two over to par. “You know, getting a hole-in-one is a bit of luck,” Perez noted. “I was about 15 or 20 feet past the hole, and just when I hit, it spun back in.” This was actually the second hole-in-one for Perez this month, having made one during a casual round in the Bahamas. “I think I might be on a bit of a roll,” he joked.

Perez’s ace marked the second at the Oakmont Country Club during the US Open; the first was by Scott Simpson back in 1983. This brought the total to 54 hole-in-ones in US Open history.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson, playing in his 34th US Open, had a chance to improve his standing on the final hole but missed a birdie putt, finishing at eight over.

Amateur Ben James made an eagle on the 17th hole during the second round, becoming the first amateur to achieve that feat at Oakmont since Lahm did so in 2016 on the 12th hole.

Historically, in 11 of the last 12 US Opens, the ultimate champion was among the top five on the leaderboard after the second round. The only exception was Matt Fitzpatrick, who was tied for 13th after 36 holes in 2022.