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U.S. Open: Winged Foot strikes back on difficult Friday

By Tim Letcher

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after playing an approach shot on the fifth fairway during the second round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 18, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after playing an approach shot on the fifth fairway during the second round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 18, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Prior to the 2020 U.S. Open, Winged Foot was feared by most players. But on Thursday, it played fairly easy. Friday was a different story.

All of the talk after Thursday’s first round of the U.S. Open was about how easy Winged Foot played on the day. Justin Thomas shot a 5-under par 65, the best score ever shot in the U.S. Open at the course, and 21 players were under par after the first day.

This was totally unexpected from a course where, when the U.S. Open last visited, the winning score was Geoff Ogilvy’s 5-over par. It didn’t seem like the same course at all.

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However, on Friday, Winged Foot bit back. The course played like its old self, especially in the afternoon, and many of the world’s best players struggled in a big way.

How tough was it? Rory McIlroy went from a 67 on Thursday to a 76 on Friday. J.T. Poston went from a 71 to an 82.

And there were a number of big names who were unable to break 80 on Friday. That includes former major winners like Graeme McDowell (80), Jordan Spieth (81) and Sergio Garcia (81).

High scores? There were plenty of those. Ryan Fox, Greyson Sigg and amateur Eduard Rousaud each shot 85. And Sung Kang shot an 86. Yikes.

After 21 rounds in the 60s on Thursday, there were a total of three on Friday. Bryson DeChambeau had the round of the day with a 2-under par 68. As a result, he is alone in second place. The two other rounds in the 60s were both 69s, shot by Hideki Matsuyama and, to many people’s surprise, Bubba Watson.

There were 21 players under par when play began on Friday. There are now six. There were 32 players at par or better starting Friday, and now there are only 11.

Next. The Harmon Teaching Dynasty Began at Winged Foot. dark

The conditions are not expected to get any easier as the weekend progresses. There’s a very good chance that the winning score will be over par, even if the course just plays the way it did on Friday.

Winged Foot got its revenge on Friday and the course will challenge the best players in the world all weekend. And the conversation will go back to how tough the course really is rather than how easy it played on Thursday.

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