At the US Open, American golfer Rickie Fowler secured the solo lead after the second round in Los Angeles, while Spaniard Jon Rahm faced serious problems and came close to missing the cut.
Fowler, ranked No. 45 in the world rankings, was one of the last to play at LA Country Club. The day before, he had impressed everyone by posting the best round in the tournament’s 123-year history with 62 strokes (-8), a feat that compatriot Xander Schauffele matched shortly thereafter.
Before returning to the course on Friday, both were overtaken by fellow American Wyndham Clark, but Fowler managed to finish the second day back on top of the Grand Slam tournament. In search of his first trophy in four years, Fowler had a thrilling second round, with eight birdies and six bogeys for a total of 68 strokes (-2) and a cumulative 130 (-10), equaling the best first 36-hole score in the history of the event.
“Fowler will start the weekend with a one-stroke lead over Clark and two over former world number one Rory McIlroy and Schauffele, who was unable to keep pace on Friday and finished with 70 strokes (par),” the article stated.
On the other hand, Spanish golfer Jon Rahm struggled during the second round and had to fight to make sure he made the cut. After finishing in par on Thursday, Rahm continued in that vein during the first half of his round on Friday but struggled in the second half with four bogeys and no birdies on the back nine. With a total of 73 strokes (+3), just shy of the cut, Rahm was 49th, and his anger grew as the round progressed.
As for other Latin American players, Chile’s JoaquÃn Niemann placed 30th with a cumulative 140 (par), while Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Colombia’s Sebastián Muñoz made the cut with 142 strokes (+2) in 49th place. Unfortunately, Chile’s Mito Pereira, Colombia’s Nico EchavarrÃa and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were eliminated from the tournament.