text:
Nevermind who will win the US Open - who will lead after round two? Email email@example.com or tweet @Kristian_Walsh with your answers.
Player / Score / Hole (*started from 11th on second round)
Horschel / -1 / F
Mickelson / -1 / F
Rose / E / F
Stricker / E / F
Donald / E / F
Pan / E / 9
Poulter / E / 13
Other selected:
McIlroy / +3 / F
Woods / +3 / F
Westwood / +7 / F
Scott / +8 / F
WRAP Marvellous day of golf. A golf purist's day of golf. It is still hard to decipher who is in the mix and who isn't - it is so tight there, and some of the field have nowhere near finished their second rounds. But, as things stand, Phil Mickelson and Billy Hoschel lead the US Open - one with a poorer day than yesterday, one with a better day, both looking good with their 67s on Thursday and Friday respectively.
Thanks for joining me, see you tomorrow. Goodnight.
01.38 Rose cards a 69 with a par at the last to remain a shot off the lead.
01.35 And what an approach. Rose - like Mickelson - is tossing out the big shots with the final moments playing out. He should make par there.
01.32 Kuchar and Rose still want to finish the 18th - they don't want to come back in the morning. Rose seems to have an okay lie and he gets out of it but he'll need a good approach to make par.
01.28 Play is suspended for the night but all players can still finish... and how Phil Mickelson can finish! He picks up birdie at the 18th, his first birdie of the day, to move to -1 with a second-round 72 to join Horschel in the lead. Stricker makes par to stay within a shot of the lead, he cards a 69.
01.24 Rose smashes one left off the 18th and needs a good lie - has he got one? Hunter Mahan has been quiet this week but sits on +2 and could have nabbed a birdie there. Stricker approaches the 18th nicely as the hoot-hoot goes - play suspended due to bad light.
01.20 I'm struggling to remember the last time a long-range birdie chance dropped. Colsaerts has an opportunity at 18 but it drifts wide; par from three feet to finish off a good day...and does. He cards a 72 to sit on +1 at the halfway stage. Schwartzel drops another shot at 16 - he's not out of it, but he isn't making it any easier for himself on +2 with two horrific holes to follow.
01.14 I do love a Colsaerts drive and he's just launched one upon the 18th green to give him a chance of a closing birdie. Mickelson is on the tee of that hole and finds the fairway, as does Stricker - right in the heart of the 501-yard finisher.
01.08 Brandt Snedeker has not enjoyed his day. Every time he misses a putt, he is brought to a hunch, a pained expression on his face. Rightly so too - he's +7 through 16 and on the cusp of a weekend in front of the television. Jerry Kelly birdies four to go to one-over-par, just two off the lead, Mickelson goes close with a long-range birdie attempt but will make do with par as he walks onto the 18th.
01.04 Stricker with a four iron at 17, the 206-yarder. He's dropped that quite far from the pin and he'll have a mammoth putt for birdie. The kids are most certainly alright - it is the turn of 19-year-old Michael Kim to exhibit youth exuberance with a bunker shot at the second which pings the pin and drops in for birdie! Three birdies in five holes for the young American. Pan still rests a shot behind as well.
01.00 45 minutes of usable light apparently, whatever that means. Who has the coffee? Colsaerts sinks a simple par to stay at +1, Pan does likewise to stay level. Much like the sunshine, the day is winding down - the explosiveness of earlier has faded. Nobody wants to make a mistake.
00.58 Again, putts falling short - Pan's birdie attempt is next to do so. There's a clear mentality of not to gamble too much - there's no reason to with the leaderboard so bunched.
00.54 It looks likely the major players at the top of the leaderboard will get an opportunity to finish their rounds. 11 players are within two shots of Horschel - Stricker is one of them and attempts to redeem his bogey on 15 but it just falls short. Poulter goes for the 25-footer left-to-right for birdie at 13 and makes it wonderfully - it's in halfway and waves to the crowd as it drops. Brilliant putt to send Poults level-par, one behind the leader.
00.49 Perfect strikes off the tee by Mickelson, Stricker and Bradley. Schwartzel drops the shot he picked up immediately and goes back to +1 through 14. Rose also drops one at 15 to move back to level-par - Horschel is now sole leader and the only player to card below 70 today.
00.46 Pan sinks the par putt, straight as a die. He seems unflappable at the moment, like a pigeon with broken wings. Rose sees his ball race to the back of the 15th, while Hoffman sees himself in the sand at three and it isn't a great attempt to get out of it. Colsaerts still hasn't got to grips with the slower greens and he drops a shot at the 16th, his putt for par a little too short and a bit too right. One-over for the tournament goes the Belgian.
00.41 Stricker drops a shot at 15 to relinquish his share of the lead and move to level par. Mickelson watches his threeball partner miss, steps up and sinks his from a couple of feet. Very positive putt from big Phil to remain level.
00.40 Pan is having quite the round. Even after two poor shots at the sixth, his approach needs to be good to give him a chance of par - and it is. A par would see him hang in there, just one off the lead.
00.35 Rose misses another birdie chance though to call it a chance is a stretch somewhat. A lot of putts being left short now, the greens are slowing down. The current cut is +6 but +7 is predicted, not that another two days around this course is something to relish necessarily.
00.32 Harry Jones makes a bold second-round lead prediction:
Schwartzel. He'll thrive in this setting. South Africans don't expect romance and ease.
It could be an inspired choice - Schwartzel moves to within one of the lead with a birdie at 13. He's back to level par, though he's had quite the undulating tournament so far. But then, if he finishes level after four days, it might be enough to win it.
00.28 Really steady work from the Belgian Colsaerts who two-putts the 15th to retain his level par score. Mickelson on the tee at 15...finds the fairway on the left-hand side. The sun is starting to slowly lower - as physics dictates, of course - and is making Merion look even more picturesque.
00.25 Well held by Mickelson at 14 - he needed to break that little run of negativity, he's still only one off the lead, albeit having held it for quite a while. Harrington drops a shot at 11 to end his unblemished round and drop to +2 once again.
00.18 Stricker hammers one onto the 14th. The 46-year-old is semi-retired and only plays tournaments fleetingly - it seems to be working. Colsaerts is way back at 15 after hitting an iron off the tee, he'll need a good approach to set up for par. Harrington putts a little too left with his birdie chance as the shadows begin to fall. And shadows fall upon Mickelson who puts a little too much on his 14th approach shot and sees the ball at the bottom of the green, propped up by a little bit of longer stuff.
00.16 The strain of so many birdie chances missed takes its toll on joint-leader Justin Rose.
00.10 Brilliant save from Colsaerts, who almost birdied the 14th with a fantastic approach which bounced, dangled over the hole, had a peek in and decided to spin a few feet back. He taps in for par, however and stays level. Rose goes close to taking the outright lead but there's not enough pace on it.
00.09 Where has Stricker come from? He's now tied for the lead with a birdie at 13, his third of the round. The American was fancied for the Masters but never really got going - less fancied here, he's certainly getting going now.
00.08 Par chance is too far left for Mickelson, back-to-back bogeys leave him back on level par. Horschel and Rose lead the US Open!
00.04 Goodness me, Mickelson goes aggressive off the 13th tee and finds the sand, and it is rooted in there. Not even a great bunker player like Mickelson can profit from that, surely? News will start to filter of his possible demise and it brings so many players into a mere few birdies of the lead. Harrington has a chance of birdie but it flashes wide, while Schwartzel is another who is struggling with the pace of the greens and can't get it left.
23.58 Mickelson misses the easy short putt for par! He will be walking onto the 13th tied for the lead with that bogey; it was three feet from the hole, no break. He's struggling with the short putts. Disappointing for Phil who had birdie chances earlier on.
23.57 Chance for Mickelson at 12 is just right. Not an easy birdie opportunity but he made the most of it. Par it is and still he grinds as he approaches the hardest part of the course. Stricker has a chance to go into that under par but he narrowly misses as well.
23.54 Magic moment from DJ Dustin Johnson at 12 - one of those putts which appear to be pulled along by a piece of invisible string, flirting wildly with the hole until refusing to drop that final inch. Poulter takes aim at the ninth and finds the green superbly - looking good for a birdie tilt there, 20 feet out.
23.52 Colsaerts, Watson and Johnson are put on the clock - most probably for the time it has taken for them to retrieve their ball. The Belgian goes close with a birdie at 12 but no dice. Poulter nails his birdie, however. He's back up to one-over through eight.
23.47 It's still pretty bunched up at the top - 21 players between -2 and +2. Still time for players to fall away. Garcia has certainly fallen, he's on +7 but plays a lovely bunker shot at the ninth. Mickelson and Stricker are definitely a pair to keep an eye on - grinding golf at its best. Rose lines up his second shot at the par-four 11th and it's impressively straight - he has a decent chance for birdie.
23.44 Colsaerts has a birdie chance to move back into the red but it drifts left. He remains level and entertains the crowd with his telekinesis skills.
Mickelson smiles ruefully as someone lies to him in the crowd and tells him his birdie miss at 11 was a good putt. It wasn't. He remains on par, his scorecard - one bogey, 10 pars - looking more like Jim Furyk's in his pomp more than anything else.
23.35 Harrington is making his move, so he is. Back-to-back birdies see him up to +1 - he'll look at the double bogey-bogey at 17 and 18 in the opening round with much regret. No time to linger now anyway, Padraig. Poulter holds at the eighth to stay at +2. The young amateur Cheng-Tsung Pan nails a birdie at two to move back to +1 overall - what a week he's having, but plenty of time for reality to bite hard.
23.29 Positive fingers from Luke Donald, who will be watching these gents slog it out with his feet up.
23.25 Close flirtation with birdie by Rose but it is ever-so-slightly left. Mickelson is in the sand but he could shoot 64 on a beach - brilliant sand save. Harrington has been quiet this week but he follows up his six pars with a birdie at seven to go +2 and within four of the lead. Garcia probably wants this week, month, year over quickly - he double bogeys the seventh and drops to +6.
23.20 Probably on for another two hours of play, providing the sun keeps its hat on. Mickelson finds the rough and then the bunker at 10 - he needs to get over this wobble, if eight consecutive pars can be regarded as such. The big trident of boomers are having fun out there, smashing balls really hard. Golf: an exact science. They're currently all huddled around a tree at the 10th.
23.15 Hole-in-one chance is fashioned by Clark and it's so, so close from the South African. He's had a wretched time this afternoon - five bogeys in seven holes leaves him on +5.
23.11 Mickelson lines up his six-footer. He does not want this to be a repeat of the last putt attempt...but it is! He'll be smashing himself over the head with his magical irons. It's going downhill and it just needs coaxing but he doesn't coax enough. Rose moves within one of him with a birdie at eight. Big Phil might regret those two misses.
23.05 Anfield season ticket holder David Downie shares his appreciation of big Phil Mickelson:
How can anyone not enjoy watching Phil Mickelson? Stunning iron play, amateur putts! Entertainment at its finest.
Everybody loves Mickelson. Evident in the galleries too. It would be lovely if he could finally win this major.
23.02 The short par-three ninth is proving a problem and you don't want to face it when you've just missed a gimme to go -3... Mickelson nails it. Absolutely, positively nails it, about six feet from the hole. "MASHED POTATO" came the cry from a moron but that was more dauphinoise. Classy. He still has to make the birdie putt - and it isn't easy - but that was a bit, grinding moment from Phil.
22.58 As said, Mickelson has a nice, simple putt to move back to -3. Missed! No break by the looks of things, no hidden nastiness. He remains on -2, something plenty behind him will raise a smile at. Colsaerts drops a shot at nine to move level but did well given his ball essentially ended up in Canada.
22.25 Kelly drops a shot at 14 - he'll want to get the back nine out of the way, particularly the 18th which he double bogeyed yesterday. The group of boom - Dustin Johnson, Colsaerts and Bubba - ALL ended up messing up the eighth. Remarkable. Schwartzel drops one at six to move one-over, while Stricker picks up a birdie at eight to go level.
22.53 "Oh come on baby...come on!" is the plea from Mickelson - he approaches the green at the eighth with a magnificent, majestic shot. It lands eight feet from the hole and spins back four or five. He has a nice, simple putt to move back to -3. He's capable of that magic.
22.50 And for those unsure of Siem's hair...
Bubba Watson is wet at the ninth. "Knew it!" exclaims Bubba, the master of hindsight. Fowler birdies the fifth to move back to +1.
22.48 Is it a groundhog or a piece of Marcel Siem's hair?
Possible groundhog day moment for Colsaerts, too. He often has a bad hole to bring down the building of his empire and this ninth hole could be it. It's a 219-yard par-three and he approaches it like a 400-yard par four, shanking it so wide it misses the water hazard and ends up on the bank beyond. Difficult to see how he makes par from there...
22.42 When the chips are down, chip in - Colsaerts failed to make the green in two at the eighth but no matter as he launches a wonderful lofted shot into the hole from the edge of the green. Big, big birdie for the Belgian and he goes -1, one off the lead.
22.40 Not quite the great escape and Rose drops back down to level par, the price of a poor tee shot.
22.39 Rose gets out of danger with a glorious chip from near the rope. Hard enough to go over the bunker, soft enough to stay near the hole. Excellent and a par could still happen. Charl Schwartzel birdies five and goes back level, two off the lead.
22.35 Rose pulled his tee-shot at the sixth but it is a good lie in the bunker, but he doesn't take advantage and goes way, way wide. In a bit of bother there. Poulter drops one on the dancefloor at four and could make birdie.
22.30 That third hole is proving a horror for Fowler - he needs a tough putt for double bogey and just, just makes it, spinning 720 before dropping. Day drops a shot at the same hole. They're on +2 and +1 respectively. Mickelson makes a par on six to keep his head just above the others. Nobody bar Rose is really taking aim right now.
22.21 Jerry Kelly would have been one off the lead last night if not for an 18th hole meltdown but he's reversed the trend now - bogey is followed by birdie, he's back level. Fowler is mooching around the bushes on level par, his baseball cap back-to-front like a Butlins redcoat. He punts his ball back onto the green nicely - he could do no more. It runs to the edge and rolls back slightly, settling on the fringe - doubtful he makes par there, the young American.
22.18 Scott Stallings nails a birdie at the first to move to level. So many names who will crop up, so many who will not be mentioned again. Colsaerts makes par at six to remain -1 while Mickelson lands a booming shot up the sixth. All this despite a cheeky critter - which may be a groundhog, may be Rickie Fowler - scampering along the fairway.
22.12 Mickelson saves par at five, saves being an appropriate term. He really looked in trouble off the tee. Marcel Siem, the ponytailed Kaizer from the European Tour, picks up a birdie at 12 to go +2 through two. Poulter hammers another putt for par, a solid up-and-down.
22.09 Colsaerts drops another shot at five - it was an average tee shot on a par-four which needs more than that. He's back to level-par. Meanwhile, Geoff Ogilvy attempts to be appointed as Captain Obvious...
22.06 Chance for three birdies in four for Rose but it stays at two. Poulter finds sand but he won't be building sandcastles. Quiet week for Padraig Harrington so far but in this tournament, that is no bad thing - he holds a nice par putt to stay at three-over-par through three.
22.00 Not the start Tim Clark was after. The South African, level after the opening round, bogeys the first and third to go +2. Not out of it, but not in it as much as he could be. Poulter smashes in a short-range putt for par at two.
21.54 Worrying for Rose at four - he's drifted right on the monster par-five and gone as deep as possible in the deep stuff by the look of things. Mickelson with a wild tee-shot from the fifth, trying to work it back into the fairway with the three wood but doesn't come back. Like a broken boomerang. It might be in the hazard too, it's dangerously close.
21.50 Jason Day also sees a birdie chance go begging at the first. Sergio Garcia is out and looking to follow his par at the first with a birdie but it breaks left before it ever looks likely. "Tiger would have had that," shouts some cretin from the sideline. Garcia looks sad. Garcia never looks sad. I hope Garcia sparks him out.
21.45 The clubhouse leader Horschel looking pretty dapper there.
Plenty starting to look ready for a chasing though. Rickie Fowler - level par - has hit a beauty off the first tee...his birdie is slightly too soft however. Mickelson misses the birdie putt at four. They were dropping yesterday, but no dropped shots is more than enough for him right now.
21.40 Very close to three birdies on the bounce from Rose but the ball wipes its feet on the left-hand side and leaves without dropping. Colsaerts does not bogey par fives and he makes sure he doesn't here - his birdie attempt was difficult and his par attempt not exactly easier but he holds his nerve to stay on -1.
21.38 Just shows how unpredictable this entire thing can be. Poulter is too short with a birdie attempt at the first - no early fireworks like yesterday. Mickelson is in conversation with his trusted liege Bones and looks in a lovely position at the fourth - nice and central with enough to aim for. It isn't a great shot but it's a big par-five and he still has room to work in.
21.34 Colsaerts is always capable of implosion - he has about 50 holes to survive without one, at least. He looks set for one at the fourth surrounded by spectators in the shrubs but he punches out well and finds the green.
21.31 George Dorman tweets in with his second round prediction:
Putting this out there now... Billy Horshel will lead after round 2..
Get sending in your predictions for this round. And get me some coffee and a ham sarnie. Nice one.
21.29 Well, well, well - hello England's Rose? Is this Justin Rose's charge? He opens with two birdies, a three-four, to move to -1 and within one of the lead. From the chasing pack to contending for the lead in the space of two holes. That's the wonder of Merion, it seems.
21.27 New clubhouse leader! And how deserving Billy Horschel is after two rounds of genuine grinding. His 72 yesterday was professional, his 67 this round magnificent. He's on -1 - it will be interesting to see who can meet that standard.
21.24 I have a feeling the leaderboard at the top of your page (keep refreshing) might get that little bit bigger, soon. The players on level-par will begin to move up and Mickelson and Colsaerts could very well move down. Poulter, on +1, is at the first tee and booms one into the heart.
21.20 Matt Kuchar is fumbling through the rough like a teenager at a school disco. He's looking for his ball - it's stored under there somewhere. After a birdie at the first, the second might see that good work - +3 overall - fall away.
21.16 Colsaerts drops the shot he picked up at the second and Mickelson leads once more. Expect a fair bit of flip-flopping before this round is through. Horschel has been in excellent nick with 31 greens in regulation out of 36 - he's just not had the birdie opportunities dropping. He remains on -2 for the day and level for the tournament.
21.11 Bunker shots all over the shop - Bubba Watson plays a lovely one himself on three. Don't like these big-hitters fool you - they can play the short game nicely too. Well, they can - Colsaerts is on the bank just by the third green but his chip is far too fluffy and it is still a good 15, 18 feet from the hole. Mickelson misses his birdie attempt but remains on -2 through two.
21.09 Rory McIlroy after his round of 70 to leave him on +3:
It was solid. I got off to a good start - the first two holes - 11 and 12 - and got through that tough stretch from 14 to18 on one-over so it was a pretty good effort. Every time I made a birdie, it felt like I bogeyed straight away. But I played well. It's a course where you feel like you should score but it's tricky.
21.06 Told you it wasn't the worst position for Mickelson - he's on the right-hand side of the bunker and caresses it, landing it just on the edge of the green and sees it roll down a little to give him a chance to save par. Not bad for two poor shots.
21.04 Lovely birdie attempt from Horschel at 17 but it just breaks right and he remains on two-under-par. Justin Rose gets his round off to a flier, a birdie at the first and he's level-par.
21.02 Not a great second tee from Mickelson and he finds himself in the dark green to the left of the fairway; he then finds himself in the sand, though that's not the worst position for him given the bunker play. Nico Colsaerts has an eagle opportunity at the second...just too short! He takes birdie and moves up for a share of the lead on -2.
Will the Belgian boomer be the one to emerge from the dust?
20.55 Cat amongst pigeons - Mickelson drops a shot and the lead is now -2. He left it the birdie attempt far too short and failed to convert the par. It's a three-putt on the opening hole, just like yesterday, but that did him little harm.
20.52: "Guy in the orange... don't move. Just stand still!" shouts Mickelson. It must be good to be US Open leader and order spectators around. I'd never take a shot and ask everybody to pose like teapots. I digress. The guy in the orange stays still but it doesn't help him read the speed of the green - it's a good 12, 15 feet short. First big test coming up.
20.50 The Telegraph's Paul Hayward reacts after Tiger and Rory finish their rounds:
So Woods and McIlroy both play recovery golf to shoot even-par 70s. They're both still in the US Open mix despite being +3 after 36 holes.
Of course, it is worth remembering the statistic Woods has never won a major when over par after two rounds.
20.45 Mickelson is out there now with Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley. From the first tee, big Phil finds the left bunker, not-so-big Stricker finds the right. Can he pull away from the pack or will this course make this one of the most wide-open majors in recent memory? What a web this course will weave.
20.40 Quite a lot of fixation on the trident of Woods, McIlroy and Scott right now - hopefully a few more golfers will get some time in front of the cameras now their rounds are completed.
Woods finds himself within 15 feet of the hole but can't make birdie and cards a 70 to stay on +3 and in the hunt. McIlroy is matching him blow-for-blow - 70 for him today too, an impressive score given what's happening around the course. Scott ends on +8 with a 76, but worth noting he started the day on -3 halfway through his first round. The Masters champion will miss the cut.
20.30 Els sees a birdie putt just flash by at the ninth, the big Easy is still in contention on +4. Just. There is still a lot of golf to be played, with 15 players on level-par or +1 yet to grace the course for the second round. There's a lot of variables in that. Plenty to look forward to.
20.23 Bogey for McIlroy at the ninth - he drops down to +3 once more. It may only be a par-three but the ninth is a painful hole; one wrong flick of the wrist and it punishes you. He was unlucky with the ball falling on the rough to the left of the green, too. Woods holds par and they're both on +3. Scott remains behind the pair with a par to stay on +7.
Luke Donald is now the clubhouse leader. He is level-par overall after a two-over-par 72. It could have been far better but five birdies in six holes scuppered his hopes of putting real pressure on Mickelson.
20.10 Senden is no clown, despite what the song says. He's the clubhouse leader on one-over-par after shooting a 71.
20.08 That's better from Luke Donald - his horrific run, hopefully, is over. Five bogeys, a par and now a birdie that will relieve him no end. His tee shot at the par-three ninth is spot on, his putt fine. He's back to level par - there's a cluster of players on that score yet to tee off. Five to be exact. Some of those will fall, some of those will rise, you fancy.
20.03 How does Mickelson feel right now? Less than 40 minutes until he takes to the course and there's only one player with him under par - Nico Colsaerts - after Horschel drops a shot at 13 to move to level-par. Woods is grinding away and saves par at the eighth, as does Scott. McIlroy goes one better - it is a birdie for the Northern Irishman, his fourth of the round, to go to +2.
19.54 It has been a good run for Woods with two birdies on the front nine but he drops a shot at the seventh to move back to +3, though that's just six off the lead and four behind second, of course. Good steady play from McIlroy as he pars three on the bounce after dropping a shot. Both now on three-over with Scott floundering on +7.
19.44 Billy Horschel is making waves on the back nine - he begins it with two birdies at 10 and 11 to go to -1 and within two of the lead.
19.42 Pictures of Phil Mickelson, his feed on the ground and swing looking good. He could be the only player under-par by the time he tees off. The course has really put the squeeze on the players. Tiger and McIlroy make pars at six - pars will do for now. It's all about jostling for position and getting ready for the weekend.
19.33 Consider the mini-slump a full-on, horrific, face-melting slump now for Luke Donald. From a share of the lead to +1 within four holes; that's what four bogeys on the bounce will do to you. Scott is also suffering out there as well - he's now +7 with a bogey at the par-four sixth, dropping 10 shots in a day, albeit over two rounds.
19.27 Big moment for Rory, perhaps. He holds par at five but it keeps him on +3, just six off the lead. Senden moves back level with a birdie at 16, while Donald goes steadily at the seventh looking to arrest his mini-slump.
19.15 Bad run for Donald which he will have to snap out of fairly soon - three bogeys consectively now at four, five and six sees him level-par. He still awaits a birdie on these supposedly easier holes. Only Mickelson and Nico Colsaerts are in the red now. Woods saves well and his putter is starting to fire up a little - it's a tough right-to-left effort uphill but he makes it at the fifth to remain two-over. No such luck for Scott, who drops another shot and moves to +6.
19.13 Tiger Woods has never won a major when over-par after 36 holes. He's on +2 and has six holes to rectify it, or he'll have to change a habit of a lifetime.
19.06 We very, very nearly had our first hole-in-one. It's the closest one yet courtesy of Francesco Molinari. His tee shot at the 123-yard 13 bounces high off the green, hits the pin and hovers the front of the cup before squeezing back out. The gallery went barmy there.
19.04 Put your hands in the air, McDowell. You're wanted for costing punters up and down the country an absolute fortune.
McDowell is doing his level-best to redeem himself with two birdies at two and four, but he remains on 10-over and just misses the creek at five. One of my tips, Jim Furyk, is +13. A look at the bottom of the board reveals some talented players, including former major winners.
18.56 With apologies to Marvel Comics, Woods makes a fantastic four at the sixth with an eight-footer. How unlikely the birdie looked as he sliced from rough to deep stuff, how unlikely he looked to make it +2. Scott fails to make his par putt and he moves to +5, three-over for the day. Back-to-back bogeys for Donald too but little surprise after finding water at five. He's back to -1.
18.51 This tournament is really absorbing right now. It feels like a battle, a war; a constant tug-of-war between man and course, mainly being won by course. Woods stares it in the eye and looks to regain some momentum at the par-five fourth - his third shot out of the long stuff is sumptuous and he'll have a birdie chance. Conflicting result for Rory however, who will take a bogey six there and go to +3. Ernie Els tries to drop the ball on the green at three but it gets stuck on its fringe, while Kaymer sees his good work undone - double bogey at the fifth drops him to +5. That means nobody has scored more than -1 today. Tug. Of. War.
18.48 Good tee shot from Woods does not bring the reward; it's sloped left at the fourth and rolled into the rough. That is a tricky angle, especially considering his supposed left elbow problems...ball hits the left-hand side of the club and it doesn't go far, and doesn't go anywhere nicely. He's still in trouble. Speaking of trouble, Donald did find the creek at five and has to take a drop shot which is short of the green. A Senden-esque (see 16.32) putt is needed here. Phil Mickelson must be enjoying this in his comfy hotel room, or private jet, or wherever he hangs out before tee-time.
18.41 Nice try from Goggin at the seventh for birdie but the green is a difficult one to decipher. Still has a bit to do to make par; the greens are giving little away right now.
18.39 It really is tough out there. There are few smiles at the moment; a day for teeth-gritting and fist-clenching.
Donald may be in the creek at five, as well...
18.35 Donald takes the bogey but given how the majority of that hole was spent in the rough, he'll be content with that. He drops back to -2 through 12. Worth noting he didn't register a birdie between the fourth and 10th hole yesterday, mind you. Westwood drops another as well, missing a pretty easy par opportunity. He's now six-over.
18.33 Only eight players shooting under par for the day so far, with seven of those on -1 and one of them being Donald, who is about to drop one. Only Kaymer has enjoyed it around here so far with a three-under through 11.
18.29 "How about getting this within six feet or so?" asks the commentator as Donald approaches out of the rough. How about no. It doesn't even find the green and instead lands in the nearby bunker for his fifth shot. He produces a decent bunker shot, as always, but there's a six-footer for bogey. Goggin bogeys the par-four sixth to drop to level-par and McIlroy with a birdie at the third to move to two-over-par.
Three players now under par. Remarkable, old chap. Remarkable.
18.26 Donald is toiling out there at four. He bogeyed the par-five second and now the fourth is troubling him. He's going from rough to rougher. He would probably take a bogey right now, it's 628-yards of pain.
18.23 ESPN Magazine have just tweeted a picture of a fan who has been hit by a ball:
Either that or he breathed too loudly as Tiger took his tee shot...
18.17 Tiger is on the second and finds the green wonderfully, he's within a whisker of the hole and will nab a birdie at the par-five. Donald is starting to become a little looser and finds himself deep in the rough at four with his attempt to get out futile - it simply moves into the weeds yonder. Goggin is also in the rough at the sixth and also finds rough from there. More rough than the cast of TOWIE first thing on a Monday morning right now.
18.13 Knox drops a shot at 15 and moves level-par. Four players are under par. Four. It might get even worse at the weekend continues.
18.09 Well played, Luke Donald. He's back on top with Mickelson with a birdie at the par-three third. The tee shot deserved that. Westwood dropped also dropped a shot at two, by the way - but unlike Donald, he's not grabbed that back at three. That's the difference right there.
18.05 More symbolic steps at Merion for Donald.
But he's looking to move back up straight away and booms a wonderful tee-shot at the third. All good players come back from setbacks - on such things do majors hinge. Choi gets back to +1 with a birdie at eight, one-over is no bad score right now. McIlroy did well to get out of the bunker cleanly but he misses his putt for par - he drops to +3 through nine.
18.00 He's looking pretty in pink but nothing pretty about that miss from Donald. After grabbing par by the unmentionables with his terrific bunker shot, he lets them dangle free once more with a four-footer that lips the cup and spins out. He loses the lead and is down to -2 through 10.
17.56 Great save in the sand from Donald at the par-five second, a flash of what he is capable of getting out of bunker bother. Woods is at the first and finds the dancefloor with sass, as does Scott. McIlroy finds himself in the bunker, however.
17.53 I don't think it is an iron you need, Poults. Poulter is out around 9.25pm BST, so plenty of time to sort out those creases. And possibly even the patten.
17.48 Big trouble for Tiger at 18 after his par putt is horrendously misread. It's about five feet for bogey, right to left... drops. He is down to +4 but he's missed those putts this week already, so not the end of the world, though the hooves of the horsemen can be heard in the distance. McIlroy manages to par, one-under for the round and +2 overall.
17.45 Goggin drops a shot at four and falls to one-under-par. Woods finds himself with a bad lie at 18 and fails to do much with it; McIlroy, on the other hand, is sublime out of the bunker and sees his ball roll within five feet of the hole. Probably deserved to be a little closer. Russell Knox is at 14 but doesn't put enough on his birdie attempt, he'll remain at -1.
17.42 Simpson not out of this yet. Obvious statement, granted, but it's important to remember how much golf remains. He birdies 16 to move back to +1, just four off the lead. Some start for him - three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. Consider that bag mixed.
17.37 I cannot say anything about tips - most of mine have already called cabs for the airport tonight. But Graeme McDowell was well-fancied and he's proved a spectacular letdown. Back-to-back double bogeys at 17 and 18 sees the Northern Irishman on 12-over-par through eight. I'd get in the cab now, personally.
17.34 Little fist-pump from Westwood - nice birdie at the first from the deep south. No pumping for Aussie Scott, he three-putts 17 for bogey and moves down to +3. He has not got to grips with the back nine today.
17.28 Merion sharpening its teeth out there. The world's three highest-ranked players approach the 17th off the tee - there's no bad shots in there, but it's not good enough and all three will have to be content with par. The greens are going to be like marble-ice (it exists, trust me) when the sun dries out the greens tomorrow.
17.25 A picture is worth a thousand words - but so is a scorecard that reads four bogeys and a double bogey in eight holes.
Westy is on his way down and he needs to start climbing back up soon.
17.22 Remember when Martin Kaymer looked set to dominate golf? That was a bit surreal. He's not been in great form but he's found his touch on the back nine - seven consecutive pars is followed by a birdie at 18. He's +5 through eight.
17.20 Lovely stuff from Donald to get the roll and direction spot on from the rough that flanks the green. If he pars that joint-leader, the theory is the front nine will give him scoring opportunities. Westwood will hope that is true for him after dropping another at 18, his birdie at 17 the only solace of a difficult back nine. Senden looks for a doozie from 25 feet but it breaks right - he'll drop a shot and go to -1 through eight.
17.14 Not a great second shot from Donald, finding the rough. The 18th is going to cause some hand-wringing and face-mashing on Sunday, I tell you. McIlroy is at 16 and goes for the up, down, up, down across the green - gets the pace right and he sets himself up for a simple par. Ticking along okay is the Holywood hero, and okay may be good enough to set up the weekend.
17.07 Three wood for Westwood who some have tried to adopt the Luuuuuke chant for. Leeeeeee goes the hushed cry. Not for me, that. The tee-shot isn't for Westwood, either - he went safety-first at 18 but finds the rough. It looks pretty stuck too. Donald finds the fairway on the left-hand side. Senden holds a par putt at the seventh to stay within one of the lead. Fellow Aussie Goggin with a decent attempt from long-range on the second but it drifts wide and he'll also stay on -2.
17.02 Goggin is in the medium stuff at the par five and hacks out. He needs to sustain his challenge but he'll have played almost two rounds today by the time he rests his eyes. Westwood follows up the wonderful tee-shot at 17 with a routine putt, but then nothing has been routine in the past hour. He heads off to 18 on +4 with the kinder front nine ahead.
16.57 Donald with the four iron off the tee at the 206-yarder 17th. It doesn't quite get over the hill, but he'll two-putt an up-and-down for par as long as there's no hiccups. Westwood to follow his compatriot - he needs to get going again and this might just help him; a wonderful iron shot which drops the ball within two feet at 17.
16.55 The wheels are flying off Westwood's round; flying off and harming spectators. Metaphorically, of course. Another dropped shot at 16 - four dropped shots in the last three holes. He's on +5. Donald pars 16 and is set to tackle the troubling 17 and 18. It gets easier after that, apparently.
16.52 Always interesting to watch Tiger and Rory stroll around the course as new, Nike-clad buddies. Rory is like the excitable young child, while Tiger is the mildly-annoyed father who has to answer endless questions on the meaning of life, the birds and the bees and whether he wants to watch Fun House when the day is over.
16.48 Goggin must not be getting paid by the hour - he's back out there and pars the first. His compatriot Senden is quickly making a fool of my assertion he can't putt - he rattles in another for birdie and goes within one of the lead. Choi, in a garish lime green polo shirt, misses par at four and drops back level.
16.42 Someone needs to alert Westy - he's three-putted the 15th and drops another shot. He's now on +4 and another challenge starts to vanish, potentially. Tiger is not much better, his putt from the edge of the 14th way too short. Geoff Ogilvy strikes the ball left off the 17th with venom and it flies into the spectators, but his drop shot from the rough is majestic and he almost makes an unlikely par. McIlroy misses a putt for par and that's drifted five feet the other way - he holds the bogey putt and moves back to +2.
16.39 Donald drops a shot to relinquish sole lead. His wedge was an instrument of woe around the 15th, two poor shots seeing him in the bunker and then with a difficult par putt - it misses and he moves back to -3 through five.
16.35 Woods is a little too heavy approaching the 14th green. McIlroy is the opposite, his five iron not getting enough purchase on the ball and dropping on the left-hand side ledge. If Woods was too hot and McIlroy was too cold, consider Adam Scott's just right.
16.32 It's fair to say John Senden isn't the best on the greens, so it's fair to say his MONSTER 70-footer from the edge of the green is quite unexpected. He's about 40 feet away from the fifth green to begin with, but he navigates that and reads the breaks wonderfully well. It breaks at the final moment and drops in handsomely. Clearly he can only putt when the pin is a mere fleck in the distance! It moves him up to -1, two off the lead.
16.30 Tiger is on the 14th and avoids the out-of-bounds territory to the left. He lands it on the fairway nicely, so too Scott with the driver. The Australian is such a clean striker, like Robin van Persie after a hot bubble bath. McIlroy makes it three from three - all well-positioned there.
16.28 Defending champion Simpson looks in a bit of a pickle at 11, his opening hole of the second round - he gets his ball wet and picks up a double bogey. He drops to +3.
16.24 Big cheer for Woods as he birdies the 13th to move back to +2. He played that par-three wonderfully. The gallery seems a bit more raucous already today, probably because they're not requiring a lilo to navigate the course. A birdie for Scott too, who is looking to scuttle back into some sort of form this afternoon.
16.18 Kristian Walsh here, not long awake after last night's marathon on-off session. Fittingly, I'm greeted by the curly, boyish locks of McIlroy, who was one of the final to play a shot last night. He takes par at 13, his birdie streak over. He'll take that, though - a tough little par-three, the 13th. Westwood hasn't really recovered since smacking the basket at 12 yesterday, and here he double bogeys the 14th to go to +3. I'm pretty sure smacking the basket is the official term, too.
16.12 And Woods, who has started round two with par-par, while it's a birdie-birdie start for McIlroy now. Nice one Rory. I'm going to hand over to Kristian Walsh now, who will see you through the rest of the day. Enjoy! Toodle-oo.
16.10 Donald has just aced another drive. He is really on a hot streak now, a bit like in NBA Jam. He is ON FIRE! And partner Westwood swings his drive close to the out of bounds mark at the 14th. Gah!
16.00 Wow! Donald with another birdie. And again from the rough. He miscued his drive off the 13th and like a homing pigeon it hit the ping and bounced in. A bigger eruption from the gallery that time. He's out on his own now. Minus four. Dream start for the Englishman. He has birdied the 12th and 13th holes in both rounds.
15.57 McIlroy is back at +2 after a birdie. It was a regulation putt, but that will do his confidence the world of good.
15.55 Korea's K.J. Choi moves to one under now after starting his second round with a well-taken birdie.
15.52 Good sound as Donald chips in a birdie on his second hole. Well done sir. That was really sexy golf. He is well up for this and I'm delighted that I've back him each way at 40/1. He is back on -3 and tied at the top with Phil Mickelson.
15.50 Russell Knox, obviously a cheeky chappy, has a big grin on his face. And why not? He's one under after the first round.
I chipped and putted well today. I birdied two of the hardest holes on the course. I just need to work on the easier ones!
15.45 And here is Tiger. He is announced, cue the cheers, and hoofs his first drive of his second round well straight. McIlory is next, and he is nicely placed, too. And Now Scott is on the money, too. All three in perfect positions. The Marquee Group head down from the 11th tee.
News on Tiger's injury, too. It's not his left wrist apparently, it's his elbow which has been bothering him.
15.43 Branden Grace finishes his first round level. Pretty good from the South African.
15.40 I mentioned this earlier. Carl Pettersson had his ball nudged by another ball, while on his back swing. Amazing. It highlights, of course, how tiny the Merion course is.
15.38 Donald yanks his drive on the 12th to the right and it sinks into the deep rough. Ouch.
15.35 Elsewhere amateur Gavin Hall, who is only 18, has holed out his second shot on the 8th hole for an eagle. Of the five eagles made this week, only one has been on a par 5.
15.34 Muttering from the crowd after Westwood miscues a birdie chance. Donald manages par there, as Scot Russell Knox has just completed his first round in a fantastic 69.
15.32 In the first round, of course, Donald managed birdies on the 11th, 12th and 13th. How will he do this time around? Meanwhile, through two on his second round, Swede Peter Hedblom sinks a birdie. He joins the -1 party.
15.30 Donald and Westwood take two shots to fire nicely left of the 11th green. And Kaymer is slightly better, going last. He needs to be even more aggressive though, and that has paid off on this occasion.
15.25 Good news on the weather front, by the way. It's almost sunny. Almost.
15.22 And Luke Donald is now teeing off his second round. It's the 11th, and he creams his drive and it dots nicely on the fairway. He will be off with Westwood and Martyn Kaymer.
15.15 Westwood might turn in to a basket case over that flag issue. Sorry.
15.10 Hello. Here is Scot Russell Knox at -1 now.
15.05 And Monty's words have been proven true. Kind of. Branden Grace has bogeyed the 7th (his 15th) to fall to even par. But Mathew Goggin has birdied the fifth hole to move to -2.
15.00 Colin Montgomerie, in the Sky Sports studio, predicts that after the second round no one will be under par tonight. "There are only three back in the clubhouse now," said the Scot. "And the other two we don't really know, they might drop a shop. Out of a field of 150 it could be that no one will be under par by the end of the day."
14.55 Tiger Woods has just been on and he looks frustrated at his putting today.
It's unbelievable how much faster [the greens] were this morning. They should slow up a little bit by this afternoon, but there's still quite a bit of moisture in them so I think that the uphill, into-the-grain putts are really slow and then obviously the downhill, down-grain putts are really quick.
14.50 Only five under par – and two of them are still out on the Merion course.
14.45 The second round is scheduled to begin now, at 09.45am local time. Justin Hicks, David Howell and Brian Stuard will tee off the first hole. Later, at around 10.44 (so, in an hour), Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott will tee off from the 10th tee. Quick turn around for them.
14.40 A nice snap, here, of Donald ruing his bogey on the last.
14.35 Australian Goggin, whose mother was an Australian champion, has dropped one now after being caught in the rough. He joins Branden Grace and Nicholas Colsaerts, who has finished, on -1.
14.30 The 112-acre course is really proving as brutal as many feared. The fairways are slim and the rough is perilous. Where is your money now, then? Mickelson on top with three under, and Donald is tied a shot behind with Australian Goggin, who is through 12.
14.25 The trio of Scott, Woods and McIlroy have now finished. They all parred the last hole, and will be annoyed with a difficult opening round. The first two are six off the lead, and McIlroy is five. The back five were really hard for them this morning. Especially in today's different, windy conditions. And the big three stumbled to the end. Mickelson is sitting pretty, out on his own at the top of the leaderboard.
14.20 Now we hear from Lee Westwood, who is still annoyed about his approach shot at the 12th, which pinged off the wicket basket where the flag would normally be waving. He is pretty happy with his 70, though, and why not?
It is a good start. I played nicely yesterday. It is cold and damp with a bit of a breeze about today. There are a few more blind tee shots on this course an there is no semi-rough this week. If it had been playing firm it would have been interesting. I have been assured that we will be going back to flags, like normal people.
He then smirks and trudges away from the interviewer.
Meanwhile his Ryder Cup teammate Graeme McDowell double bogies the last to finish on 76. Quite a few backed him to win here, but he looks out of it already.
14.15 American Mathew Goggin joins Donald on -2. He has just gone through 12.
14.10 Here's Donald, who is a little hacked off after dropping two shots in his last five holes today, having led by a shot overnight. He finished the round in 68.
I think at US Open you need everything to work. I took advatnage of the shorter holes in the middle, getting three birdies yesterday. But I didn't take advantage and misread the putts on the last few holes. And the winds switched. I think this course is suited to my game, which starts from the hole backwards. I'm not saying that my long game is poor but it needs to be firing. I hit 13 out of the 18 fairways in that first round.
14.05 Dang. Donald drops a shot on the last. He heads to the clubhouse one shot behind Mickleson and he was tied with Stanley, but he too has dropped a shot on the 15th.
14.00 Tiger is shuffling round into the sand. The ball is not there, it's on a level above, but it's a really tough shot to shoot out from there. Adam Scott to play first. Not bad. Now McIlroy, who slides his chip underneath. Not enough oomph on that. It's well short again. Now Woods pops his ball out. That's gone very high. But it drops a foot shorter than he wanted it. He is going to struggle to make par there. McIlroy nudges his par shot close to the pin and drops a shot. Disappointing. And Woods, too, is wide. The World No1 is now +3 and Northern Irishman McIlroy is +2. Scott two putts. He drops a shot, too. He is five down today. That was supposed to be a par four, but the best three players in the world could only manage fours.
13.55 Woods shunts the short three-par wide into the rough. There is a groan from the crowd. McIlroy is short. Scott is better.
13.50 Kyle Stanley has now moved to -2 under, one stroke behind Mickelson and Donald, who has hit the dancefloor on the 18th hole. Westwood dropped a shot at the 17th, though. The big man is now even.
Tiger and co are still waiting on the 17th, by the way. And as the cameras are following just this lot for now then it limits my blogging! Ah, now Jim Furyk has finished, so we are back under way.
13.45 It's a pretty compressed course, and the cameras have just shown Robert Karlsson swinging back and having his ball hit by another ball! Incredible! We'll try and get a video of that in a moment.
13.40 The reason for the hold up here is because Zach Johnson, on the 17th, is waiting for a ruling. Meanwhile Donald is through 17. The temperature is dropping over in Merion.
13.35 So the top three in the world are all over par. Anything under is obviously good. Can Luke Donald get home and hosed on -3, tied at the top with already-finished Phil Mickelson? The Englishman has two holes to play in the first round. Bit of a hold up ahead of the 17th here.
13.30 After dropping a shot at the 15th McIlroy is looking moody, but he has achieved a par at the next hole. Scott (who is bogey-par-bogey-double bogey this morning) hit the rough again, but managed par, too. He was close to a birdie, in fact. And now Woods steps up for his birdie shot. The Tiger has missed his opening tee shot today but the rest of his day has been going pretty well so far. Will he sink this?
No, he has pulled it to the left of the hole. It broke more than he read. He is there is par, though. The top three in the world shuffle on to the 17th hole, a teasing par three.
13.25 Ernie Els drops down the leaderboard after hitting a bogey at the 14th.
13.20 We might have a few showers this morning, but the long forecast suggests that the weather will pick up over the weekend.
13.18 Leader Donald drops a shot at the 16, the Quarry Hole. He sinks to -3 to tie with Phil Mickelson, who is sitting pretty in the clubhouse.
13.15 Scott hits a double bogey, and he will want to put that horror show at the 15th behind him.
13.12 Shaun McGuckian from our good friends Golf Punk reckons it's playing very tricky. "Brutal," Paul Casey called it yesterday at Merion.
Oliver, What do you reckon you'd shoot at Merion if you played on Monday? General consensus in our office is we'd be pleased to break 100!
I'm going to agree with you. (In reality I fear I would be nearer the 200-mark. Fair weather golfer, you see.)
That's a good nudge, though, to remind you all to check out Golf Punk's top 10 US Open moment. Lovely footage in here. Enjoy!
13.10 The Sky Sports cameras are just following the Woods-Scott-McIlroy trio at the moment, so apologies that there is little comment on the others. Luke Donald is still leading. He has parred his four holes today, and is still on -4.
13.05 Yes, Scott's first drive there did skip on to the road, so that was out of bounds, after all. His next shot is well short. Come on Scotty. Next up Woods arrows his second shot to within a couple of yards to the hole. And McIlroy pitches out of the bunker, and he's spun back into the fringes of the fairway. Tough break.
13.00 Woods finds the fairway on the 15th – that's his second out of three today – which is encouraging. And McIlroy's drive looks clean but he finds the bunker on the right. "He looks bummed," the American commentor says. And Scott shunts his left to out of bounds. Ouch. He calls a provisional and hoons another one in the same direction. It lands on the trim, close to the toes of the spectators who must be thinking it's raining balls just now.
12.58 Uphill putt for Woods, left to right, from about 25 feet, and ... ooohh he's about two inches right. Good putt. He's in par. Scott, though can only manage a bogey. That's his second of the day. Not a good start for the Masters champ.
12.55 And he has overspun again, Scott. His third shot at the 14th lands next to the pin, but it grips the surface and it rips about 40 feet back from where it came from, just like at the 12th. Shane Warne might want to spin it to win it, but his countryman is struggling at the moment. Even a fetching pink polo shirt cannot help him so far today. McIlroy nudges his putt to about 12 inches from the hole after going up over a ridge. And he sinks it for a welcome par.
12.50 Here's Tiger Woods with his second shot on the 14th. He does not look happy with that approach. Not too bad, though. He's over the severe ledge at the front of the green. McIlroy shoots about 40 yards to the right of the pin. And now Scott, from the rough, stunted his ball out and that was ugly. He only went about 60 yards with that. The Aussie will play again there.
12.45 Leader Donald has managed to par his 14th hole. And Ernie Els is working his way up. The Big Easy is now -2 after 11.
12.40 Woods pulls one back on the 13th, though. He's back to where he started though, at +2. His left wrist is the one that is the issue. Might you, he's won the US Open on pretty much one leg before ...
12.35 McIlroy, shooting alongside Woods and Scott, manages a decent par after finding the fringe on his approach. He stays level. His two opening round playing partners fail with short putts and drop shots.
12.30 Merv Goddings, emailing in from Moscow, believes that Luke Donald can stay at the top this week. And possibly next.
If he can just re-discover his putting form from a year ago Cool Hand Luke could break his duck here.
12.25 Oooow. That was not the start Woods would have wished for at the 12th. After holing that first putt he has shanked his drive. And it's plopped in the deep, wet rough. Is that wrist still giving him jip? Adam Scott, meanwhile, landed his pitched approach to about a yard and a half from the flag. Then it spun away, and ended at about 30 feet from the pin.
12.20 Officials at Merion are hoping to have the opening round sewn up in a couple of hours, and are planning to have the second round under way at 2.45pm London time.
12.15 Good start from Woods. He holes his putt for par, after waiting nearly 11 hours. He remains +2.
12.13 The horn for the second day sounds, and we are off, at 07.13 local time.
12.00 And the, erm, angrygolfhulk is up. We should be underway in 15 minutes or so.
11.45 And here an amusing tweet from Spanish player Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño. Though, to be honest, I've heard funnier. It's the top-trending tweet at the moment on the US Open, though.
11.40 Here's a Tiger Woods quote from last night. The world No1 is through 10 and +2.
It's kind of the way the Tour has been this year. We've had a lot of bad weather this year and this is the way it's been. I've got a lot of holes to play tomorrow. And hopefully I can play a little better than I did today.
Woods will start his day tackling a four-footer for par. After play was suspended last night, players had the option of finishing the hole they were playing. Tiger's playing partners Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy putted out, but he opted to wait.
11.38 For those wondering, the second round will commence immediately following the completion of the first round.
11.35 Check out this mud! Now we all know that golf buggies are great fun, but not when you have to steer it though this quagmire.
11.30 Here's what 35-year-old Donald – leader by one after his 13 holes – said last night:
I birdied my last three holes, 11, 12, 13. Those are kind of the holes you want to make an easy score if you can. It's playing as gentle as it might play so far. If you were going to make a score, today was a good day. I've obviously got five pretty tough ones to finish, but really happy with the way I started my round.
11.20 There will be plenty of complaints from another Englishman, though. Yesterday Lee Westwood's pitch hit the wicker basket, which are there in place of the flags, atop the poles (why?!), and bounced away from the hole. It cost him two shots and he managed just a double bogey. Ugly. There will be more of this, though. Mark my words.
11.15 DAY TWO Hello again US Open fans. Day two of the weather-affected major at Merion. More bad weather is expected against this morning, though with some luck the skies may clear before lunch. Play is due to start at 12.15pm British time, 7.15am in Pennsylvania. And an Englishman, Luke Donald, is leading the field. OK, he has only round 13 holes, but I'm excited as I backed him at 40/1 each way.
Sunshine and plenty of showers this morning in Merion


text:
By ,
Published December 20, 2016
After days without electricity, water or cellphone service, some New Yorkers awoke Saturday to power being restored for the first time since Monday, but patience was wearing thin among those in the region who have been without power.
From storm-scarred New Jersey to parts of Connecticut, a widespread lack of gasoline frustrated people who were just trying to get to work or pick up groceries.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the Defense Department will set up emergency mobile gas stations at five locations around the New York City metropolitan area to distribute free fuel with a limit of 10 gallons per person. Cars and emergency service vehicles will be able to fill up directly from the 5,000-gallon trucks.
Gas rationing was to starting at noon Saturday in northern New Jersey, where drivers will be allowed to buy it only every other day.
When you have a significant amount of people voicing real pain and unhappiness over its running, you have to hear that. You have to take that into consideration.
In Washington, President Barack Obama visited the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an update on superstorm recovery efforts and said "there's nothing more important than us getting this right."
"Obviously we've now seen that after the initial search and rescue, the recovery process is difficult and it's painful," Obama said. "But I'm confident that we will continue to make progress as long as state and local and federal officials stay focused."
Obama cited the need to restore power; pump out water, particularly from electric substations; ensure that basic needs are addressed; remove debris; and get federal resources in place to help transportation systems come back on line.
Cuomo also said about 80 percent of New York City's subway service has been restored.
The storm forced cancellation of Sunday's New York City Marathon. Mayor Michael Bloomberg reversed himself Friday and yielded to mounting criticism about running the race, which starts on hard-hit Staten Island and wends through all five of the city's boroughs.
Bloomberg, who as late as Friday afternoon insisted the world's largest marathon should go on as scheduled, changed course shortly afterward amid intensifying opposition from the city comptroller, the Manhattan borough president and sanitation workers unhappy they had volunteered to help storm victims but were assigned to the race instead. The mayor said he would not want "a cloud to hang over the race or its participants."
Many runners understood the rationale behind the decision. The death toll in the city stood at 41 and thousands of people were without electricity, making many New Yorkers recoil at the idea of police officers protecting a foot race and evicting storm victims from hotels to make way for runners.
The sudden cancellation forced runners to deal with an unexpected twist: what to do with no race.
More than half of the 40,000 athletes were from out of town. Their entry fees were paid. Their airline tickets were purchased. Their friends and family had hotel rooms. And all week the race was a go, even after Sandy came ashore Monday.
"I understand why it cannot be held under the current circumstances," Meb Keflezighi, the 2009 men's champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, said in a statement. "Any inconveniences the cancellation causes me or the thousands of runners who trained and traveled for this race pales in comparison to the challenges faced by people in NYC and its vicinity."
ING, the financial company that is the title sponsor of the marathon, said it supported the decision to cancel. The firm's charitable giving arm has made a $500,000 contribution to help with relief and recovery efforts and is matching employee donations. Sponsor Poland Spring said it would donate the bottled water earmarked for the marathon to relief agencies, more than 200,000 bottles.
"When you have a significant amount of people voicing real pain and unhappiness over its running, you have to hear that. You have to take that into consideration," said Howard Wolfson, deputy mayor for government affairs and communications.
"Something that is such a celebration of the best of New York can't become divisive," he said. "That is not good for the city now as we try to complete our recovery effort, and it is not good for the marathon in the long run."
Each day has brought signs of recovery in the region. Fewer than 1 million customers in New York were without power Saturday, the lowest the number has been since the storm hit.
Aida Padilla, 75, was thrilled that the power at her large housing authority complex in New York City's Chelsea section had returned late Friday.
"Thank God," said Padilla, 75. "I screamed and I put the lights on. Everybody was screaming. It was better than New Year's."
Asked about whether she had heat, she replied, "hot and cold water and heat! Thank God, Jesus!"
NYU Langone Medical Center, one of two New York hospitals that had to evacuate patients at the height of the storm, said it would reopen Monday, although some doctors would see patients at alternate sites.
Seven backup generators at the hospital failed Monday night, forcing the evacuation of 300 patients.
At Bellevue Hospital Center, some 700 patients had to be evacuated after the power failed. An official there said the hospital could be out of commission at least two more weeks.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would make public a list of when New Jersey utility companies intend to restore power to each community. Even if they end up working faster or slower, he said, residents will have a sense of when power will be restored so they can plan their lives a bit better.
Commuter rail operator NJ Transit said it would have more service restored in time for the workweek to start Monday, most of Atlantic City's casinos reopened, and many school districts decided to hold classes on Thursday and Friday — days previously reserved for the New Jersey Education Association's annual conference, which has been canceled.
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
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subset: commoncrawl


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El Niño/Southern Oscillation - October 2009
As of the October 2009 report, NCDC will no longer write a separate assessment of the current state of El Niño/Southern Oscillation as part of its Monthly Climate Report. This information will be incorporated in the El Niño Diagnostic Discussion produced each month by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center.
Current and historical values of ENSO indicators, along with values of other teleconnection indices, can be found at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/teleconnections/
Thank you for your interest in NCDC products.
NCDC Climate Monitoring Team
Addiontional El Niño/Southern Oscillation Links
- ENSO Monitoring
- NOAA El Niño Observations Page
- NOAA El Niño / La Niña Index Definition
- NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL):
- NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC):
- NOAA's Climate Diagnostics Center (CDC)
- NASA/JPL Ocean Surface Topography from Space
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) ENSO Wrap-Up
- IRI - International Research Institute


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Family members of a 23-year-old Lewiston woman are searching for answers after she experienced complications during childbirth and died a few days later.
Destiny Crockett had a healthy pregnancy, but she was put on life support after the delivery of her second child, a baby girl, family members said.
A spokesman for Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where the baby was born, confirmed that Crockett was admitted as a patient on April 20 but would not say any more about her care, citing state and federal privacy laws and respect for the family.
Hospital spokesman Chuck Gill emailed a statement to the Portland Press Herald on Monday.
"There has been ongoing communication and support for this patient's family since this event happened on April 20. We have expressed our condolences and are doing everything possible to support them through this tragic situation," Gill said. "Central Maine Medical Center takes patient safety very seriously. An extensive internal review of all aspects of this patient's care is being conducted to identify the root causes of this event."
Crockett's father and a sister said they would like some answers.
"I said my final goodbyes today before they took her off life support," Wilbur Crockett, Destiny's father, said Monday night. Crockett, whose third floor apartment at 202 Elm St. in Biddeford was destroyed Saturday by fire, said he consented to having his daughter's organs donated.
"I feel something good should come out of this even though it is a terrible loss for our family," he said.
Teasha Crockett, Destiny's younger sister, said doctors harvested seven organs Tuesday, and she hoped the donations would save others' lives. That's what her sister would have wished.
"She was very loving and would do anything for anyone," she said.
She described her sister as a healthy young mother to an 8-year-old girl. The newborn was admitted to Maine Medical Center in Portland. The family members said the delivery included use of an epidural anesthetic, commonly used during deliveries to ease the mother's pain.
Dr. Daniel Campos, a partner at Spectrum Medical Group in South Portland and an attending anesthesiologist at Maine Medical Center, said life-threatening complications resulting from an epidural are "extremely rare."
"It's a very safe practice," Campos said. "When we quote risk factors, we say those types of serious complications are to the magnitude of one out of hundreds of thousands of cases."
The infant's father, Dwain Coughlin of Lewiston, who was with Crockett during labor, declined to comment for this story.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
Joe Lawlor can be contacted at 791-6376 or at:
Twitter: @joelawlorph
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Census figures show economic gap narrows with citizenship
Monday's NFL notebook: Cowboys Elliott upset with joke by owner
Nation & World
Warren apologizes for heritage claim, woos Native Americans


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Pepperoni Pizza Grilled CheeseNow, I'm the first to admit I love a good grilled cheese, made on white bread slathered with butter, sandwiched around plain ole American cheese and browned in a skillet. Serve it with a bowl of good ole Campbell's tomato soup {and I like to drop a slice of American cheese into that soup as it's warming} and you got yourself a mighty fine meal there. But every once in awhile I like a nice change too.
I ran across this sandwich in Cook's Country a pretty neat publication of America's Test Kitchen, especially if you like a wide variety of well-tested recipes. I already had plans for that Homemade Fresh Tomato Soup I just posted and thought this sounded like a great sandwich to pair with that. With layers of mozzarella and provolone cheese, some pepperoni tucked in with a bit of fresh basil, it sure sounded pretty darned good to me!
This sandwich is definitely worthy of one of those artisan breads too - the kind with the crusty exterior and chewy crumb - and I happened across a boule on the clearance rack of day old bread at the grocery store that was a great fit for this. Tucked into the bread were whole cloves of garlic - perfect!
Put this on your outdoor grill, or on an indoor grill and weigh it down with a heavy skillet or pan, or just use a countertop grill, like a George Foreman, like I did - enjoy!
Check out more of my sandwiches on Pinterest!
If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!
Adapted from Cook's Country magazine
Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep/Cook time: 10 min | Yield: 4 servings
- 1 (8 inch) boule loaf (or other sturdy bread), cut into eight, 1/2 inch slices
- 32 slices of pepperoni, 8 per sandwich
- Marinara sauce
- 8 slices of provolone cheese, 2 per sandwich
- Fresh, chopped basil
- 8 slices of mozzarella cheese, 2 per sandwich
- Melted butter, optional
Place the pepperoni on a paper towel lined plate and microwave about 30 seconds to render fat. On each of 4 slices of the bread, spread a small amount of marinara sauce, and add 2 slices of provolone. Top each sandwich with 8 slices of pepperoni. Sprinkle basil on top of the pepperoni and add mozzarella on top of the basil. Spread a bit more marinara sauce on the remaining bread slices, top sandwiches, and brush both sides of the outside of the bread with melted butter, if desired. Place onto a grill, weighed down with a sandwich press or heavy pan. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until cheese is melted. Serve with tomato soup.
Caprese Grilled Cheese: Prepare as above, except omit pepperoni and substitute slices of fresh tomato.
Mushroom Swiss Grilled Cheese: This is one of my favorites! Saute 1/2 cup sliced Vidalia onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until tender. Pile on insides of buttered bread, top with Swiss cheese and grill or press.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
NOTE: You do not need to request access to print! Access is for document editing purposes only.
Requires Adobe Reader - download it free!©Deep South Dish
☛ Are you on Facebook? If you haven't already, come and join the party! We have a lot of fun & there's always room for one more at the table.
Deli Style Chicken Salad
Tomato Basil Chicken Wrap with Bacon
Classic Patty Melt
Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, please do not copy and paste to repost or republish elsewhere such as other Facebook pages, blogs, websites, or forums without explicit prior permission. All rights reserved.


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Wash. Post Omits Crucial Facts In Article About Immigrants And Social Security
The Washington Post quoted the research director of the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) arguing that immigrants are a drain on public services without noting that the center's analysis on the issue has been criticized as flawed. A study by the libertarian Cato Institute found that immigrants are actually less likely to rely on public benefits than native-born Americans.
In an article examining the effect immigrants have on Social Security, the Post noted that many undocumented immigrants file tax returns and thus pay into the Social Security trust fund, even though they may never be able to access it themselves because they are legally unable to do so. As a counterpoint, the article then included the views of CIS' Steven Camarota:
But Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports limits on immigration, said that America's immigrants are not young or fecund enough to shore up the system.
"If the immigrants all came at 20 and had seven or eight kids, you would see more of a difference," he said. The average immigrant arrives at age 30, and immigrant women have, on average, 2.1 children, according to the Pew Research Center.
Camarota added that immigrants tend to be poorer than native-born Americans and are therefore more reliant on a wide range of public services. "If you bring in a lot of immigrants who are paying into Social Security but then need all these other social programs -- well, then you're not helping the situation."
Analysts on both sides agree that increasing the number of highly skilled immigrants would shore up the system more than the Social Security Administration report accounts for, since high-skilled immigrants pay more taxes and spend more than low-skilled ones.
However, in a study released in February, the Cato Institute found that immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to use public services:
[L]ow-income non-citizen immigrants, including adults and children, are generally less likely to receive public benefits than those who are native-born. Moreover, when non-citizen immigrants receive benefits, the value of benefits they receive is usually lower than the value of benefits received by those born in the United States. The combination of lower average utilization and smaller average benefits indicates that the overall cost of public benefits is substantially less for low-income non-citizen immigrants than for comparable native-born adults and children.
Cato also noted that while immigrants' earnings tend to be lower than Americans' when beginning their careers, that changes over time as they invest more in education and training: "[W]hile immigrants begin with lower earnings, their incomes improve as they remain in the United States for longer periods. As immigrants remain longer in the United States, their English proficiency and other job skills improve, which heightens their earning potential."
After Camarota responded critically to the study's findings in February, Cato pointed out the flaws in CIS' research methodology and concluded that CIS inflated its conclusions that immigrants are a drain on public services by using a "bad approach" :
Our approach is to count the benefits used by immigrants individually while Camarota's approach is to include everyone in a so-called immigrant-headed household regardless of citizenship status - especially U.S.-born children and spouses.
In other words, counting the cost of the children of immigrants who are born citizens is a bad approach. If we were to follow Camarota's methodology, why not count the welfare costs of the great-grandchildren of immigrants who use welfare or public schools today? Our study, on the other hand, measures the welfare cost of non-naturalized immigrants and, where possible, naturalized Americans.
A 2012 Cato study arrived at similar conclusions, finding that immigrants tend to settle in states with the lowest spending on public services -- which runs counter to the notion that they are primarily concerned with coming to the United States to use public benefits:
The 10 states with the largest percentage increase in foreign-born population between 2000 and 2009 spent far less on public assistance per capita in 2009 compared to the 10 states with the slowest-growing foreign-born populations -- $35 vs. $166. In the 10 states with the lowest per capita spending on public assistance, the immigrant population grew 31 percent between 2000 and 2009; in the 10 states with the highest per capita spending on public assistance, the foreign-born population grew 13 percent.
If immigrants were primarily concerned with collecting welfare, they would not be flocking to such states as Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Instead, they would be drawn to such states as Michigan, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which in fact have seen very slow growth in their immigrant populations.
Numerous other studies have also found that immigrants are less likely to use public benefits.
CIS -- a nativist organization whose affiliation with hate groups has been thoroughly documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) -- has repeatedly been criticized for its shoddy research work. In November 2012, the Economic Policy Institute caught the organization cherry-picking economic data to "imply -- misleadingly -- that Obama's policies have favored immigrants over natives and caused disproportionate employment gains for immigrants," as EPI Vice President Ross Eisenbrey wrote at the time.
SPLC has stated that CIS often reaches baseless conclusions that are "either false or virtually without any supporting evidence" and the Center for New Community has warned professional journalists that CIS is not a "credible voice in the debate on immigration."


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In last years Michael Jordan themed NBA 2k11, Patrick Ewing and the '94 Bockers were one of the old Jordan rival teams you could play with. This year, NBA 2k11 is emphasizing a new legends mode picking some of the greatest teams of all time and allowing gamers to play with them. In this latest "NBA's Greatest" Trailer, Patrick Ewing and the 90's Knicks are one of the teams that are featured. Unfortunately there was no showing of the 70's Knicks with Willis Reed, Clyde Frazier and Earl Monroe. I think it is a shame that they are not in the game (or at least there is no sign they will be) because they truly were one of the best teams ever. That being said, this is a video game and they have to make the most money they can. Younger gamers will clearly be more intrigued with the Run TMC Warriors or the Chris Webber Kings (two teams featured in the trailer) then they will with a team from the 70's that they never saw play. It is a shame but it is understandable why the 70's Knicks probably will not be in the game. Also, on a side note, I hope 2k takes the time to go and fill in all the benches on these legendary teams. Last year, they gave you the starters and then put a bunch of really crappy made up players as the bench. I do not wanna play with made up bench players again on the Knicks, I want Greg Anthony and Charles Smith and Rolando Blackman and Hubert Davis to be in the game instead of fake players. I have a feeling 2k will have the fake players again which is really annoying but we will see what happens.
Correction: I have learned via Alan Hahn that the 70's Knicks are in the video game.Follow @tarmosino


text: This single volume encyclopedia provides a ready reference and study guide for subjects related to nuclear issues. Entries include brief descriptions of organizations and committees, scientific and technical terms, installations and laboratories, arms control treaties, nuclear weapon systems and tests, and programs of the nuclear nations. Each entry contains several bibliographic citations for more detailed information. The author intends the book for a general audience including high school and college students interested in the history of atomic energy. While not totally inclusive, it does provide information on a broad range of nuclear topics. A comprehensive bibliography is also included.


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The Shape and Flow of Heavy Ion Collisions
During the 490th Brookhaven Lecture, Bjoern Schenke discussed theory that details the shape and structure of heavy ion collisions. He also explained how this theory and data from experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider are being used to determine properties of quark-gluon plasma. Read more
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text:
Beacons of excellence
At Liverpool John Moores University our research institutes, centres and groups carry out important and inspirational work, committed to the University strategy to find solutions to the problems of the 21st century.
Our high profile Centres and Institutes include:
Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology
Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology
To explore our research areas please browse through the links below.
Art, culture and history
Built environment, sustainability and urban affairs
Craniofacial analysis
Business, law and criminal justice
- Business, Corporate Banking and Finance Law
- Centre for the Study of Crime, Criminalisation and Social Exclusion
- Criminal Justice Research Group
- Digital Marketing and Retailing Research Group
- European, Public and International Law Research Group
- Finance, Economics and Evaluation Research Group
- International Business Management and Strategy (IBMS) Research Group
- Leadership, Education and Development Research Group
- Research within Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing
- Management, Learning, Knowledge, Organisations, HR and Evaluation Research Group
- Marketing, Consumption Social Engagement and Entrepreneurship Research Group
- Project Management Research Group
- Research Unit for Financial Inclusion
- Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research Group
- Socio-Legal Research Group
Engineering and technology
Health-related research
- Applied Biology Research Group
- Astrophysics Research Institute
- Biomedical Science Research Group
- Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis Research Group
- Chemoinformatics Research Group
- Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics Research Group
- Drone Research Group
- Environment Research Group
- Evolutionary and Behavioural Biology Research Group
- Faculty of Science Pedagogic Research Group
- Formulation and Drug Delivery Research Group
- Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products Research Group
- Primatology Research Group
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology