LOS ANGELES -- They say you can win a U.S. Open with 72 consecutive pars. Rickie Fowler is trying to disprove this notion by proving that you can win one with almost none at all.
Fowler backed up his record-breaking 62 from Round 1 with a 68 in Round 2 that included an astounding 14 birdies and bogeys bringing his total circles and squares for the week to an astonishing 26. This is not atypical at LACC given original golf course designer George C. Thomas fell in love with creating half par holes, the type that played either a half stroke under or a half stroke over par. This creates scenarios in which birdies and bogeys sometimes become more common than pars, and that was certainly Fowler's experience Friday afternoon.
Fowler got hot early as a badly-needed sun started cooking on the course. Following that U.S. Open-record 62 on Thursday, he looked like he might set them all as he began birdie-birdie-birdie to start Round 2.
In getting to 10 under on his second hole of the day, he became the fastest to double digits under par in U.S. Open history. He touched 11 under after his third straight birdie to open Round 2, but between that hole and the end of the day it was a total roller coaster.
For a while on nasty back nine, it looked as if Fowler was going to kick away the lead to Wyndham Clark, who finished several hours before him. However, he hit perhaps his best shot of the week and birdied the 17th, which was playing nearly a half stroke over par.
It was his 18th birdie of the week, which is just four off the all-time U.S. Open record for an entire tournament. It also tied the U.S. Open record score of 130 through two rounds, which was set in 2014 by Martin Kaymer; coincidentally, Fowler finished runner up in that tournament.
That birdie and a par at the last pushed him once again to where he was back on the third hole (-10) and again up one on Clark -- with whom he'll be paired Saturday -- as well as the rest of a leaderboard that includes Xander Schauffele (-8), Rory McIlroy (-8), Dustin Johnson (-6), Scottie Scheffler (-5) and Cameron Smith (-4).
Perhaps most impressively, Fowler's 10 under came from the wrong side of the draw. Playing in the early to late wave cost players two total strokes over the first two days, and the majority of players in the top 10 on the leaderboard after 36 holes came from the other wave.
It's been inspired golf from somebody who has wandered at times over the last several years.
Fowler has been open about his struggles. Last year at the PGA Championship, he was forthcoming about weighing the opportunity to go to LIV Golf. If he had done so, it would have been nearly impossible for him to play his way back into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings and qualify for major championships. And while he technically could have qualified for this particular major by going to a local and sectional qualifier, that's a difficult gambit and hardly guaranteed.
"I sure hope everyone can relate to struggles because everyone deals with them," said Fowler, who at one point last year fell out of the top 175 in the world. "No one's perfect. You'd be lying if you haven't been through a tough time, especially if you play golf."
Instead of packing it in, Fowler grinded his face off over the last few years, and everything started to click into place at the beginning of 2023. He's been terrific all year and once again placed himself among the best players on the planet.
"These are why we play," said Fowler. "This is why everyone that's teeing it up this week or guys that try to qualify, this is what we all want to do. We play the game because we love it and we want to compete and we want to win.
"Going through the last few years, yeah, there's probably plenty of people that might have just hung it up. But for the guys that play for a living out here and know high-level golf, part of the struggles -- I wouldn't say I necessarily enjoyed it, but looking at it, I did just because of how much I learned about myself, my swing, my game. I wouldn't be in this position had I not gone through the last few years."
The embarrassment of not being who you once were can be emotionally overwhelming, but Fowler was able to ignore it all, keep his head down and do the work. For someone who is often (playfully) teased about how much corporate attention he gets, Fowler showed real perseverance and never took the easy way out.
His reward is two memorable days at a sweet U.S. Open and the opportunity for so much more over the final 36 holes at LACC.
"I'm looking forward to the weekend," Fowler said. "It's been a while since I've felt this good in a tournament, let alone a major. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm definitely looking forward to it."
With how LACC is trending -- it played 3 over in the afternoon wave on Friday -- plenty may believe 10 under would be good enough to win on Sunday evening.
That puts Fowler is in a humorous (and perhaps unenviable) position entering the third round: After making just 10 pars over the first two days, 36 straight might win him his first major championship.
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