U.S. Open -- Day 2

OK, so Smart Girl, Number 2 Son, and I left the house this morning around 5:45 AM. We drove around the Beltway and up I-270 deep into Montgomery County, Maryland -- finally stopping at a place called Crowne Farm. We parked in one of those big grassy fields like they use for high school football games or the County Fair, and then we got onto a quite nice chartered bus. By the time the bus had wended its way through Montgomery County and dropped us off at the main entrance, it was around 7:15.

There still weren't very many people on the course, so we were able to put ourselves in a prime viewing area close to the 10th green. The 10th hole is a 218-yard par 3 with a difficult carry over water, and half the field has had to start their round their on Thursday and Friday. We stayed there until around 10:30, and we got to see almost everyone who was playing this morning. The 10th green is also right next to the main scoreboard, so we could keep up with what was going on elsewhere.

Of course, I was interested primarily in McIlroy, who started the day with a three-shot lead after a brilliant 6-under 65. He teed off on the first hole, and I could see that he opened with three straight pars, as red 6's appeared under holes 1, 2, and 3. But then I saw that they had put up a red "7" under 4, so I knew he had birdied that hole. Later we heard a huge roar from what I thought was the sixth green, and soon afterward a red "8" appeared under the sixth hole. He parred the seventh, but when they posted his score for the eighth hole something seemed odd. I had an awkward angle for viewing the scoreboard, and I couldn't read the numbers very well, but it looked as though they had put up a number with a zero. Was it a "10"? Could he have actually eagled the par-4 eighth? Yes, as it turned out, it was and he did.

So by the time McIlroy got to our 10th hole -- now surrounded with a vast array of fans -- it was clear that he had completely taken over the tournament. He was only the fifth man in history ever to be 10-under-par or better at the U.S. Open, and the first to get there in only 26 holes. We gave him a big cheer.

But he kept going. In fact, he got all the way to 13-under -- the first man in history to post that score at the U.S. Open -- before going into the water on 18 and taking a double-bogey. Still, his score of 65+66=131 is the best 36-hole score in U.S. Open history, and he is sitting on a very comfortable seven-stroke lead. We haven't seen golf like this since Tiger blew away the field with a 15-stroke victory at the 2000 U.S. Open. Tiger went on to win the next three majors as well -- which may have been the greatest sporting performance I ever saw. So it is very exciting to see someone playing at such a high level.

I'm sure my friends who are members at Congressional are somewhat disappointed that anyone is scoring so well on their course. But despite last night's rain, Congressional has been a great test so far -- only 12 golfers are under par, and only two golfers are more than two shots under par. McIlroy is simply blowing the field away.

Current leaderboard:

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -11 (36 holes)

2. Y.E. Yang (KOR): -4 (33)

T3. B. Snedeker: -2 (36)

T3. R. Garrigus: -2 (36)

T3. S. Garcia (ESP): -2 (36)

T3. Z. Johnson: -2 (36)

By the way, we did see Chris Williams start his second round with a birdie on 10 -- his first of the tournament. He played pretty well today, following up yesterday's 76 with a 73 to leave him at seven over. Unfortunately, the cut line is around four over, so we won't be seeing him for the weekend.