Thomas Pieters from a dozen feet for birdie. Doesn't hit it with any conviction and the ball stays right, finishing about two inches from the hole but it was one of those putts that never looked like it was going to go in.

Still, it's a par ticked off and if he can do the same again on 17 and 18 he won't be far away at the end of round two.

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Clunk. Bryson DeChambeau is going nowhere fast and with shots like that neither is his score.

A pretty poor tee shot is followed by horrible second out of a plugged lie and his see-saw round continues.

He's not the only one struggling here mind. Tony Finau recovered from finding the sand with his first but somehow then shunts a six-footer for par wide.

DJ's also in bother but unlike his playing partners he only needs the one putt and saves par after a superb chip on.

A lot of people fancy Xander Schauffele to end his wait for a first major soon. He has form, previously finishing tied second at both the Masters and the Open, and placing tied third at the US Open last year.

And the 26-year-old American has just flung himself right into the mix at Winged Foot with two birdies in his past three holes - it takes him to three under, two off Justin Thomas' lead.

The second of those saw a wonderful approach into the 11th green to leave himself a straightforward - in his world - birdie putt that he converted.

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England's Lee Westwood has ticked off four pars in a row and finds himself tied 11th with five holes to go today.

He's been second or tied second in three Majors and third or tied third another three times - including at the US Open in both 2008 and 2011.

Barring a late collapse, he will be heading into Saturday's action in a tidy position.

The young American Matthew Wolff is the now the highest placed player currently on the course, after two more back-to-back bogeys from Thomas Pieters.

-5 Thomas (18:27)

-4 Reed (18:16)

-3 Wolff (9*), McIlroy (18:27)

-2 Pieters (15), Oosthuizen (11), Schauffele (10), Kokrak (17:32), Todd (17:54), English (17:54)

-1 Westwood (13), DeChambeau (10*), Finau (10*), Thompson (a) (17:54)

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Right Thomas Pieters, three to go. What are you made of?

That's another leaked drive on the 16th, the ball lands on the fairway but scuttles through the first cut and into the deeper stuff. It's all about the lie in there.

He digs the ball out with a wedge and looks anxiously after it, it's right on line but there's a bunker protecting the front edge of the green. No worries, it lands on the grass and takes a hop forward on to the green. Decent birdie look and how he needs one.

Not saying Louis Oosthuizen took the scenic route to a birdie at the ninth, but this was his shot tracker... he eventually clipped superbly out of a bunker and watched it roll all the way into the cup to get down in four and move to two under for the tournament, where he remains through 11.

Saw this cracking stat (from golf writer Martin Dempster) doing the rounds yesterday too - Louis Oosthuizen surpassed four-time champion Jack Nicklaus for the most rounds of 67 or lower in US Open history (8) with a 67.

Not bad, Louis, not bad...

Image source, USGA

Today's pin position on the first and of course the slope is taking its toll.

From playing below par on Thursday, the average score today is over 4.5.

Yardage check. Air density check. Now there is some chat about trajectory...

Basically it's your typical Bryson DeChambeau pre-shot routine. He treats every shot like he's dealing with an equation. But that is not a bad result as he feathers an iron into within four feet.

A superb shot that means he saves par on the first. Dustin Johnson is also in a touch of trouble but scrambles nicely out of the sand to save par for the second hole on the spin.

Tony Finau's scorecard turns red though as he takes three putts from 65 feet.

Thomas Pieters was six under and in the lead after holing a second birdie of the day on the fifth.

Four pars followed and the Belgian was in good shape. But since the turn, he has folded.

A short par putt on the 15th scuttles round the cup and finishes more than double the distance away. To his credit, he knocks in the next, but it's another bogey.

It's all got a little bit ragged for Thomas Pieters - he was two under for the day after his first nine holes, but three bogeys in his last five has seen him drop down the leaderboard.

His latest dropped shot, on the 14th, came after he found the deep rough off the tee and was unable to reach the green with his second shot.

The new dad said after yesterday's round that having a baby in his life has helped him manage his anger when things go wrong on the course. That's going to be put to the test over the next hour or so.

England's Paul Casey only made two birdies yesterday and none so far today halfway through his second round.

He's on one over for the day and seven over overall.

Two dropped shots in two holes for Spain's Jon Rahm as he tumbles from tied 10th to tied 26th and one over.

American Matthew Wolff became the first player to complete his first five rounds in major championship golf in the 60s when he signed for a four-under 66 yesterday.

He has a fascinating swing that starts with a little hip swivel.

The 21-year-old is making his US Open debut after finishing fourth at the US PGA Championship last month.

He's still right in the mix despite three bogeys in his first eight holes today.

Some anger from Jon Rahm as he thinks about snapping a club over his knee. Luckily he doesn't.

He's just bogeyed the 17th and is unhappy with how things are going on the 18th too.

Can he hold his game, and his clubs, together?

Viktor Hovland rolls in a third birdie of the day on the 17th, his eighth and the Norwegian is in the red.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson is also enjoying a fine start to his second round. The left-hander had successive birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes and is level with playing partner Lee Westwood on one under after 11.

Tony Finau gets first go with the putter on the 18th green. His effort doesn't trouble the hole but as he's about to tap-in for par, he steps away. The wind is getting up and he's concerned the ball moved.

Dustin Johnson for par from 12 feet.. A little fist pump from the world number one tells you everything. He's two under for his first nine holes and right back in this.

Bryson DeChambeau is a fraction closer. Different angle though and his ball doesn't curl enough down the slope. He looks away in complete bewilderment as the ball goes 270 degrees round the hole without dropping.

England's Tommy Fleetwood is one of those who will be hopeful of making the cut, but still knowing there is a lot of work to do.

He's two over for the day and sixth over overall after a birdie at eight was wiped out by a bogey at nine.

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Spain's Jon Rahm, second in the world rankings, is back to level par after a bogey at the 17th.

It was a seven-foot putt attempt to save par but he under-hit it - and knew it the second he struck the ball.

In the same playing group, Phil Mickelson, after a tricky second shot when he was balancing on the edge of the bunker, saves par.

A very impressive save and he's level for the day, which sounds great, but nine over for the tournament, which does not.

Bryson DeChambeau gets away with one on the 18th, with his tee shot running out of fairway but stopping in the first cut of rough. It's a 465-yard hole and he's got about 140 to the flag.

Wedge in hand, he goes straight at the flag and the ball parachutes down to about a dozen feet away.

Tony Finau, from further out, holds his ball against the wind to also finish on the right level, perhaps twice as far from the hole.

Dustin Johnson comes up short and needs a pitch and putt to save par.