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Tony Finau is in the longish stuff down the right on 17 but to be honest he may as well have been on the fairway.

Is that a seven or eight iron? Who knows. It's only half a swing, the sort you muster on a pitch and putt, and he runs his ball up the right fringe of the green. A pretty decent result.

With a flick of the wrists he gives himself a par putt from six feet.

DJ is short again with his birdie putt as is Bryson DeChambeau.

Phil Mickelson only hit two of 14 fairways yesterday and he's continued his inconsistent form today. His tee shot on the 17th leaves him perched with one foot in the bunker and the other foot on some rough. A position to test the hamstrings of a gymnast, never mind a 50-year-old golfer.

Impressively, he doesn't rip his hamstring, nor fall over but does send the ball past the hole and into some more rough.

Lee Westwood, after a good approach shot on the 10th, has a chance for a birdie from 21 feet and he couldn't have got any closer without it dropping.

That leads to an anguished club-over-head reaction from the Englishman. Close, but not close enough. A par.

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Thomas Pieters is eyeing up a lead-tying birdie on the short 13th after finding the heart of the green with his tee shot and watching his ball edge to within 15 feet of the hole.

Can he move back to the top of the leaderboard? No. It's a two-putt par to stay one back.

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After three bogeys today, England's Lee Westwood has scooped his first birdie of the day at the 557-yard par-four ninth.

It could've been even better for the 47-year-old, who is still looking for his first elusive Major, as he missed an eagle-putt attempt from 17 feet.

That's Westwood back down to one under overall and a position of tied 10th.

Thomas Pieters stops the rot on the 615-yard par-five 12th. He's on the green for three and two putts for par.

The way the course is playing, I reckon he'd fancy his chances to be leader tonight if he can play final third of his round in level par.

It’s as we were, with Justin Thomas back in the lead, after Thomas Pieters’ back-to-back bogeys.

-5 Thomas (18:27)

-4 Pieters (11), Reed (18:16)

-3 Wolff (6*), McIlroy (18:27)

-2 Finau (7*), Kokrak (17:32), Todd (17:54), English (17:54)

-1 Cabrera Bello (9*), Westwood (9), Watson (9), DeChambeau (7*), Oosthuizen (7), Rahm (6*), Schauffele (5), Thompson (a) (17:54)

This medium length dogleg right hole requires precision with both the tee and approach shot. The kidney-shaped green is very narrow, making recoveries from the left or right equally difficult.

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All three are just off the edge at 16...

The cut there is short enough for a putter mind so not like some of the lies you get on your local municipal.

And that was never in doubt from Bryson DeChambeau who drops in an effort from almost 40 feet. There was literally no movement in that one at all.

DJ is up next from an almost identical position but he needs two bites of the cherry to make par, as does Tony Finau from the left.

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Phil Mickelson, on nine over, needs something special and nearly finds it with an aggressive 30-foot, right to left, downhill birdie attempt on the 15th. "Come on," screams the American as it heads hole-bound, but it is not to be and he can only manage a par.

Only the top 60 and ties at the end of this round will make the cut and Mickelson is a long, long way off that at the moment. He's at level par today, but his Thursday shocker looks like costing him dearly.

Daniel Berger is one of a handful of players who seem to be dealing well with Friday's tougher conditions at Winged Foot.

The American, who won the first PGA Tour event back after the coronavirus break, has just curled in his third birdie of the day on the eighth to get back to level par overall.

Jon Rahm has to play his third stroke at the par-four 15th testing his balance and playing up a hill after overcooking his previous shot.

A great up and down at least gives him a chance to come out of this one unscathed and he sinks the nine footer for a superb save. He stays at one under overall.

Is Thomas Pieters' bubble about to burst?

A poor tee-shot at the par-three 10th leads to a first bogey of the day.

And life is not getting any easier on the 11th. A wayward tee shot leads to a second that stays in the rough. A chip and a putt needed for par. No. His eight-footer dives left and just like that, it's two shots gone and Justin Thomas is back in the lead.

The lengthy, dogleg left 16th will likely play the toughest on the back nine. The left side of the hole is protected by trees, including a large maple short left of the green.

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The wind is picking up and Jon Rahm has a bemused look on his face as he balloons one very long at the 15th and he will do well to not drop a shot at this par four.

Ohhhhhh. Almost a sensational eagle from Tony Finau who zips his second a few feet past the pin on 15 and then watches it spin back and trickle just past the hole.

Still he'll have an almost unmissable birdie chance to regain the shot he lost at the last.

DJ is also on the money with his approach and drops in his putt to leave him six shots off the lead...

Muscle-man Bryson DeChambeau is fine from tee to green but his putter is definitely running cold as he three putts for another bogey.

You may recall that Spanish amateur Eduard Rousaud had the most incredible start on his US Open debut on Thursday.

The 20-year-old holed his second shot, from 130 yards, to be two under after one hole and ended the round with a reasonably decent 76.

Sadly, he's struggling a bit today. He started on the 10th and had three double bogeys and four bogeys in his first nine holes and is currently propping up the leaderboard on 16 over

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World number two Jon Rahm started round two on one under and he's still there after bogeying the 10th (his starting point) and then collecting a birdie at the 11th.

Now if you need some help with how to play a par three well this would not be a bad template to follow.

What am I saying/writing/typing. It's ridiculously good.

There's about half the 144-strong field out playing right now and only six players are under par. Is Winged Foot biting back?