PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Gary Woodland figured the toughest part of his second-round test at the U.S. Open was over for the day.
From a thick patch of rough between the bunker and the edge of the ocean on the eighth hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he pitched up to 15 feet from the cup and made a slick putt with severe break for par to keep a clean card and a one-shot lead. Then he pounded his drive on the 526-yard ninth hole down the middle of the fairway - right into a divot.
Nothing could spoil this Friday afternoon on the Pacific Coast.
Woodland gouged it out with a 7-iron with enough strength to get the ball to the front of the green, and he could only smile when the 50-foot putt dropped for a birdie and yet another record at Pebble Beach, not to mention a two-shot lead going into the weekend.
"That was just a bonus," Woodland said. "Hit a beautiful drive. I was in the divot, a pretty deep divot. We were a little indecisive what we were going to do. We tried to take a little less club and hit it hard and play out to the safe to the right, and it was nice to knock it in."
His 6-under-par 65 matched the U.S. Open record at Pebble Beach for the second time in two days, a testament to a course that was only slightly firmer but still soft enough under a heavy marine layer with so much condensation it felt like a light mist.
Woodland was at 9-under 133 overall, beating by one shot the 36-hole record at Pebble Beach that Tiger Woods set in his record romp in 2000.
The difference: Woods had a six-shot lead in 2000. Woodland's margin was only two shots over Justin Rose, who followed his record-matching opening 65 with a 70. Louis Oosthuizen didn't make a par on the back nine until the final hole in his wild round of 70 and was three shots behind.
The weekend remains a mystery.
Rory McIlroy, who kept it together right when it looked as though his round was getting away from him, felt the course was a little faster and could really speed up over the final two rounds. He was among 10 players separated by five shots halfway through a U.S. Open that so far has run smoothly.
That list includes two-time reigning champion Brooks Koepka, who made two late birdies for another 69 and was five shots behind.
"I feel great. I'm excited. I've got a chance. That's all you can ask for," Koepka said. "I just need to make a few putts. Sometimes the hole just needs to open up. If I can get off to a good start tomorrow, have that feeling where the hole's opening up, it could be a fun round."
The list does not include Woods.
He made a 10-foot birdie on No. 11, his second hole of the round, and made nothing else the rest of the day. That birdie was the only putt he made longer than five feet, and he closed with back-to-back bogeys for a 72 to finish nine shots behind.
Rose set the target early and at one point Friday morning had a four-shot lead until a poor wedge to a front pin on No. 3, followed by an iron off the tee at the short, uphill fourth that peeled right over the edge and into ice plant, forcing him to take a penalty drop and leading to a bogey.
But he had few complaints with a super short game that has carried him for two rounds. Rose got up and down from the thick collar short of the green at No. 8. He did the same with a lag putt from the bottom of the green at No. 9.
"At this point, there's not a lot to worry about," Rose said. "If you're one ahead, one behind, it's a lot of golf to be played. But it's the perfect spot after two days."
The cut was at 2 over. Only one-third of the trio of Baylor School graduates who started this United States Golf Association major championship will have a chance to finish it, and Harris English made his weekend reservation with room to spare.
The former Georgia Bulldog, a two-time PGA Tour winner, followed his opening 71 with a 69 and was tied for 19th at 2 under. This is his fourth U.S. Open, and while he has never missed the cut in the event, he has a very good opportunity to improve significantly on his best finish of tied for 37th at Oakmont Country Club in 2016.
English, who had one of the day's latest tee times and started his round on the back nine, made four birdies and two bogeys.
Former Red Raiders standouts Luke List (72) and Keith Mitchell (70) each completed 36 holes at 4 over.
List's second round included four birdies, three bogeys - including on No. 18 - and a double bogey on the par-4 eighth hole as he missed the cut for the fifth time in as many starts at a U.S. Open.
Mitchell shaved six strokes off his score from first-ever U.S. Open round Thursday, with six birdies highlighting his play Friday. He made three bogeys and one double - on the par-4 ninth.
For the second straight day, Pebble Beach was there for the taking, but only for good, smart shots.
McIlroy also made a run at the lead until a bogey from the bunker on the 13th and a mess on the par-5 14th. With the ball slightly above his feet for his wedge, and knowing that anything left of the pin would go down a slope with gnarly rough, he left it out to the right and watched it roll off the green and into the fairway. Then he dumped a shot into the bunker and walked off with double bogey.
He answered with a pair of birdies.
"Those were huge to get me back into the tournament," McIlroy said.
Oosthuizen, the first player to reach the early target set by Rose at 7 under, gave a shot back with a bogey on No. 8, and then another one at No. 10 that started his roller coaster along the inward nine. A birdie was followed by two bogeys, followed by two birdies and another bogey.
"Seven birdies and six bogeys - I'm not a big fan of bogeys," Oosthuizen said. "But miss these greens, it's so difficult around the greens in the rough. And you can't control the ball. You basically are guessing what it's going to do. And all those loose iron shots, I had tough chips, and end up bogeying probably all of them."
Phil Mickelson revved up the crowd with three birdies in the opening six holes and six birdies for the round. He still couldn't stop the mistakes, however, and Lefty had to settle for a 69. He was eight shots behind, needing to get a little closer in range to seriously think about a shot at completing the career Grand Slam.
Even with two soft days and slightly firmer conditions no one expects it to be easier the rest of the way.
Graeme McDowell, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010 at par 284, ran off four straight birdies early in his round, threw in a few mistakes and was wincing over every birdie chance that burned the edge of the cup. He had to settle for a 70 and was six stroke behind - but still hopeful.
"Anything can happen on this golf course over the weekend," he said. "You don't have to do anything fancy tomorrow."