Matthew Wolff assessed penalty a day later

SAN DIEGO – Jon Rahm should’ve been stressed standing over critical par putts midway through his second round at the U.S. Open but with his previous experience at the Farmers Insurance Open in his back pocket his heartrate never lifted. Rahm battled with his driver off the tee on Friday, finding just one fairway in the first 12 holes of his round, but used the rest of his skills to scratch out a 1-under 70 and move to 3-under just two back of morning wave pace-setter Richard Bland. RELATED: Full U.S. Open leaderboard | ‘It’s OK to not be OK sometimes’ As a previous winner at the PGA TOUR’s regular January stop on the same course (2017), Rahm had a comfort level others might not when it comes to the subtle breaks on the Torrey Pines greens. And sure enough, he drained momentum saving putts from 14-feet on the 10th, seven feet on the 11th and five feet on the 12th to rescue his chances of claiming a first major victory. “I just had to survive. I’ve got to say, that stretch of putts on 10, 11, 12 was key. Things could have taken a turn for the worse, and I was able to save three great pars in a row,” Rahm said. “The memory of some putts and some breaks can always help. Obviously, they’re rolling a little bit different, a little bit faster and you have to play a little bit more break, but in my case, the putt on 11, I knew it was straight. I’ve hit that putt before. I’ve missed it before. And like the putt on 10, I knew it broke a lot more than it looks.” It is this experience that meant it was no surprise for Rahm to see fellow former Farmers Insurance Open winner Bubba Watson (2011) shoot a 4-under 67 to join him at 3-under heading to the weekend. “I’ve played well here. This golf course is such a beast. Great putters don’t make as many putts because rumor is it bounces around these greens. I’ve got a chance on this course,” Watson said. “The golf course has definitely changed since I won ten years ago, but I can see some of the shots. I’m just hitting big slices, trying to get the ball in play, but I can see this golf course a lot better, and I got some confidence knowing that some areas are patchy, where you can play out of the rough when you miss the fairway.” For Rahm to continue to play stress free he knows he will have to start hitting the fairway more often – much like he did after the confidence building one putts. He only missed one in the final six holes. Prior to that he was missing predominantly to the left. “I feel like it looks worse than it really was. It’s easy to get a little bit tight on this golf course,” Rahm said. “All the shots, the start lines were proper, they just weren’t fading. I’m just not turning fast enough. (So) I just have to swing a little bit harder with the driver, and that’s exactly what I did starting on 13.” The Spanish star is not suggesting he’s owed anything from the unfortunate circumstance that saw him withdraw from the recent Memorial Tournament presented by Workday while leading by six with a round to play thanks to a positive COVID-19 test, but he did say he believes in karma as he looks to keep his form going this weekend. “I believe in karma in the sense that good things happen to good people,” Rahm smiled. “What happened a couple weeks ago is something I can’t control, unfortunately, but what I can do is control what I do every second of the day. Just following the routine, make sure I’m hydrated, make sure I’m eating, and make sure I’m thinking the right things out there on the golf course. So far I’ve done a great job, and hopefully I can keep going.” For Watson to keep it rolling he knows the key ingredients are having fun and then having focus at the right moments. He figures that’s what helped him where he is so far. “I was just kind of in the flow playing with two great guys, shooting the breeze, making fun of them and stuff, so it really took me out of my element. I didn’t know what they were shooting. They didn’t know what I was doing,” Watson laughed about his pairing with fellow Masters champions Adam Scott (+3) and Sergio Garcia (+3). With his last top-10 at a major coming in the 2018 Masters and his last top-10 at a major outside of the Masters way back at the 2010 PGA Championship where he was runner up Watson said he will stay relaxed by playing video games and staying happy. He had missed the cut in six of the last nine U.S. Open’s he’d played. “I enjoy (the added pressure). I’m striking the ball well. I’m actually going to practice some five-footers, and I’m going to hit some balls just a little bit just to make sure we’re doing what we want to do,” he added. “I think I’ve been playing well. I feel like I’m charging.”

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Which Tiger will show up at the U.S. Open? Which big name is headed for a disappointing week? We answer that and other important U.S. Open questions.

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Ryan Brehm closed birdie-eagle for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead Friday in the Puerto Rico Open. Brehm is making his final start on a minor medical extension and needs to win or finish second alone to retain status. He is the only player in the field bogey-free through 36 holes. “It would be wrong to say you don’t think about it, but realistically, since the beginning of this year we’ve just been trying to improve every day, every week,” Brehm said. “As long as we can do that, if we can take something away from each round, each situation, put some pressure on myself, we’re going to learn from it. Just enjoy the process of doing that really and we’re doing that.” Brehm birdied the par-4 17th and made a 30-footer for eagle on the par-5 18th to get to 11-under 133 at Grand Reserve. “It was kind of boring until the end,” said Brehm, winless on the PGA TOUR. “I feel like I had to scramble quite a bit, had some difficult up-and-downs, got them up-and-down, made a few good putts for par, kept the momentum going and finished birdie-eagle, Made a bomb on the last hole. You add it up, it’s pretty good.” Max McGreevy (64), Satoshi Kodaira (66) and Michael Kim (69) were a stroke back. Callum Tarren (65) was 9 under. Kim shared the first-round lead after a 65. Since winning the John Deere Classic in 2018, he has made only 15 cuts in 75 starts on the PGA TOUR, including one stretch of 25 consecutive events without making it to the weekend. He was No. 75 in the world when he won and now is at No. 1,030. “Obviously, it wasn’t as clean as yesterday, but got a few birdies to drop on the front nine,” Kim said. “Overall, satisfied with the round.” University of Oklahoma senior Chris Gotterup was 8 under after his second straight 68. Making his PGA TOUR debut, he won the Puerto Rico Classic collegiate event two weeks ago at Grand Reserve. “I’m just very comfortable on this course,” Gotterup said. “The par 5s are perfect for me and I can take advantage of it when I can. And when I’m out of position, I just try to keep it in play.” Puerto Rico native Rafa Campos shot a 68 to get to 6 under. “Overall, really happy with the round today,” Campos said. “Didn’t really hit the ball that well, but I’m really happy with how the ball rolled on the greens.” The event is being played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in Orlando, Florida. The winner will receive a two-year exemption and gets in the PGA Championship.

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