In the second round of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, Sam Burns surged to the lead with a stellar 65, finishing at 3 under par, one shot ahead of J.J. Spaun, who scored a 71 for a total of 2 under. Viktor Hovland was the only other player under par at 1 under. The course proved brutal, with only three players under par by day’s end due to its punishing conditions, including narrow fairways and fast greens. Notable struggles included Scottie Scheffler at 4 over, seven shots back, and Rory McIlroy, who barely made the cut at 6 over after a birdie on the 18th. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut, as did Phil Mickelson, who fell just short of making his 27th U.S. Open cut. Heavy rain and thunder suspended play at 8:15 p.m. ET, with 13 players set to finish early today.
U.S. Open third-round tee times
VSiN’s golf experts offered their second-round observations and third-round predictions . . .
Kelley Bydlon
Another wild round at Oakmont is over, and several of the games big stars will be heading home early. While mostly everyone struggled on the course, Sam Burns posted a now very impressive five-under 65 and holds one shot lead.
My odds of hitting an outright this week are looking slim to none, but I still have plenty of placement bets with good chances. With this course causing such havoc, there will be no outright or finishing position adds for me, but here’s one I’d consider:
Jon Rahm To Win (22-1): This is a bit of a long shot with how hard this course is playing, but I still think this is a decent number on Rahm. The Spaniard had an ugly round today, but the tee-to-green numbers have still been good.
Any third-round matchups I play will be added at VSiN.com later. However, I will be very picky there as well.
Matt Brown
We have reached the halfway point of the US Open and three of the 156 golfers that played in the event have ended up under par. Fifty-five of them shot at least 6-over par in Round 2. I’m sure golf purists love it. As a golf bettor, I’m not so sure. Perhaps there’s a way to handicap a course that demolishes even the very best players in the world, and if there is, I missed on it this year. I’ll certainly lose money this event outside of a massive rally from Russell Henley, Thomas Detry, Keegan Bradley, or Jon Rahm. I am not confident.
Sam Burns putted the lights out to go 5-under and take the outright lead headed into the weekend, but unlike most, his putting could be sustainable. He’s the best putter on tour this season and has been very good his entire career.
No adds for me, but I will say Russell Henley has lost off the tee two rounds in a row, yet somehow figured out how to claw his way to T8. If he can gain even a little there, there might be some upside.
Matt Youmans
If I had to pick a winner going into the weekend, Sam Burns would be it. Burns should have won in Canada last week, when his betting backers took a bad beat. His putter has been a magic wand, and handling Oakmont’s fast greens will remain critical this weekend. It’s no coincidence the top two players through two rounds have been the hottest putters in the field.
J.J. Spaun’s stay atop the leaderboard was expected to be brief, but he’s hanging in there. The former San Diego State star was the only player who carded a bogey-free first round Thursday, when he sank an incredible 18 of 19 putts inside 20 feet. Spaun followed in the second round with a 2-over 72. But it’s doubtful Spaun, who has only one career PGA Tour win, will stick around to contend on Sunday afternoon. Almost every player within seven strokes of the lead, including Scottie Scheffler, has a shot headed into a wide-open weekend. That said, I’m not betting on Scheffler now at +800.
I still like Brooks Koepka’s chances. Koepka was at 12-1 odds after the first round and is worth a shot at 22-1 now. This has not been a positive wagering event for me. The biggest flops on my card were Bryson DeChambeau and Shane Lowry, who both missed the cut in embarrassing performances.
