• US Open, Round Two, What They Said

What They Said

ESPN staff
June 17, 2011
Sergio Garcia wasn't as thrilled as Robert Garrigus to be at two-under © Getty Images
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ESPN will be providing live commentary during all four days of the US Open from Congressional CC - along with all the news, views and opinion when it gets underway on Thursday

Rory McIlroy brushed off a final hole double-bogey, focusing on everything that came before that to give him a huge second round lead: "I played 35 very, very good holes and that's what I need to focus on. I feel comfortable in my game, comfortable on this golf course. I've given myself plenty of opportunities and taken some of then. My aim at the start of the day was to get to double figures [under par], so after eight holes I had to re-assess!"

"I think it's mostly to do with my attitude more than anything else. I took a few things away from the Masters that I felt I could incorporate into my game, and I said at the start of the week, we'll find out how they go when I get myself into that position again. We'll see how that goes over the next couple of days."

Sergio Garcia is one of McIlroy's nearest challengers, yet he was unimpressed with his own performance: "Am I happy (to be on the leaderboard)? Yeah, obviously I am. I don't think I played very good today, so I think even par, the way I played, it was a good round. I would have loved to play obviously much better and been able to shoot 3 or 4 under. It was very possible today. But unfortunately the game wasn't there. If you're hitting it all over the shop, it's quite difficult to give yourself chances. You're kind of fighting to make pars.''

Robert Garrigus is at the same mark as Garcia thanks to a Friday 70. At least one of them is happy about it: "You know, it's great. It's what we dream about. It's what we play for and it's what we work hard for. I drove it well, which in the U.S. Open, that's always key. Under par both days in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, I'll take it. I'm excited to see it [his name] up there and I'd like to see it last for the rest of the weekend. Should be fun."

Brandt Snedeker remains in the hunt, but he was full of praise for McIlroy, saying: "It's pretty special, like Tiger [Woods] at Augusta 14 years ago. I don't see mid-60s back to back out there. When you're in that zone and playing great and putts are coming off every time … you've got a lot of wedges on the front nine, you can shoot a low number. But it's so exacting and so precise. He's played phenomenal. It's pretty impressive.

"To be honest, we're all playing for second. Unless he does something, kind of comes back to us."

Robert Rock made headlines with his mad dash to tee it up at Congressional - being unable to get in a practice round - and made the cut after following up his opening 70 with a 71. He said: "I think it helps that the course is a bit softer. I haven't needed to see the perfect lines off every tee or the spots to be on the greens. But I'm still playing well after last week. I had a lot of chances out there but I just didn't have the energy to hit them - they just weren't going the distance. It's finally caught up with me a little bit. I'll go to sleep now and try to get some energy back for the weekend. I'm sure it will be harder. I'm still playing well so if I can get some energy I'll be alright!"

Phil Mickelson was evidently struggling with his game, but brought things home with a remarkable 69. He said: "It was a disappointing finish with that double, but I'm still struggling. Even though I was able to shoot under par today, I was still struggling with it. Rather than work on it, I think I'm going to try to figure out what it is I need to work on first, and then get back to the range."

Zach Johnson played his way into the upper echelons of the leaderboard with a fine round of 69. He said: "The way I look at it, the pressure is off me. I'm not the one that's supposed to win it right now. I'm not saying I don't want to lead, but I don't know how many shots he's [McIlroy's] winning by. It's got to be at least seven, right, eight, nine? You know, that's pretty good.

"I'm going to play my game. I can't control the leaderboard. I certainly can't control what Rory is doing or anybody. They're just numbers. It's completely irrelevant."

Patrick Cantlay may be an amateur, but his play on Friday was anything but. The 19-year-old shot a 67 to make the cut with ease, saying: ""I'm just trying to learn as much as I can this week and get better. I'm just going to try and play the golf course as best as I can. It's a great experience. It's a lot of fun. I had some confidence before I came here this week. It definitely makes you feel good about the future, and hopefully one day I can be playing as a pro."

Lee Westwood improved on his opening round of 75 by carding a 68 on day two, saying: "I played well. I didn't hit that many bad shots, hit a lot of good ones.

"If I'm going to win the tournament, then I'm going to need Rory to play poorly over the weekend. I might play great and shoot 11-under par and get to 10, but if he shoots level at the weekend then he wins."

Luke Donald began a run of three bogeys in four holes at the 12th as he went on to shoot a 72, he said: "I struggled on the back nine both days and that comes down to not hitting enough fairways and not hitting enough greens. I hit 50 per cent of fairways and you're always going to struggle on a course like this. I have got to find something on the weekend and shoot a couple of good rounds and see what happens."

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