Reporting from Oakmont, Pa. — It was a day at the U.S. Open that required a really strong deodorant and plenty of snacks in the golf bag.
It was a 13-hour double shift with hardly a lunch break or change of shirts. It tested fitness and patience, and in the end the man who might have been luckiest was the one who made one stroke of his ball the entire day.
Nearly half of the field in the 116th U.S. Open played 36 holes Friday after the same group never set foot in competition on the Oakmont Country Club course in Thursday’s wild weather day.
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And the other half of the draw was to venture out early Saturday morning to play the second round on a course whose challenges would be completely changed from the soft and soggy first day.
It’s like the U.S. Golf Assn. and Mother Nature conspired on a grand experiment: What more can we do to drive them crazy?
The torture already got the best of some of the world’s best, but Dustin Johnson loped along, hitting one stellar iron after another, showing tremendous command on one of the world’s hardest golf courses. Johnson made only one bogey in his 36 holes and shot 67-69 to own a midpoint score of four under par.
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What that meant in the big picture was debatable. Also at four under was Andrew Landry, who had to roll out of bed Friday and roll one putt. He made the 10-foot birdie to polish off an opening 66 before retiring to either a day of leisure or considerable anxiety.
Whether Landry gained an advantage or lost one won’t be understood until the second round is completed. There were some around Oakmont who thought it best to play 36 in similar conditions, though the physical toll could hardly be discounted. Others considered two morning rounds to be an advantage, but that also meant three straight days of pre-sunrise wakeup calls.
Anybody under par through 36 holes had to be happy to be there, and that number stood at five.
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Dustin Johnson, right, gets a congratulatory hug from his caddie and younger brother Austin after making a birdie on the 18th hole Sunday at the U.S. Open.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson celebrates with partner Paulina Gretzky and son Tatum after winning the U.S. Open on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson hoists the U.S. Open winner’s trophy alongside Jack Nicklaus on Sunday evening at Oakmont Country Club. (Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson reacts after saving par at No. 16 on Sunday during the final round of the U.S.Open. (Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
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Shane Lowry reacts after missing a putt on the seventh hole during the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Sergio Garcia hits out of the bunker for a birdie on the eighth hole during the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
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Jim Furyk reacts after making a birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open. Furyk finished with a 66.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
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Dustin Johnson plays an approach shot on the third hole Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Scott Piercy lines up his putt at No. 17 on Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Lee Westwood plays his approach shot on the first hole during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson prepares to putt on the fourth green during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday. (Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Branden Grace of South Africa preapres to drive at the first hole during the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Lee Westwood walks down the 15th fairway during third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday at Oakmont Country Club.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
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Andrew Landry listens to caddie Kevin Ensor as he checks the yardage from a row of bunkers on the third hole Saturday during the third round of the U.S. Open.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
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Lee Westwood plays a shot from a bunker at the 11th hole Saturday during the third round of the U.S. Open.
(Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
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Shane Lowry reacts after making a birdie at No 7 during the third round of the U.S. Open.
(John Minchillo / Associated Press)
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Dustin Johnson hits his drive at No. 4 during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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Louis Oosthuizen, right, is congratulated by Lee Westwood after making a birdie putt at No. 10 during the third round of the U.S. Open.
(Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
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Jason Dufner hits a shot from the church pew bunkers on the third hole at Oakmont Country Club during the third round of the U.S. Open.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Andrew Landry plays a shot on the first hole during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
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Lee Westwood of England celebrates his eagle on the fifth hole during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Sergio Garcia hits his tee shot at No. 8 during the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday at Oakmont Country Club.
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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Fans leave the prepare to leave grandstand seating at Oakmont Country Club after play Friday.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Justin Thomas hits his approach shot at No. 15 on Friday during the second round of the U.S. Open.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson hits an approach shot at the third hole during the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the rain-delayed second round of the U.S. Open on Friday. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Fans cheer after Jason Day hits his tee shot at No. 18 on Friday during the continuation of the first round of the U.S. Open.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
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Jason Day hits his approach shot at No. 14 during the continuation of the first round of the U.S. Open on Friday at Oakmont Country Club.
(Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
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Fans cross the third fairway during a rain delay on Thursday at the U.S. Open. Play was suspended at Oakmont Country Club with only nine golfers completing the first round.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Fans wait inside during a rain delay Thursday at Oakmont Country Club on the first day of the U.S. Open.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Andrew Landry follows through on his tee shot at the seventh hole during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Jordan Spieth (white cap) and caddie Michael Greller (standing) prepare to leave the course during a delay at Oakmont Country Club on Thursday.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Andrew Landry watches his tee shot at the fourth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday at Oakmont, Pa. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Zach Johnson plays a shot from the Church Pews bunker on the third hole during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
(Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
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Bubba Watson watches his approach shot at No. 9 during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday. (David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Amatuer Scottie Schefflertalks with his caddie and sister Callie Scheffler on Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)
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Bryson DeChambeau hits out of a bunker on the third hole during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.
(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
Beyond Johnson, Sergio Garcia was at two under after rounds of 68-70. He made a tremendous save on his last hole, the ninth, by chopping out of a ditch and making a long par putt.
Scott Piercy, a three-time PGA Tour winner, also was two under (68-70). Journeyman Daniel Summerhays fired a tournament-low 65 in his second round to get to one under, along with Andy Sullivan (69-69), an Englishman who won three times on the European Tour last year.
Pennsylvania native Jim Furyk, who lost by one shot in the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont, shot 69 in the first round and was at two under overall with one hole to finish when play was suspended because of darkness.
The day was a long trudge to nowhere for some of the top-ranked players — some of whom likely were headed for Sunday off. The world’s top five combined to shoot 20 over in the first round.
No. 1 Jason Day opened with a 76, spent much of his rounds ankle-deep in the rough and was five over through 15 holes when play was halted. No. 3 Rory McIlroy (77) and No. 4 Rickie Fowler (76) had some battling to do in the second round to make the cut. No. 2 Jordan Spieth was in decent shape with a 72.
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Johnson was delayed in starting what he hopes will be a redemptive week. It was a year ago at Chambers Bay that he had an eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win and ended up three-putting to lose by a shot to Spieth.
Johnson is renowned for his short memory, and when asked Friday evening if he was motivated by last year, he responded, “What happened last year?”
Johnson again showed the spectacular ball-striking that has made him so formidable, along with the balky putting that has prevented him from winning more. In the two rounds, he hit 32 of 36 greens — absolutely remarkable at Oakmont — but made only five birdies, three on par-threes. He needed a lot of putts — 32 and 33, respectively.
“The greens — – they’re so hard to putt,” Johnson said. “No matter how close you are to the hole, they’re tough to putt. I hit so many good putts today that I thought were going in and burned the edge or lipped out.”
Paul Azinger, on the Fox broadcast, said, “No one is making putts. That’s just a testament to how difficult the greens are.”
