US Open Golf 2015 Leaderboard: Live Updates and Storylines to Watch for Friday
The 2015 U.S. Open's Thursday start at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, proved predictable in just one area—its controversy.
Friday's action will continue the trend.
Entering the event, some golfers made a point to suggest the course might prove too difficult. That seems somewhat true now with Rory McIlroy looking a long, long way up at those in front of him, a surprising top five and Tiger Woods sitting at another epic career-low number.
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Things will only pick up, though, as the contenders become more accustomed to the course. Before Friday play tees off, here's viewing information, some storylines to keep an eye on and a leaderboard that will update throughout the day.
U.S. Open Round 2 Info
Early Coverage: 12-8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Late Coverage: 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox
Live Stream: USOpen.com
Storylines to Watch for Friday
Rory McIlroy's Upward Climb
Now would be the time to ring a few alarm bells for the world's No. 1 golfer.
McIlroy missed the cuts at his last two starts—the BMW PGA Championship and the Irish Open. Now, he's flirting with dangerous territory once again after shooting a 72 and winding up at two-over par Thursday.
Thanks to a pair of bogeys on the front nine and two more on the back, complemented by two birdies, McIlroy rests seven strokes off of the lead, so the idea that his missed cuts wouldn't play a factor at a major tournament is going out the window.
As Justin Ray of the Golf Channel puts into perspective, McIlroy will need to trump some history to pull off a win:
While not impossible, the storyline Friday is whether McIlroy can keep his head above water. If he can, then chatter can kick into high gear about his chances of actually swimming back to shore.
For now, the world's top player needs a serious change on a short turnaround to stay alive.
Phil Mickelson and the Grand Slam
Everyone knows the deal with Phil Mickelson: He's still searching for the career Grand Slam, and were it not for his falling off of a cliff in the second half of Thursday's round, he would be sitting in pretty good shape going into Friday.
Mickelson's been on fire as of late with a pair of top-four finishes in his last three outings, but the momentum didn't show for an extended period Thursday. He shot a trio of birdies on the front nine and then turned around with as many bogeys on the back, offset by one more birdie.
"No complaints," Mickelson said after the round, per USA Today's Christine Brennan. "I played well. I had a really nice round going and then bogeyed 13 and 14. But I'm under par in the first round of the U.S. Open. I'm very pleased."
As ESPN Stats & Info points out, Lefty has every right to be happy with the first-round performance when one takes history into account:
Friday and beyond, it's all about staying the course.
To accomplish this, Mickelson needs to shake off the second-half blues from Day 1 and focus on what brought him success over the first nine holes. If he can do so, history might prove correct once more.
The Course Itself
For better or worse, the tricky course of Chambers Bay continues to steal the headlines. It did before the start on the opening tee, and it will continue to do so throughout the weekend.
Mickelson, one of the course's defenders before the tournament began, told reporters after Round 1 the green-to-green speed changes hurt golfers, as captured by ESPN.com's Bob Harig:
"I think the biggest challenge is that the green speeds are different from green to green. That's going to wreak havoc on our touch. And that's the only thing I could possibly think of that is not really positive, because I think it's been very well done.
The best way to wreak havoc with us is change the speeds of the greens from green to green, no question.
"
Mickelson is far from alone in his assessment.
Sergio Garcia, who finished Round 1 tied for 26th at an even mark after a trio of birdies and bogeys, took to social media to share his thoughts on the matter:
Friday will show just how credible the rumblings are one day removed from Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson managing to shoot 65s to share the lead, with Patrick Reed resting one stroke behind.
No matter what happens, the course will continue to be the topic from top and bottom performers. While perhaps not the most interesting storyline in the tournament's history, it makes for quite a must-see affair on the course when play starts.
Stats and info courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise specified.
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