Rate it!

15 votes

All the action as it unfolded on Friday at Bethpage Black.

CLICK THE LINK BENEATH THE PICTURE TO SEE THE LIVE LEADERBOARD

1.24am - There we go! That's it for the night! Thanks for joining us, and we'll be back at 12 o'clock tomorrow for the rest of the action.

1.20am - A bogey for Weir feels like a shame: he doesn't look comfortable solidering on in the gloom, and he seems to be undoing some of his earlier good work.

1.10am - Lucas Glover has canned yet another birdie putt! A two on the tough par-3 third hole is a fantastic birdie to get, and with the piece-of-cake par-5 fourth coming up he could get to seven under par before they pack up for the night.

12.59am - Adam Scott - who has been in awful form all year - has suddenly remembered how to play today: he's just had two more birdies, on the 18th and first, to go two under par and sit just three off the lead.

12.52am - The skies are clear even though the sun has gone down beyond the trees now - it's hard to say how many more holes they'll try and squeeze in, but with such good scoring conditions the players will be in no hurry to pack up and go home just yet.

12.44am - Sergio has just three-putted from five feet. We've seen it all before from the Spaniard, these putting woes, and that double-bogey - for his first putt came after a beautiful bunker escape - will really hit his confidence.

12.41am - Two more birdies for Lucas Glover on the 18th and the first, and suddenly we have a tie for the lead... It's Weir and Glover locked at five under, though Glover is the man with the momentum...

Speaking of momentum, amateur Nick Taylor has been rattling off birdies as if they'll no longer be legal tender tomorrow and is one under for the tournament, four under for his second round.

Sadly, Charl Schwartzel and Oliver Wilson have lost their momentum, Schwartzel having bogeyed seven and 10 after that amazing start and Wilson being three over after bogey on 13 and a double on the par-3 14th.

12.34am - That double bogey on the second had seemed to have thrown Phil Mickelson right off - but the left-hander has suddenly clicked in to life, with three birdies in his last three holes that included a brilliant 20ft putt on the 8th.

12.27am - For all that the conditions should be good in the morning, they are nothing short of perfect just at the moment, with fast-drying fairways and soft, receptive greens making the monstrous Bethpage Black just about as easy as it ever gets.

12.26am - Latest forecast suggests that these jammy players will come back into near-perfect conditions tomorrow morning - and that it'll be those who start later in the day who run into the rain.

It's a huge advantage to this half of the field, and something that we're fairly used to in Opens - but not in any of the US Major championships.

12.23am - Little-known Lucas Glover has produced three birdies in his nine holes and is now in a tie for second place alongside Hanson and Hamilton, with Ricky Barnes in the mix as well.

12.16am - The field is bunching up a little now as some good second round scores start coming in - and Mike Weir drops a shot on the fifth to go back to five under par.

Peter Hanson's fellow Scandinavian Soren Hansen is making a bit of a move, with the Dane having picked up three birdies in seven holes to go three under par for the tournament.

12.04am - Beautiful shot by Sergio from the light rough on the 15th, and the Spaniard trickles in his five-footer for a birdie on this toughest of holes. Considering that the 15th was the toughest hole of the entire year when the US Open came here in 2002, that one is like getting twp shots on the field.

11.50pm - Far from fading away as David Duval has, Todd Hamilton has continued where he left off in this second round, notching two birdies in his first four holes to sit just one shot behind Weir.

And ahead on the fifth, Phil Mickelson gets his second round back on track with a beautiful approach shot to three feet on the fifth that gets him back to one over par.

11.43pm - Ross Fisher has just done no less than stick his two fingers up to Bethpage, as that long putt from the edge of the green smashes straight into the cup for a birdie three!

11.40pm - More good news for McIlroy fans, as the young Ulsterman cans a fearless 30-footer on the sixth to get back to one over.

11.37pm - Rocco is slipping back now, with two dropped shots on the 11th and 12th to go back to level par.

Meanwhile up on the 13th Ross Fisher almost holes a wedge shot for an eagle... but the ball spins back wickedly off the front of the green, and he'll only be looking for a par.

11.28pm - Mickelson made a double bogey on the second to put himself on the back foot in this second round - and has just found sand with his second to the par-5 4th hole. Is Lefty's day crumbling?

11.20pm - Schwartzel has added a fifth birdie!!! There's a long way to go in his round, but at this rate he's on for a 59... Which considering that the best ever score in a US Open is 63, would be quite some going.

On the other nine Ross Fisher has just bogeyed the 12th hole to drop back to level par - but it could have been a LOT worse, since he rattled in a 25ft putt to resuce the bogey!

11.09pm - Bit of a shame for Ross Fisher, there: he just played a stunning approach on the 11th to just a few feet from the pin, but either totally mis-read or totally mis-hit his putt for another birdie.

Weir missed his birdie putt on the first just as Lucas Glover rolls in his second birdie in the space of four holes to go to three under par.

11.03pm - It's a sad duty to report that David Duval's fairytale form seems to have totally disintegrated, with the 37-year-old American having bogeyed three of his first four holes.

Weir, meanwhile, is still dialled in perfectly: he's just played to around 10ft on the first and has a very makeable birdie chance.

10.58pm - As leader Mike Weir tees off on the first - and nails it down the middle - his lead is back up to two shots after Hanson has bogeyed the second hole.

Back down the field, the player making the biggest splash is South African Charl Schwartzel, who has birdied the first four holes in a row! The scoring feels less like a US Open and more like a regular PGA Tour event at the moment.

10.50pm - Perfect start for Ross Fisher, who has just knocked in a 20-footer on the first to go one under par and into that group sharing seventh place.

10.40pm - Rory McIlroy makes up for missing that birdie on the first by slamming in a 30-footer on the second! It's all kicking off now!

10.37pm - Peter Hanson must be wondering when he's going to wake up: he's only gone and birdied the first! You'd normally expect the unlikely first-round leaders to collapse as soon as round two begins - yes, even when there's only a small gap between one round and the other - but not this lad!

10.27pm - Wunderkid Rory McIlroy has a 15-footer on the first for a birdie.... but it JUST lips out! Good effort for the man from Hollywood - let's hope he can make the most of his fortune in being on the right side of the draw this evening.

10.20pm - They've given the players a slightly longer break than originally planned, but the second round is well under way now - and 2001 Open champ David Duval is one of the first players out on the course, while Rory McIlroy has just teed off too.

9.57pm - South Africa's Andrew McLardy - currently the superstar of the second-tier Nationwide Tour in the States - has gone to one over par after a birdie on the last. He'd been one under before three late bogeys, so that's a good fightback.

9.40pm - There's still a few stragglers finishing their first rounds, but the second round is getting under way fairly soon. They've moved the tee times for the second round back a little to give the players a longer gap between rounds, but it won'y be long before the big names are back out there.

9.29pm - Oliver Wilson missed that birdie putt on the 17th, but played two clean shots down the last to give himself another chance... but it slides just by, and he taps in for a round of level par 70.

9.19pm - MIKE WEIR ROLLS IN ANOTHER BIRDIE!!!! That's a stunning finish to the round for the left-hander, birdies on his final two holes to wipe out that blemish on the sixth. What an incredible start to the tournament - and if his Masters experience is any guide, he's a player who is not fazed by leading from the front.

9.12pm - Todd Hamilton pops a birdie in on the ninth - his final hole - for a 67, while Ross Fisher holes a monster on the last to earn a level-par 70.

9.10pm - England's Oliver Wilson - a born US Open player if ever there was one, with his patience and unflappability - has been going along with his usual understated brilliance to be level par, and has just fired a terrific tee shot in to the 17th that could yet see him reach one under.

9.05pm - Phil Mickelson putts out for a very handy opening 69, while back on the hole before Mike Weir rolls in yet another birdie putt to get himself back to five under par!

9.01pm - Sergio finishes off a level-par round of 70 that represents a terrific start to the tournament for the Spaniard.

8.55pm - Sweden's unlikely leading man Peter Hanson has finished off his day with a pair of birdies, and suddenly he's gone from slipping out of the picture to completing a brilliant round of 66 to take the clubhouse lead!

8.52pm - Our earlier comment about the US Open having a habit of pulling its leaders back rings truer than ever as Mike Weir gets into all sorts of trouble on the sixth to drop a couple of shots.

8.48pm - A quick update/explanation for you about who is playing and when: the second round of the tournament will get going at 9pm UK time tonight, with the players who are finishing up at the moment the ones who will go back out in a few minutes.

That means the likes of Sergio, Phil, Ernie and so on will head back out onto the course at around five to 10 tonight.

Which means that they will get to enjoy the rest of the day's good weather - while the players who hacked through yesterday's miserableness will wait until tomorrow lunchtime before beginning their second round.

8.42pm - 'Who are you and what have you done with Sergio Garcia?' That's the question that springs to mind while watching the Spanish maestro roll in the sort of putt on 17th that he normally makes once a year, and then only if it's his birthday.Great stuff, and after a few wobbly holes that's El Nino back to level par.

8.35pm - David Duval is brilliant again! He fires a lovely approach 18ft left of the pin on the ninth - his final hole - and rolls in the putt as if its 1999 all over again.

8.23pm - The nervesjust look like they're starting to jangle a little, with Mickelson missing a short putt to give himself a bogey on the sixth.

Adam Scott is still enjoying himself, though, with a brilliant approach to the 490-yard 16th that's left him a tiddler to go to two under par.

8.10pm - We've got a few mad blasts from the pasts on the first page of the leaderboard at the moment, with both David Duval and Todd Hamilton - two former Major winners fallen on tough times - showing that they do still know which end of a 9-iron is which. It's great to see both at two under par, and let's hope they can hang around for more than just a brief cameo.

8.00pm - Mike the unstoppable Weir machine is at it again: his second shot to the par-5 4th fell short of the green, but he pitches and putts for yet another birdie - and is now an extraordinary six under par!

Don't go rushing to bet on a record low-scoring US Open just yet, though; if history teaches us anything it's that leaders always crumble at this toughest of the Majors. They might get themselves back into it at some point, but they will have a bad spell sooner or later...

7.49pm - It's time for anyone who started tearing up their Rory McIlroy betting slips to hang their heads in shame, because the 20-year-old has just picked up back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth, and has just stiffed his approach on the sixth. That should be Rory back to one over par, and right back in it!

7.43pm - Phil isn't one off the lead for very long: his fellow southpaw Mike Weir finishes off that birdie putt on the third and is now five under par.

7.40pm - Ernie's eagle putt may not have helped Ernie much - but it sure helped Phil Mickelson, whose 10ft birdie putt was on the exact same line. And Lefty rattles it straight in! He's three under now, and just one off the lead.

7.38pm - Ernie Els faces a 15ft eagle putt on the fourth hole to try and get a recovery under way - but it was never close. Poor old Ernie, what on earth has happened to him in the last few years?

Elsewhere, it's great to see veteran 40-somethings Rocco Mediate and Kenny Perry up in the top reaches of the leaderboard. Both have had great chances to win Majors in the last 12 months. Could either pull something off this time around?

7.29pm - It really is a different golf course out there now. Dry and sunny overheard, and soft, slow greens that receive the ball in a very un-US Open-like style.

And as if to celebrate the weather, Mike Weir has just hit a STUNNING tee shot on the par-3 third that was within an inch of dropping in the hole for an ace. That'll be the Canadian to five under - it's a tap-in.

7.17pm - Birdie for Sergio! El Nino rattles in a gorgeous putt on the 12th to get himself back to level par, while playing partner Adam Scott has just had back-to-back birdies to go two under.

7.05pm - Crowd favourite Phil Mickelson pours in another birdie putt, this time on the second hole, and the crowd are going madder than a toolbox made of cheese. They just love him, bless 'em! That's Phil to two under par.

7.00pm - We'll break from the stunning play of today's potential runaway leaders to give you a quick update further down the leaderboard.

Ross Fisher, Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim are still cooking on gas at one under par; while Justin Rose is cooking on a camp fire to be level.

Sergio Garcia is now cooking with a microwave as he's dropped back to be one over, where English up-and-comer - and perennial tournament bridesmaid - Oliver Wilson is as well.

Darren Clarke is doing boil-in-the-bag - not great, but not disastrous - at two over par, while Rory McIlroy is trying to use a candle to heat up a tin of baked beans as he's dropped to four over par.

And Ernie Els is having stone cold dinner: Ernie is five over par, and his woes seemingly look set to continue.

6.54pm - Weir plays yet another stunning shot to the 18th and has a 10-footer for a birdie... but the ball slides just past the edge of the hole. The left-hander is in fabulous form: his irons are just radar-guided brilliance at the moment.

6.40pm - Hanson is still rocking Bethpage with his brilliant golf, and has now birdied the first - his tenth - to join Weir at four under.

Mickelson got out of that bunker free on the 18th, incidentally. He was actually lucky to catch the sand, because the grass all around was appallingly thick.

6.30pm - Weir taps in his birdie putt on the 16th, and is out on his own in the lead.

Graeme McDowell's prediction about somebody getting round in three of four under could be right on the money.

6.22pm - Mike Weir has hit a brilliant approach on the 16th to line up another possible birdie. The 2004 Masters champ is absolutely on fire!

Worse news for Mickelson, though: he hits an iron off the 18th tee, but ends up sacrificing both distance and accuracy as he pushes the ball into the fairway bunker on the left.

6.18pm - Phil Mickelson thunders in a putt for a two on the par-3 17th! The ball was going off the green if it hadn't hit the hole - but the crowd go nuts for it!

6.12pm - Now HERE'S a name we didn't expect to see up on the leaderboard this week: Peter Hanson. The Swedish journeyman made a hole-in-one during a play-off in the Walton Heath US Open qualifiers, and he's making the most of his chance so far after posting an amazing three birdies in his first eight holes!

Hanson currently shares the lead with Mike Weir, who's had three birdies in six; elsewhere, Ernie Els is having a rotten time of things at the moment after a pair of double bogeys, while Sergio Garcia has a birdie putt to get back under par after dropping a stroke.

5.56pm - Ross Fisher has backed up our optimistic statement of his prospects by logging a birdie on the 6th - he's now two under.

5.46pm - Sergio has run in to a few problems on the seventh, and has missed his 40ft par putt.

Justin Rose hasn't been in the best form this season, but he's off to a solid start and is currently level par, while Phil takes on his birdie putt - but just runs it past the edge of the hole.

5.40pm - Phil Mickelson has either hit the best or the luckiest shot you've ever seen to the impossible par-4 15th: the ball was heading off the edge of the green, but dug its toes in on the fringe, span back, caught the slope and has now run up to about 10ft to give him a birdie chance!

Mike Weir and David Toms are off to good starts for their rounds and are in that group of leaders at two under as the players revel in the bright sunshine and clear skies.

5.26pm - Woah.... blue skies and sunshine! We'd begun to forget what they looked like! It's still Kim, Hansen and O'Hair going along well.

Sergio Garcia is one under par as well - great news, that, and he could really do with a good week. My god, isn't his Major just about six or seven years overdue already?

England's Ross Fisher - a brilliant all-round player for our money, and a definite potential top-10 player - is also off to a decent start to be one under after four holes.

5.15pm - Soren Hansen has got himself back to two under with a nice birdie on the par-5 13th.

5.09pm - Anthony Kim had a disappointing bogey on his opening hole, but has hit back with a pair of birdies. That's good golf from the uber-confident one.

5.06pm - Phil Mickelson is in a bit of shtuck here: he's pumped a drive miles into the jungle, and has lost a ball on the 13th - not a good shot, and a shame for the left-hander after playing his first three holes one under par.

4.56pm - Horrible start for Ernie Els, with the Big Easy registering a bogey and a double bogey in his first three holes.

Elsewhere, Sean O'Hair has just found his second birdie in three holes to jump to the top of the leaderboard. O'Hair is one of America's best young prospects, and a multiple winner on Tour; could he be ready to win a Major?

4.46pm - Anyone out there still doubting Rory McIlroy's brilliance? Then consider this: the curly-haired one has just reached the par-5 13th in two shots. That's a 600+ yard hole reached in just two shots despite there being almost no run on the fairways. Unbelievable.

4.45pm - Early birdies for lefty legend Phil Mickelson, Camilo Villegas and Adam Scott have propelled them near the top of the leaderboard, while Sean O'Hair has similarly gone under par - but Soren Hansen bogies the 12th to drop back to one under par.

4.36pm - Ben Martin's brief flirtation with being a front-runner at the US Open seems over as he records another bogey to drop back to level par.

Graeme McDowell might have had a good start to the championship, but compatriots Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy have not been so fortunate so far: both have dropped a couple of shots within their first three holes.

4.25pm - Denmark's Soren Hansen has birdied the first couple of holes to leap to the head of the class. For the moment, anyway.

Thanks to Chas C for confirming that Deed Poll is (a) easy to do and (b) within budget, we can now confirm that this is officially Bronson Burgoon blogging from the US Open.

And what a coincidence that we have the same name as one of the competitors - what are the chances?!

4.16pm - The clubhouse scores are beginning to flood in now: Casey finished with a 75, Ogilvy a 73, Furyk a 72 and early pace-setter Justin Leonard a 71.

"You've just got to think that it's a US Open, nobody's going to move that far ahead," says Padraig after his 76. "I'll take it," he adds, explaining that he sees no trouble getting back somewhere towards level par. "Level par is always the marker at the US Open."

4.11pm - With apologies to C. Kirk (see 1.12pm note), we have a new favourite name from among the unknown American players: Bronson Burgoon.

Burgoon, a 22-year-old amateur from Texas, has now jumped to the top of our all-time best ever sporting names, nudging poor old Graham Onions out of top spot.

Bronson Burgoon. Bronson Burgoon. How good a name is that? Bronson Burgoon.

How much does it cost to change your name by Deed Poll? Anybody know?

4.08pm - "I fully expect somebody to go out and shoot three or four under," says Graeme McDowell in his post-round interview, citing much easier conditions than yesterday. And a few moments later, Phil Mickelson steps on to the first tee... and promptly sticks his ball in trouble.

4.07pm - High-flying amateur Ben Martin has dropped a shot - somewhat inevitably - and slips back to one under par. There, he joins Scotland's Martin Laird, a young, US-based Tour pro who was one of the 'standout rookies' (as they say Stateside) on the US Tour last year.

4.00pm - Crazy trouser lover Ian Poulter has finished for the day with an excellent 70, but still finds something to complain about in his post-round interview. Apparently the sand in the bunkers is too soft, meaning that the ball plugs too easily.

Here's a suggestion for you, then, Ian: don't hit it in the bunker . You can have that one for free.

3.57pm - Another birdie for Luke Donald gets the Englishman back to just four over par. He's been playing beautifully today, and will be rueing those ugly sevens yesterday which put him on the back foot.

Meanwhile on the 18th, Padraig rolls in a gorgeous 12-footer for a birdie to get back to six over par, just as Tiger misses his par putt after a good-looking second shot from sand came up half a club short and drew a tricky lie in the rough.

3.52pm - As ever at the US Open the later starters are making all sorts of imprints on the leaderboard any time one of finds an early birdie. David Toms is off to a good start, as is Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, among others, and they are right up there at one under par.

3.45pm - Edfors has rattled in the birdie to go one under! Good lad - Nobby would be proud!

3.41pm - There's no doubt about it: Sweden's Johan Edfors looks a bit scruffy today, so much so that he reminds us of Nobby the bus stop tramp who used to live on the Oundle Road in Peterborough.

Oddly enough, Nobby was a keen golfer. Anyhoo, Edfors is going along beautifully at level par, and has just given himself a decent look at a birdie on the 15th.

3.33pm - Further down the leaderboard Paul Casey has dropped a shot just as Luke Donald has picked one up, leaving each on five-over. It's no disaster, but neither will they go home happy .

Actually, they won't go home at all: both are likely to tee off again before Friday is out.

We have to love the comment from matthew.holmes, down below, about David Duval winning. To paraphrase Les Dennis, if he wins we'll give you the money ourselves...

3.27pm - Graeme McDowell has a 20ft downhill right-to-lefter on the final green for a birdie and a share of the lead, but he misses. Still, he's one under par for the round and shares the clubhouse lead with Drew Weaver, which could well be enough to leave him sharing top spot on the leaderboard come the end of the day.

Meanwhile, two holes back, Tiger misses the green on the long par-4 16th and can't get up and down: it's another shot dropped for the world number one.

3.18pm - Ian Poulter slots in a lovely 12ft birdie putt on the 16th to put himself back to level par. For all his seeming inability to win regular Tour events, Poults does have a good record in the Majors and he seems like he's carrying that on here.

3.12pm - Bad news for fans of multiple Major winners: Tiger has just double bogeyed the 15th hole - the toughest on the course - to drop back to two over par.

Meanwhile, McDowell is playing his final hole of the opening round - and has thundered his tee shot staight towards the fairway bunkers.

3.08pm - Drew Weaver is the new clubhouse leader after successfully negotiating the final hole: he posts a one-under-par 69.

We've had a lot of amateur winners of professional tournaments in the last year or two, with the likes of Danny Lee and Shane Lowry managing the feat. Then there was England's Chris Wood, who came close at Birkdale last year.

Could an amateur really win a Major? Is the gulf between top amateur golf and professional golf closing? Let us know your thoghts below.

3.06pm - More good news for Padraig Harrinton, who has just notched his second birdie in as many holes to get back to five over par. There will be a lot of sighs of relief over pints of Guinness in Dublin tonight if he gets away with a dodgy first round no worse than that.

3.00pm - American 21-year-old amateur Ben Martin - nope, we've never heard of him either - has picked up a trio of birdies today to find himself at two under par, and in an unlikely lead of the US Open!

2.50pm - The first groups have finished their rounds now, and it's journeyman Jeff Brehaut who is the clubhouse leader after a mighty steady level-par round of 70, a superb effort in difficult circumstances.

A quick mention for Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood: the English duo are both keeping things steady at one over and two over respectively with half a dozen holes left to play of their first rounds.

2.43pm - A real turn-up now as Drew Weaver has rattled off a pair of birdies to jump to the top of the leaderboard on one under, just as McDowell's first bogey of the day pegs him back.

Weaver was a student at Virginia Tech university when that horrendous gun massacre took place, but went on to win the Amateur Championship at Lytham a few months later - despite never having played links golf in his life.

2.36pm - HERE COMES WOODS!!! A birdie on the par-3 14th hole gets the world number one back to level par... There's nothing that Woods likes better than a wire-to-wire win - he loves rubbing his utter superiority in his opponents' faces. One more birdie would look very ominous indeed...

Don't forget to check out our US Open photo gallery - click the link underneath the picture to see it. There are some frankly unbelievable pics of the flooded course for you to marvel at, as well as the latest action stuff.

2.26pm - Quick catch-up on some of the names who are out there at the moment.

Luke Donald has had a solitary bogey in a string of pars today, but his pair of sevens yesterday mean that he's still six over par.

Miguel Angel Jimenez is steady but unspectacular at three over, alongside 2006 champion Geoff Ogilvy.

Paul Casey is stil four over par, and going along steadily: he's flying high in the greens-in-regulation stats, but his short game and putting have been doing him no favours during the round.

And Padraig has finally found a birdie with a beautiful approach to three foot on the 13th. Still, he'll need a few more of them if he wants to get back in to this championship.

2.14pm - It's offical: Padraig is having a nightmare. The three-times Major champ just doesn't seem able to do anything right today, and has dropped yet another stroke to slump to seven over par. With birdies always tough to come by in US Opens it'll be tough to find a way back from there.

2.07pm - More good news for McDowell fans: his second birdie of the day and fourth of the round takes him to two under par.

He's a good player - but can Graeme McDowell really win a Major ? He's one of the best young European players out there at the moment and should be a candidate.

But when the likes of Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros were dominating world golf they were all winning several times a year, all over the world. None of the current crop seem able to do that.

1.58pm - Quick apology goes out to Jim Furyk for a bit of commentators curse: no sooner did we sing his praises than he dropped two shots in two holes to fall back... D'oh!

For the benefit of cs_project2003 down in the comments, Sergio is off at 3.55pm UK time in a cracking-looking group with the always-exciting Camilo Villegas and the hideously-out-of-form Adam Scott.

1.51pm - There's a first bogey of the day for Jeff Brehaut , to drop the world number 208 back to level par and leave Graeme McDowell as the only man under par.

The late starters - among them Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson - could potentially enjoy a huge advantage with the way the weather has gone. Mickelson isn't even teeing off until gone 11am local time - that's still two hours away.

1.42pm - The Tiger is on the prowl: a birdie for the world number one on the 11th - one of the shortest par-4s on the course, although the trickiest green of the lot - gets him back to one-over-par.

Tiger's playing partner Angel Cabrera matches the Tiger feat to join the world number one at one over, but the third member of the group, Padraig Harrington, is still six over...

1.36pm - Twisty-armed legend Jim Furyk might have a swing that's as quirky as his head is shiny, but he's a great player for conditions like this: Gentleman Jim is crusing cool-as-you-like in this soggy US Open, and is level par after completing his first nine holes.

1.28pm - It's a birdie for G-Mac! Yes, Graeme McDowell has just registered a three on the second - the shortest par-4 on the course - to get to one under par and share top spot on the leaderboard with plucky journeyman Jeff Brehaut.

Brehaut, incidentally, is one of a handful of players who might actually finish 36 holes by the end of today: he was in the first group out from the 10th tee yesterday.

As things stand, the USGA is hoping to get the first of the second round starters out on the course by about 4pm local time - that's 9pm UK time.

Sadly, the forecast for Saturday is atrocious.

1.22pm - Worksop's finest ever professional sportsman Lee Westwood has just had a birdie on the ninth - a 460-yarder that the USGA sent to Boot Camp to toughen up before this tournament. Westy is now back to one-over-par.

Quick update on the favourite this week, Tiger Woods: the great man is plodding along pretty steadily since that bogey to kick his day off, and he's still two over par. If he gets through his opening 18 no worse than that then he'll be right up there.

1.12pm - There are some truly great names among the nonentity American journeymen who've qualified for this year's tournament. Current favourite is listed in the leaderboard as C. Kirk. Sadly, we just bring ourselves to click his name and find out the inevitable truth that his first name is something other than 'Captain'.

1.07pm - Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is not only one of the nices blokes out there, he's also one with a bright future - notwithstanding the fact that he has a swing best described as

He's going well here at the moment, though, with a birdie on the ridiculously difficult par-3 17th that has got him back to level par. C'mon G-mac!

Less good news for Ireland's Padraig Harrington, though: yet another bogey has dropped him back even further - he's now six over par, and if he doesn't stop leaking shots he'll be heading home early. Still, at least he'll be out of the weather.

1.02pm - In typical US Open fashion the course has bitten Leonard where it hurts just as he looked comfortable: a double-bogey six on the par-4 10th has dropped him back a couple of shots and undone all that good work.

That's the nature of the tournament: not so much easy-come easy-go as difficult-come, stupidly-easy-go.

12:52pm - What a start to the day for Justin Leonard - the man with the giant-toothy grin has birdied the eighth and ninth and is now two under par for his day.

We do take Mr Miller's point, down below in the comments, about the tournament being a bit of a lottery in conditions like this... but can't help feeling that the breaks even themselves out in 72 holes of strokeplay. And rain or sun, there's always a bit of luck involved: it's just part of the game.

What do you think? Leave your comments down below as usual...

12:45pm - Ian Poulter is off to a solid start for his endeavours this morning: he bogeyed the 8th hole, but then promptly birdied the ninth to make amends and has reached the turn in level par.

Not such a bright start for Paul Casey, the European number one: the man from Burhill has just double-bogeyed the 15th...

12:40pm - Play has indeed started - but it hasn't started well for world number one Tiger Woods, who has bogeyed the seventh to drop to two over par.

There's more misery for Padraig Harrington as well, who's also started things off with a bogey to drop to five over par.

12:30pm - Well folks, it looks like we're on: the greenkeepers won't have got much sleep as they've struggled to get the course ready, but ready it is and play is due to start any minute.

Eurosport