By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Phil Mickelson has the record for most runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open at six, but Jason Day is quickly gaining ground on him.

The Aussie recorded is fourth career top-three finish in a major on Sunday, tying for second with Mickelson two strokes back of Justin Rose at the 113th U.S. Open.

Unlike Mickelson, however, there was nowhere near the same amount of heartbreak for the 25-year-old, who also finished third in the year's first major.

"I feel that my game is in a really good spot right now," said Day, who two years ago was (a distant) second to Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open at Congressional. "I'm doing the right things. I'm doing the little things that count."

Unfortunately for Day, it was a couple of big numbers that cost him down the stretch on Sunday -- specifically bogeys on the 11th, 14th and 18th.

He made crucial par saves in between but should have never been in that position to begin with.

But for a player in his mid 20s with runner-up finishes in the year's first two majors, Day knows there's a silver lining.

"If I want it enough and I'm willing to do the hard work and practice and keep myself dedicated, I think it will happen," he said. "If I slack off and don't do the work then it won't happen. That's just plain and simple."

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Rory McIlroy had just hit into the water fronting the green on the par-4 11th hole. As he walked toward the hazard, his frustration boiled over and he stuck his wedge in the ground and bent it beyond repair.

"What you don't want to do as a golfer is follow one mistake with another, and that's what I did," McIlroy said of the wayward shot. "I think that's what this tournament does to you. At one point or another it's got the better of you, and it definitely did this weekend."

McIlroy made quadruple bogey on the hole and went on to shoot 76, finishing his week at 14 over.

The No. 2 player in the world who set a U.S. Open scoring record at Congressional two years ago, McIlroy was never in contention at Merion.

McIlroy made 20 bogeys (or worse) over four days, including a double bogey and the aforementioned quadruple bogey.

"Everyone hits bad shots, but mine are just costing me too much at the minute," said McIlroy, who has not been a factor in either of the year's first two majors.

McIlroy insists he is close, but he didn't look it this week.

Take his drive on the second hole of the third round, for example. Another bad miss well to the right led to a bogey on the par 5.

"When you hit a tee shot like that at the start of the round, it's sort of in your head the rest of the day," he said.

And all week, too.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. --The par-4 14th and 15th holes have proved to be two of the more difficult tests at Merion. For Sergio Garcia, they were a nightmare.

Garcia played them in a combined 16 over this week, making three pars, a 5, 6, 7, 8 and a 10.

"Take that away, and I played well," Garcia said.

Give him pars instead, and he would have finished 1 under for the week and with possibly his first career major championship.

Instead, a fan shouted 'Did you make another 8?' as Garcia approached the 18th green. Garcia went over to the womanand gave her a signed glove.

It was a brief moment of levity for Garcia, who at times was heckled by fans this week over his recent comments about Tiger Woods.

Asked if it was a difficult week from that standpoint, Garcia said, "What do you think?"

Between the ropes wasn't any better.

Garcia hit three tee shots out of bounds on the 15th hole during the third round and on Sunday triple-bogeyed the 14th.

"They're the kind of holes that you have to be spot on," Garcia said. "You can't miss it."

Michael Kim, 20, could become the first amateur to win the U.S. Open since 1933. (Redington/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Michael Kim stood on the 15th green, an early evening sky starting to envelop Merion Golf Club and a birdie putt awaiting him. He glanced up at the leaderboard and smiled.

“I kept looking at the leaderboard not because I wanted to know how I was doing in the tournament, but it was so cool to see my name next those names like Mickelson, Donald, Schwartzel,” the wide-eyed 20-year-old University of California junior said. “It was just an incredible feeling.”

Then he made the putt to move into a tie for third just two strokes off the lead of the 113th U.S. Open.

Kim had never heard of Jim Simons.

Simons was the Wake Forest University junior who led going into the final round of the 1971 U.S. Open, also here at Merion.

A hundred years ago, Francis Ouimet became the first amateur to win the U.S. Open.

Now Kim was trying to position himself to do what Simons didn’t.

Only seven times has an amateur won the U.S. Open (four of them by Bobby Jones) and no one has done it since Johnny Goodman in 1933 at North Shore Country Club in Illinois.

The parallels are thick. But so is the rough at Merion and moments later it smacked Kim back to reality.

The Jack Nicklaus award winner as the nation’s top collegiate golfer, Kim pulled his tee shot well to the left on the 16th hole, found the rough and made bogey.

One hole later, Kim, who although listed at 150 pounds looks like he weighs about as much as a pair of golf spikes, made double and one hole after that completed the slide by bogeying the 18th, too.

In a matter of three holes, Kim went from possibly making history to probably being history, saved only by a string of four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine.

He shot 1-over 71 and enters the final round in a tie for 10th, five shots back of leader Phil Mickelson.

“Nerves got the best of me the last few holes,” admitted Kim, who punched his ticket for Philadelphia via U.S. Open sectional qualifying. “I kind of went through that what if situation in my head. What if I won or what if I did this. I tried to snap back out of it, but I hit an awful tee shot on the next hole.”

But he still has an opportunity to do something no one would have expected at the start of the week -- beat Tiger Woods.

“Tiger's been an idol of mine since I basically started golf,” Kim said.

It says in Kim’s bio that his favorite golf movie is Happy Gilmore. No one gave him much of a chance, either.

McIlroy and Woods played together the first two days are paired again for Round 3. (Kinnaird/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Pairings are out for the third round of the U.S. Open, where 73 players made the cut at 8 over or better. Players will go off in threesomes off both tees, Nos. 1 and 11, between 12:28 p.m. ET and 2:40 p.m.

Phil Mickelson, Billy Horschel and Luke Donald will play in the day's final group. Mickelson and Horschel share the lead at 1 under, while Donald is one of three players a stroke back.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will play together for the third straight day. It the first time the two have been paired together in either of the last two rounds at a major.

The top two players in the world will be joined by Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and will tee off on No. 1 at 1:56 p.m. ET.

MORE AFTERNOON PLAYERS TO WATCH (all times ET)

Adam Scott, Bubba Watson (1:01 p.m.): Scott was tied for the lead at one point in the first round. When he returned the next day to resume play, however, he played his final seven holes in 5 over. He and Watson were fortunate to make the cut aftershooting 75 and 76, respectively, in the second round.

Lee Westwood (12:50 p.m.): The 40-year-old Brit was in good form, opening with a 70, before imploding in the second round with seven bogeys and one double bogey en route to a 77.

Webb Simpson (12:28 p.m.): No player has ever successfully defended at the U.S. Open and it will be tough for Simpson to do so after a second-round 75 leaves him at 6 over with two rounds to play.

Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia (12:39 p.m.): Fowler stumbled with a 76in the second round thanks in part to a string of three straight bogeys at one point. Garcia has been consistent at least, shooting two straight 73s.

Ernie Els (1:45 p.m.): The reigning British Open champ is in position to make a run at a third career U.S. Open title after playing his first two rounds in 3 over, which leaves him just four strokes off the lead.

Charl Schwartzel, Hunter Mahan (2:18 p.m.): Both players are just two back entering the third round, and Mahan was one of just five players to break par in the second round with a 69.

Justin Rose, Steve Stricker (2:29 p.m.): Rose and Stricker each broke par in the second round too, with both shooting 69.

Mickelson shares the lead at 1 under after two rounds of the U.S. Open. (Kinnaird/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGAOTUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Better late than never.

Phil Mickelson was going nowhere -- except backwards -- with three bogeys and no birdies over his first 17 holes of the second round on Friday.

With his ball 20 feet from the hole on the 18th green, the horn sounded signaling the suspension of play due to darkness. Mickelson had the option to finish the hole if he wanted.

He did, making birdie to send the surrounding fans into an uproar. More importantly, it gave him a share of the lead with Billy Horschel at 1 under through the first two rounds of the U.S. Open.

"It felt great," Mickelson said of the putt. "I wasn't expecting birdie there. It's a very difficult hole."

For much of the day, Mickelson made things difficult on himself. So did Merion.

Mickelson and Horschel are the only players currently under par through the first 36 holes, and there were a dozen rounds in the 80s compared to just three in the 60s.

Those who didn't finish their round will resume play at 7:15 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Among them are Ian Poulter and amateur Cheng-Tsung Pan. They are two of five players just a stroke off the lead. Luke Donald, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose are the others.

Mickelson, meanwhile, struggled to gain any momentum most of the day.

He three-putted the first hole before stringing together nine straight pars. The streak ended, though, with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13.

"Even though I shot 2 over, it was the birdie opportunities that I didn't capitalize on," Mickelson said. "Had I made one on 2 or that birdie on 8 or 9 or 11, I would have changed kind of the momentum of the round.

"I played well today even though I didn't feel the score was what I thought it should be."

He did, however, play well enough to make another run at a U.S. Open title -- five times he has finished second.

"It feels good being in contention heading into the weekend," Mickelson said. "If you play good golf there's a lot of birdie holes where you can make birdies and shoot a 60s round."

And if he can do that, he'll give himself a nice present. Mickelson turns 43 on Sunday, which also happens to be Father's Day.

Horschel leads the field in greens in regulation through two rounds at Merion. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Two years ago, Billy Horschel lost it.

In contention in the final round of The McGladrey Classic, Horschel's game imploded and he in turn exploded, throwing clubs and letting loose a string of expletives that among other things earned him a talking to from his coach and left Horschel embarrassed.

Last year, Horschel began working with Fran Pirozzolo, a sports psychologist with a Ph.D. in neuropsychology, and began practicing meditation and breathing exercises.

Fast forward to Friday's second round of the U.S. Open and Merion Golf Club, an increasingly difficult track tough enough to test the patience of all 156 players in the field.

"I've acquired some patience," Horschel said. "I just think that the older I get, the more mature I get on the golf course."

And the better he gets, too.

After getting his first career win earlier this year in New Orleans, he achieved another milestone, hitting all 18 greens in regulation.

The result? A 3-under 67 to get to 1 under and near the lead with 36 holes to go in the national championship.

"Patience is something that has always been a struggle for me," Horschel said.

You wouldn't know it this week.

Through his first two rounds, Horschel has hit 31 of 36 greens -- best in the field -- and on Friday made four birdies and just bogey on a day when there were more than 10 rounds in the 80s.

"I'm trying to keep a smile on my face and be happy with anything I do," the 26-year-old said. "If I can execute every shot, that's all I can try to do out there this week."

Which is what he's done most of this season. At one point, Horschel had four straight top 10s, which included a runner-up in Houston and a third-place finish in San Antonio.

Already he's earned quadruple this year what he has any other year on the PGA TOUR.

Now he's looking for his first major.

"I think patience has come from the older I get, the more I can understand that I don't have to get off to a hot start," said Horschel, who was 2 over after his first seven holes of the tournament this week. "After I finished, and I walked off the golf course and I wasn't upset at all. I played well, I executed a lot of golf shots, just nothing went in the hole."

Friday, everything seemed to.

It didn't matter that it was the U.S. Open as far as Horschel was concerned.

"I know it's a big event, I know it's a historical event," he said. "But one thing that me and Fran have worked on is limiting the distractions. It's more or less just focus on what I do, don't worry about anybody else. Don't worry about the crowd noise.  Don't worry about what your playing partners are doing, just focus on what I'm trying to do.

"I'm just going to think about trying to execute every golf shot from here on in for the next 36 holes. If I can do that, we'll see what happens on Sunday."

Woods grimmaces as he tees off on the eighth hole Friday at Merion. (Cannon/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. --Tiger Woods has already won a U.S. Open on a broken leg, so what's a sore elbow?

The world's top-ranked golfer said Friday that he injured his left elbow en route to winning THE PLAYERS Championship last month, though he did not specify when or how, saying only that it happened during one of the rounds.

"It is what it is," he quipped after carding an even-par 70 Friday at Merion Golf Club, where he enters the weekend 3 over and in contention for his first major championship since his epic victory in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines five years ago.

The injury seemed to flare up after Woods hit out of the rough on the opening hole Thursday. He went on to shoot 73, finishing the round early Friday morning after play was suspended due to darkness following two lengthy weather delays.

According to Golf Channel's Notah Begay, a longtime friend of the 14-time major champion, Woods has inflammation in the elbow and treated it with ice and electrical stimulation Thursday night. He also said the pain occurs mostly when Woods is hitting out of the rough.

On a day when scores soared, Woods did well to finish at even par.

He made an early birdie on the par-3 13th after starting on No. 11 before giving it back with a bogey on No. 14 and another on 18.

Woods birdied two of his next four holes, however, and made just one bogey the rest of the day.

"They've really tried to, I think, protect the golf course, with it being as soft as it is," Woods said on a day when few red numbers were on the board. "And they've given us some really, really tough pins."

Not that it changed Woods' outlook any.

Asked if he likes his chances this weekend, Woods said, simply, "Yes."

After all, it turned out pretty good for him at Torrey Pines.

Westwood is three shots off the lead after the first round of the U.S. Open. (Hallowell/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- It's that time of year again.

Nine times Lee Westwood has finished in the top 5 of a major championship, of which none have been wins. Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Brit continues to persist.

Westwood was at it again on Friday, finishing off an opening-round 70 at Merion Golf Club, where he is three shots off the lead of Phil Mickelson.

"It's a good start," Westwood said matter-of-factly. For one, there's an awful long way to go. For another, he's been here before.

Each of the last two years, Westwood has finished in the top 10 in the U.S. Open, including in 2011 when he matched his best-career result with a (albeit distant) third-place finish. In 2008, he also finished third, narrowly missing out on the playoff at Torrey Pines.

In all, he's finished in the top 10 five times in the national championship.

But when it comes to winning, much of his malaise can be traced to a sometimes shaky short game -- Westwood ranks outside the top 100 in putting, for example, and his third and fourth-round scoring averages have as well.

Still, Westwood had reason to be pleased Friday.

"I'm in decent position," Westwood continued.

And that despite a double bogey after hitting one of Merion's famed wicker baskets on his approach to the 12th hole on Thursday.

He handled it about as well as anyone could.

"(R&A Chief Executive) Peter Dawson has reassured me that for the Open Championship we'll be going back to flags," westwood quipped. "like a normal tournament."

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ARDMORE, Pa. -- For the third straight major championship, a viewer called in a possible rules violation.

Only this time, there were no penalties issued. Steve Stricker and Adam Scott were both cleared of any potential breach.

The first review in the opening round at Merion Golf Club came after Stricker had completed his round.

On the par-3 third hole (his 11th), Stricker's ball had come to rest under a tree and he would have been forced to stand in a bunker to hit it. Rules officials deemed the ball to be outside the bunker, however, and when Stricker searched for a spot to take the drop a viewer questioned whether Stricker was improving his lie.

Officials were convinced he wasn't, however, nor did Stricker drop it in the area where he'd paced back and forth.

He went on to double bogey the hole and shot 71.

Hours later, USGA executive director Mike Davis and chairman of the USGA competition committee Tom O'Toole, spoke to Scott after a viewer thought had grounded his club in a hazard on the fifth hole.

Scott had just putted out for birdie on the 11th hole to move within a stroke of the lead when play was suspended for darkness and he was approached by Davis and O'Toole.

After reviewing the tape, however, it was determined there was no breach. The walking official with the group, Reed Mackenzie, also agreed.

Earlier this year, Tiger Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty for taking an improper drop on the 15th hole in the second round of the Masters.

In Woods' case, the call saved him from possible disaqualification because he wasn't notified of the possible violation until after he'd signed his scorecard, even though it was called in before he completed his round.

Woods went on to finish fourth.

At last year's PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, Carl Pettersson was given a two-stroke penalty on the first hole of the final round when his club brushed a leaf while standing in a hazard.

Pettersson was notified during the round aftera viewer had called in and he would eventually finish nine shots back of winner Rory McIlroy.