Pebble Beach won't play favorites as myriad of contenders chase U.S. Open

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Pebble Beach may not be a blue-collar bastion, but it is indeed accessible to anyone who passes through the gates of 17-Mile Drive. This week it is hosting the game’s most accessible major championship, the one that prides itself on keeping alive the “Tin Cup” dreams of every player who’s ever pured a 7-iron.

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It is fitting, then, that the U.S. Open leaderboard is full of variety at the halfway mark. This is a course and tournament that are open to anyone.

Players with vastly different resumes and swing speeds are atop the leaderboard at the U.S. Open’s halfway mark. Gary Woodland leads them all after an impressive putting display. His 9-under 133 (68-65) is the lowest 36-hole score ever shot in a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

His two closest pursuers are major champions who have conquered iconic venues before, Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen. Rose, who won his U.S. Open at Merion, is 7 under. Oosthuizen won an Open Championship at the Home of Golf and has been runner-up in all four major championships. He trails by three shots as he seeks to avoid another close call.

The red numbers atop the leaderboard may be anathema to traditionalists, but the course setup could produce a memorable weekend. A golf course where driving distance does not play an outsized role has allowed myriad contenders. There are birdie opportunities at Pebble Beach, especially in the opening holes, but the postcard views sometimes overshadow the stern test.

“This golf course has plenty of teeth in it,” Rose said.

Pebble Beach is just a hair longer than 7,000 yards, a distance that doesn’t discriminate against shorter hitters. Good iron play is needed to hit the small, severely-sloped greens. It is precision, not strength, that determines success at Pebble Beach.

The overcast skies have kept the putting surfaces relatively soft by U.S. Open standards, but they are getting firmer. Overzealous approach shots bounced over the greens on Friday. Thick rough penalizes wayward tee shots. And, while we haven’t seen the full fury of the ocean breezes, the wind demands a player’s attention.

“Always in a U.S. Open, even in these nice conditions, it's a fine line,” said Adam Scott, who’s 3 under par.

Rickie Fowler saw that after shooting 66-77 in the first two rounds.

“It's scorable, but you have to be on and you have to be playing from the fairway,” he said. “And you have to be controlling your ball and hitting your numbers.”

Koepka and McIlroy are the other major champions in the top 10. They own four apiece and arrived at Pebble Beach primed to add to their gilded resumes. McIlroy is coming off a seven-shot win at the RBC Canadian Open that was punctuated by a Sunday 61. He won THE PLAYERS Championship earlier this yrear. He’s four behind Woodland.

Koepka is five back. Last month’s PGA Championship was his fourth major triumph in his last eight starts.

“He’s a threat,” Rose said.

Matt Kuchar thrives on the TOUR’s shorter courses. He is 6-foot-4 but has built a swing predicated on control. His last three victories, including both of this season’s, have come on courses shorter than 7,100 yards. He is tied with Koepka at 4 under par. They both shot back-to-back 69s, the sort of steady play that pays in the U.S. Open. Kuchar’s resume includes everything but a major.

Three of the top-10 players on the leaderboard have won just once on the PGA TOUR: Chez Reavie, Chesson Hadley and Aaron Wise.

Reavie’s lone win was more than a decade ago. Hadley won in Puerto Rico five years ago, then had to fight his way out of a slump that sent him back to the Web.com Tour. Wise won the NCAA title just three years ago and is the reigning Rookie of the Year. He’s just 22 years old.

England’s Matt Wallace is a top-30 player after competing on the Alps Tour, a circuit as obscure as it sounds, just four years ago. Wise is 5 under, while Reavie, Wallace and Hadley are another shot back.

If history has its say, though, the winner will be one of the game’s elite. Major champions Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia are all within a half-dozen shots. Jim Furyk, Francesco Molinari, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods still have hopes.

Pebble Beach may have been designed by amateur architects but it has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. It’s more than a pretty face. It is a thorough examination. Six majors have been played at Pebble Beach. Five have been won by World Golf Hall of Famers (or those whose enshrinement is certain). Names like Nicklaus, Watson and Woods win here.

The setting only adds to the storyline. Professional golfers strive to stay in the present, but even they can’t help themselves at Pebble Beach. The setting is too iconic, the 18th hole too beautiful, to ignore. The U.S. Open is entering halftime, but players are already thinking about a coronation on the California Coast. The Pacific Ocean is the perfect backdrop for trophy shots.

“I don’t think there’s a better place to win a U.S. Open,” said Koepka.

Players get just one opportunity a decade to win a major at Pebble Beach, though. Only a select few have done it. There are plenty of contenders with a chance to join them. Only one will.