Four-way tie at Erin Hills

He was at 7-under 137, two shots clear of anyone else who played early in warm sunshine on a course that getting dry and crispy.

Paul Casey has a share of the lead heading into the third round.

Don’t be alarmed to see a few names atop the leaderboard at the U.S. Open that are familiar only to hard-core golf fans. He has four top 10s between the European and PGA Tours this season and is up to No. 33 in the world ranking.

Fowler pitched the ball to about 18 feet, then missed the next putt on his way to a bogey. Those were the only hiccups he had, and he finds himself poised to make noise on moving day.

But the second-ranked player in the world still has a lot of ground to make up at Erin Hills.

“Showed up for the last six holes, anyway”, said the four-times major victor, who made four birdies on his second nine, including his finishing hole, the par-three ninth.

The last six majors have been won by first-timers, and that cycle has a good chance to continue.

He also said he might have been rattled by starting out Thursday afternoon knowing that Rickie Fowler had already posted a 65.

The 11th hole is when trouble set in for Fowler. Here if you can hit it long and straight, it’s a great advantage.

Wet conditions helped produce low scores in round one, but Casey noticed a difference in difficulty at Erin Hills on Friday. Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Henrick Stenson, Bubba Watson and rising star Jon Rahm were also left out of the weekend. He went from pouring putts into the center of the cup to burning the edges, and his 39 on the back nine cost him the lead, though not his chances of breaking through for that first major.

On Friday, he made the turn at 1 under after birdies on Nos. Jordan Spieth was even par through 12 holes and going nowhere.

Casey has recorded three consecutive top-six finishes in the Masters, but has just one top-10 in the US Open in 13 attempts, which came a decade ago at Oakmont. McIlroy, who is returning to action after a rib injury, opened with an early eagle but was unable to maintain his momentum and finished with a six-over-par 78.

This was almost a carbon copy of McIlroy’s showing at last year’s tournament.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson missed the cut, as did Rory McIrloy and Jason Day. With Johnson, McIlroy and Day misfiring, it was left to a clutch of unheralded players to dominate the upper reaches of the leaderboard.

With the cuts coming through on Friday evening, can anybody separate and elevate from the top of the pack? Rain for the opening two rounds at Pinehurst No. 2 contributed to Martin Kaymer opening with 65-65 (a U.S. Open record) on his way to an eight-shot victory in 2014. He followed his 75 on Thursday with a 73 for a 36-hole score of four over par. No left-hander has won the U.S. Open, the only major championship without a left-handed victor.

Day, needing a miracle to get back into contention after his opening 79 carded a three-over-par 75, leaving him 10 over.

McIlroy, as well as Day, will play the Travelers Championship near Hartford, Conn., next week as he gears up for the British Open.

Meanwhile the relatively short Brian Harman co-leads the tournament at the halfway stage.