Burns takes slim lead at US Open, defending champ DeChambeau misses out

Sam Burns earned the halfway lead at the US Open on Friday to boost his hopes of a major breakthrough at Oakmont Country Club, where Rory Mcllroy battled late to make the weekend and holder Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut.

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Burns went out early from the lOth tee and covered the punishing Oakmont layout with the low round of the week, a sizzling five-under-par 65 that put him at three under and one shot clear of overnight leader J.J. Spaun (72).

The only other player under par is Viktor Hovland, who is alone in third place and two shots back of Burns after a two-under 68 that included a chip-in for eagle from behind the green at his eighth hole, the par-four 17th.

Burns, who mixed six birdies with a lone bogey, ran into trouble at his final hole where an errant tee shot forced him to take a penalty drop but left his next shot on the green and then curled in a 22-foot, left-to-right putt up the hill to save par.

"Honestly, I didn't really think of a score," said Burns, a five-times winner on the PGA Tour who lost in a playoff last week in Canada.

"The golf course is really too difficult to try to figure out what's a good score and what's not. You're really just shot by shot and trying to play each hole the best you can."