Looking ahead to the weekend at the 2025 U.S. Open - ESPN

OAKMONT, Pa. — We are through two days at Oakmont Country Club and only three players in the 156-man field remain under par: Sam Burns, J.J. Spaun and Viktor Hovland.

How's that for a U.S. Open?

As the third major championship of the year makes the turn to the weekend, here's what we learned in Round 2 (which finished Saturday morning) and what to expect during the final stretch.

Mark Schlabach: History suggests Sunday's champion will be one of the golfers currently in the top five on the leaderboard, but I'm not sure that's necessarily going to be the case at Oakmont Country Club.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 11 of the past 12 U.S. Open champions were in the top five after 36 holes. The exception was Matt Fitzpatrick, who was tied for 13th after the second round in 2022 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Only three champions in the 125-year history of the U.S. Open were outside the top 20 after 36 holes: Lou Graham in 1975 (tied for 27th), Larry Nelson in 1983 (tied for 25th) and Webb Simpson in 2012 (tied for 29th).

As difficult as Oakmont is playing, there have been some stellar rounds, as evidenced by J.J. Spaun's 4-under 66 on Thursday and Sam Burns' 65 on Friday.

Someone who is four or five shots back, or maybe even more, could put together two solid rounds. When U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley was asked if a 5-under 65 was possible on the weekend, he said, «If it rains maybe.»

The skies had already opened up before 14 golfers finished their second rounds Friday night.

Paolo Uggetti: It wouldn't shock me if someone at 5-over, even 6-over, made a bit of a run Saturday, especially if the leading score remains around even par, but the real answer is 4-over because that's where Scottie