Barnes Bears Down At Bethpage

Former US Amateur champion and University of Arizona star Ricky Barnes set the 36 hole US Open scoring record at -8 following the second round 65 he completed in this morning's favorable conditions.

The rain continues to fall during the current break in action between the second and third rounds at Long Island's Bethpage Black golf course, where Barnes holds a one shot lead over Lucas Glover. Both players took full advantage of the sunshine and soft conditions before the rain returned with a vengeance. The torrid pace set in the early hours slowed considerably as the morning wore on and scores began to rise in turn.

Tiger Woods was in one of the last groups off of the course after finishing his second round with a one under 69 to put him 11 strokes back of the leader at +3. Tiger's play did show a marked improvement over his scattered first round, however he was frequently unable to cash in on and around the greens. Fortunately the world's best golfer will be sticking around for the weekend, which is more than can be said for all those failing to come in under the +5 cut line. That long list includes such notables as Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Paul Casey, and Padraig Harrington.

Those who did make the cut are now readying themselves for a return to the course this afternoon for the start of third round play. This means a quick turnaround for guys like Tiger and a long wait for the final pairing of Barnes and Glover. How many holes these groups actually complete into the evening is anyone's guess as they'll battle against the weather and the eventual darkness. With tomorrow's forecast looking particularly nasty they'll do whatever they can to get in as many holes as possible today.

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