U.S. Open 2019: What you need to know for Friday at Pebble Beach

The U.S. Open is officially underway at iconic Pebble Beach. Justin Rose lit it up with a scintillating six-under-par 65 on Thursday, but a bevy of big names (Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Louis Oosthuizen among them) is only one shot behind. And a host of other pros are also within shouting distance: Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Henrik Stenson, Francesco Molinari — the list goes on! Tiger Woods is five shots back. Can he rally after an opening 70? Here’s what you need to know for Friday’s second round.

1. The best U.S. Open groupings

Yeah, they’re the same groups as Thursday, but here are the five most intriguing, along with their Friday tee times (ET).

11:24 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Tiger Woods
11:02 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Viktor Hovland (a), Brooks Koepka
4:58 p.m. – Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell
4:47 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day
4:36 p.m. – Jon Rahm, Marc Leishman, Rory McIlroy

2. Cut line watch

After the second round, golfers with the low 60 scores, plus ties, advance to play the final two rounds. At the U.S. Open, scores tend to be high, but this year, there are already more than three dozen players under par, with 76 players at one over par or better. That means the cutline may be a lot closer to even par than it usually is. For comparison’s sake, at the PGA Championship at notoriously tough Bethpage Black, only 16 players were under par after Round 1, and 73 players were at two over or better.

3. How to watch the U.S. Open on Friday

Streaming options will be available on usopen.com beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET, where you can watch footage from the practice tee, featured groups from both the morning and afternoon waves and featured holes. The TV broadcast is on FS1 from 12:30-7:30 p.m. ET, and Fox from 7:30-10:30 p.m. ET.

4. U.S. Open weather

Scoring conditions were ideal on Thursday, and the weather will be nearly identical on Friday. Temperatures will be in the mid-50s when the first groups tee off at 9:45 a.m. ET, and a mostly cloudy morning will give way to partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. No rain is expected, and the temperature will reach a high of 59 degrees, with the wind maxing out at 11 mph.

5. Tiger Woods U.S. Open Watch

Tiger Woods had only one serious blip on his Thursday scorecard: an unfortunate double on the par-3 5th. But his driving and putting were otherwise solid. No doubt he’ll be hoping to rectify some loose irons during his range sessions before Friday’s round. He’s five shots from the lead after finishing with a one-under-par 70, and while he’s not out of the championship by any means, he has some work to do to get himself back in the mix.

6. The U.S. Open Round 2 best storyline will be…

Rose made quite a statement on Thursday with a powerful 65. As a former U.S. Open champion, can he keep the momentum going over the next three rounds? And what about Brooks Koepka? The two-time defending champ is in good position after opening with a 69. Speaking of good position, Rory McIlroy has his best opening round in years, firing a 68 in the morning wave. There are simply way too many interesting players and storylines to choose just one. That makes Friday worth watching.

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