Justin Rose has urged Jon Rahm to make sure he is eligible for the Ryder Cup next year.

The Spaniard, who plays on the LIV circuit, needs to play three events on the DP World Tour before the end of the season in November to be available for selection.

The Spanish Open looks to be the most likely solution for the two-time major winner, but he has not yet submitted an entry, which would need to be in by September 12.

If he fails to meet the requirements needed for his tour membership, Luke Donald will not be able to call on him, even for one of the wild card spots, as Europe look to defend their trophy at Bethpage next September.

Rose believes not having Rahm in the team would be a huge blow to Team Europe's chances in New York last year, but understands the Tour's need to enforce the regulations.

"No matter where the world rankings say he is or the golf that he is competing against, we know what a great player he is," Rose said, speaking after an event at Brocket Hall.

"My point is you want him on the team. There is a pathway for him to play the Ryder Cup if he wants it.

"I think that's all the DP World Tour can do, and they have their interests to protect, and I still think that it is a doable situation should the player want to choose to do it."

Justin Rose accepted he had lost out to a "cold competitor" in Xander Schauffele after the American triumphed at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon on Sunday.

Schauffele shot a magnificent final round of 65 to seal a two-shot victory in Scotland, winning his second major after he also came out on top at May's PGA Championship.

Rose joined Billy Horschel in a share of second, the Englishman managing two birdies in his final three holes to close the gap.

Rose – who has gone 11 years without winning a major since claiming the U.S. Open title in 2013 – was proud of his efforts and acknowledged he had simply been beaten by the better player.

"Obviously I tried to enjoy the walk down 18 because we did an incredible job out there," Rose told Sky Sports. "I felt like we played unbelievable golf. 

"But Xander, every credit to him, he made it look so easy on the back nine. He's a cold, cold competitor, but I couldn't be more proud of myself with the way I competed today.

"There was just one little spell in the round where there were putts on 12, 13 and 14 that didn't drop and that's where the momentum shifted to Xander.

"That putt on 18, to finish strong, I knew it was for second place and I think I at least deserved that for the week.

"It's okay to be beaten by someone who shoots 31 on the back nine but I gave that everything."

Fellow runner-up Horschel, who held a one-stroke lead going into Sunday's final round, was disappointed to drop away, saying: "I'm going to always fight until the end. I was rewarded with three birdies there at the end to finish tied second with a good friend, Justin Rose.

"I should feel disappointed. I had a chance to win a major. I was in a really good position. I just made a few too many mistakes today when I didn't need to. 

"But we'll look back on this in an hour and I'll be very happy with what I did this week.

"I did a lot of great things that I can take on to the next few years of majors and hopefully one of these will be my time to step through the door and hold one of them."

Justin Rose believes he has what it takes to live out his "dream" going into the final day of The Open.

Rose is just one stroke off leader Billy Horschel after the third round, having carded a two-over-par 73 on Saturday, leaving him three under ahead of the final round.

He is one of six in joint second, as he looks to become the first Englishman to win the Claret Jug since 1992 when it was lifted by Nick Faldo at Muirfield.

Rose is aiming to win just his second major, following his U.S. Open success in 2013, and having had to go through qualifying to make it into the field, he is relishing his chance among the chasing pack.

"I feel like I've got nothing to lose," he said. "I'm right there within touching distance.

"[Sunday] is going to be massive. Those are days I've been working hard for, days I've still been believing I can have.

"In a few years, it'll be someone else's dream. But it's still my dream right now, and I've got a great opportunity to go live it out."

Heavy rain and high winds affected the late starters at Royal Troon on Saturday, though Rose held his nerve along the back nine with eight pars and one bogey to keep himself in the running.

"That was super tough," Rose said. "I did such a good job on the back nine hanging in.

"Obviously, eventually, a bogey came [at the 17th], which I think was going to happen at some point.

"To sort of double down and bogey 18 as well would have definitely made dinner taste a little worse. I think really that par putt on 18 has really put me in a really great spot mentally."

Rory McIlroy has missed the cut in the second round of The Open, having failed to improve on his dismal score from the first.

The Northern Irishman had hopes of clinching a first major title in a decade, but his wait will stretch into an 11th year after carding 75 on Friday.

McIlroy went round in a seven-over par 78 in the first round and continued to toil at Royal Troon as he finished 11 over.

Bryson DeChambeau, who pipped McIlroy to the U.S. Open title at Pinehurst last month, did not fare much better.

On the back of his best major run to date, finishing tied sixth at The Masters before finishing as a runner-up at the PGA Championship, the American came unstuck in Scotland once more, shooting 75 to finish nine over.

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry holds the lead going into the weekend, recovering brilliantly from a double bogey to give himself a two-stroke lead over Daniel Brown and Justin Rose (both on five under).

Rose finished strongly, holing his putt on the 18th from a long way out to finish with a three-under 68 for the day to put himself into contention for a first Claret Jug.

The Scottish Open winner Robert MacIntyre also staged a remarkable comeback. Having played the first four holes in eight over, he scored four under on the next 14 to make the cut.

Scottie Scheffler (two under) and Xander Schauffele (one under) also kept themselves in with a chance.

Justin Rose admitted his second round of 70 was not quite what it seemed as he remained in contention to double his major tally in the 105th US PGA Championship.

Rose shot level par on Friday to post a halfway total of one under par, despite hitting only two fairways in regulation at a fiendishly difficult Oak Hill.

“Smoke and mirrors I guess,” the former Olympic champion said with a smile when asked how he had pulled it off.

“I had a few fair lies in the rough, to be honest. When I did catch a bad lie I took my medicine and pitched out and tried to avoid the big number. I felt like making a bogey or two around here is no big deal.

“The fact that I made 10 birdies [in two rounds] is remarkable considering how I’ve put the ball in play off the tee.

“Iron play I felt was pretty good and obviously I have made some really nice mid-range putts. There’s definitely been some highlights in the game the last couple of days.

“Lots to look forward to and to have kind of going into the weekend, but kind of nice to know that I can maybe try and tighten a few things up as well.”

Rose won the 2013 US Open at Merion with a total of one over par and is relishing another tough challenge over the weekend.

“I think historically I’ve won typically on harder golf courses than not, so I think it fits my profile from that point of view,” he added.

“This is right up there. This feels a little bit of a hybrid kind of PGA/US Open this week. I’m looking forward to the test, I think.

“I thought four under par would be the winning score before the tournament started. It’s very hard to hit the ball in the fairway right now. The fairways are so firm that that’s what’s kind of making them so hard to hit.”

The Ryder Cup will not be "devalued" if LIV Golf Invitational Series players are barred from taking part, insists Justin Rose.

The build-up to this year's tournament in Rome has been overshadowed by debates surrounding the eligibility of players who signed up for the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf circuit.

The United States have already said their team will not feature any LIV Golf players, while the chances of any European LIV Golf participants qualifying could be limited by this week's arbitration hearing to establish whether they can play on the DP World Tour. 

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Europe's three-time Ryder Cup champion Rose backed the tournament to cope with the absence of some of golf's biggest names.

"There is so much strength in depth, I don't think it will be devalued," Rose said.

"People like watching Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter. They bring a lot of passion. They will be missed for sure, but it is what it is.

"You have the powers that be, the traditional people who still have control of golf, and you have an upstart league that is trying to bring in a fresh idea and rival product.

"It's all good either way, they just can't both fit together in this scenario."

Rose, who ended a four-year PGA Tour title drought by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday, gave genuine consideration to an offer from LIV Golf, but the tour's inability to award world ranking points led to him rejecting the chance to join.

"There have been moments where it all sounds pretty good on paper," he said of LIV Golf. "The concept itself has been around for seven years and there are elements where it sounds really, really cool.

"There was never a moment in time when all the top players could get behind it because there were too many unanswered questions, specifically around world ranking points, that was the major hurdle I faced with the decision.

"I couldn't get away from the fact I wanted to play major championship golf. I don't have exemptions down the line so my clean way into the majors is maintaining a good world ranking.

"So that became a null and void, a non-negotiable, from my point of view."

Justin Rose was relieved to secure his place at The Masters after victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am helped him end a four-year wait for a trophy.

The Englishman carded a final round of 66 to secure an 18-under triumph by three strokes, earning his 11th overall victory on the PGA Tour.

Having last won a prize at the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2019, his success in California helped both end a drought and secure a spot at Augusta.

Ensuring his card to The Masters and May's PGA Championship had been imperative in Rose's mind, but he acknowledged it was sweeter to earn it with silverware.

"Augusta has definitely been a big part of being on my mind," he said. "I thought the simple way to approach it was [to] try to play my way into the top 50 in the world.

"My intention was to come out and play solid and earn some points and claw my way up the World Rankings and make it that way.

"This is a better way to make it, by winning a tournament. It's funny how you, by winning, earn the points and everything takes care of itself.

"[It is] a big relief from that point of view to be able to plan a little bit more of the run into Augusta now. To have the luxury now is unbelievable."

Rose is also in contention to return to the Ryder Cup fold, having missed the cut for selection in 2021, though he stresses he is not even entertaining thoughts of it yet.

"The way where I've been with my game, I've had to be quite selfish and just focus on me and focus on my improvement and what I need to do to start playing better golf," he added.

"I haven't even entertained what the Ryder Cup looks like for me, other than I want to be there. Obviously I would love to play my way onto the team."

Justin Rose ended a four-year PGA Tour title drought with a three-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday.

Rose led by two strokes when play was suspended due to darkness at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Sunday.

The Englishman returned to end a run of 67 PGA Tour events without being crowned champion, carding a six-under 66 to finish on 18 under.

Rose resumed at the 10th hole, securing a par before picking up three birdies through the next four holes to keep his rival at bay.

The 2013 U.S. Open champion added another three pars to finish his round and finally get that winning feeling on the PGA Tour once again.

His previous PGA Tour triumph came at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2019.

Brendon Todd and Brandon Wu shared second place on 15 under after signing for final rounds of 65 and 66 respectively. 

Denny McCarthy and Keith Mitchell were a further shot back on a memorable Monday for Rose.

Justin Rose will resume play on Monday with a two-stroke lead after the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was halted due to darkness.

It was anticipated that players would not be able to finish their rounds on Sunday after Saturday's play was also called off early, as wind at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club course would not allow balls to sit still on the green.

Players came out early to finish their third round, before teeing off for their final 18 holes around noon.

Rose's third round was his best of the week, taking advantage of the easier Monterey Peninsula course to post a six-under 65 to begin his last round at 12 under.

He kept his momentum going at Pebble Beach Golf Links – the six-time U.S. Open venue which also hosts the final round – as he followed an eagle on the sixth with a birdie on the seventh, reaching the end of his front nine three under, and 15 under overall.

That is when he had to pack up for the day, leading by two strokes over Denny McCarthy (through 15 holes), Brendon Todd (through 12) and Peter Malnati (through nine).

One further back – and three off the lead – are the American trio of Beau Hossler (through 12), Keith Mitchell (through 10) and Brandon Wu (through 10), as well as Canada's Taylor Pendrith, who was one of the early starters and finished with an eight-under 64 for the day's best round.

Cole Hammer is the leader after the first round of the RSM Classic, enjoying his only round for the week at Sea Island Resort's Plantation course on Thursday to post an eight-under 64.

The RSM Classic utilizes two courses at Sea Island Resort – the par-72 Plantation course, and the par-70 Seaside course. Each competitor will get one round on each course before the cut heading into the weekend, with the final two rounds to be played on the Seaside course.

Starting on the back-nine, 23-year-old Hammer posted nine birdies and seven pars from his first 16 holes, before his first blemish came with a bogey on the 17th to finish alone atop the leaderboard at eight under.

In second place is Ben Griffin, who also played the Plantation course, going bogey-free for his seven-under 65.

Beau Hossler and Callum Taren are tied for third after shooting six-under 64s on the Seaside course, with that appearing as the harder of the two tracks. 

There is a logjam tied for sixth at five under, and of the 16 payers to shoot five under or better, only four – Hossler, Taren, Chris Gotterup and Andrew Putnam – did it on the Seaside course.

Rising talent Sahith Theegala and recent winner of the Bermuda Championship Seamus Power are one further back at four under, with Italy's Francesco Molinari and Canada's Taylor Pendrith at three under.

It was a tough day out for some of the field's biggest names, with former Masters champion Danny Willett struggling to three over on the Seaside course, while former world number one Jason Day had similar issues on his way to four over.

The shot of the day went to Webb Simpson, who took advantage of his only round this week at the Plantation course with an ace on the par-three third hole. 

Adam Hadwin ended Thursday as the outright leader following the opening round of the U.S. Open in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The Canadian shot a four-under-par round of 66, one ahead of five players tied for second, including Rory McIlroy, who had been four under himself before bogeying his final hole on the ninth.

Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth, Joel Dahmen and M.J. Daffue sit alongside McIlroy, with seven more players on two under, including Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson.

It was otherwise not a great day for some of the LIV Golf International Series participants, with Phil Mickelson carding an opening round of 78 (seven over), while Louis Oosthuizen managed just one shot better and Sergio Garcia finished on four over.

LIV Golf's new additions Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau ended even par and one over respectively. 

World number one Scottie Scheffler recovered from a wobbly start to finish on even par, while PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas ended the day one under, as did the man he beat in a playoff for that trophy, Will Zalatoris.

Defending champion Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Adam Scott also shot one-under rounds of 69, while world number four Patrick Cantlay came away from Thursday two over.

Shot of the day

After ending up just off the green in the longer grass on the 12th, a precision chip from Matt Fitzpatrick still had a significant distance to travel, but slowly rolled its way straight into the hole to the delight of the Englishman and the Brookline crowd, sending him back to two-under straight after bogeying the 11th.

Player of the day - Adam Hadwin

Hadwin sat on one over after three holes, before birdieing five of the next six to catapult himself into the leading pack. The 34-year-old has never finished higher than T39th in this tournament, and also responded to a bogey at 12 with another immediate birdie at 13, and then ended with five tidy pars to head into day two as the outright leader.

Chipping in

Rory McIlroy: "I'm going into tomorrow with the mindset of 'let's keep it going', rather than 'where is the cut line' or whatever. If you don't get off to a great start, those thoughts start to creep in, 'okay, what do I need to just be here for the weekend?'"

Jon Rahm (asked about two children stealing his ball on the 18th hole): "Yes… I'm pretty sure I know who it was. I recognised the two kids that were running the opposite way with a smile on their face. (Laughing) I am 100 per cent sure I saw the two kids that stole it."

A little birdie told me...

- McIlroy's 67 was the 13th of his career at the U.S. Open, now level with Seve Ballesteros and Sergio Garcia for most by a European player at the tournament.

- Lingmerth, ranked 592nd in the world, has never finished worse than tied for 21st in three previous U.S. Open appearances, and the Swede started with a promising 67 here.

- The first round scoring average of the last 10 winners at the U.S. Open is 69.1, with 25 players hitting under that on Thursday.

The season's third major begins on Thursday in Brookline, Massachusetts as the U.S. Open gets under way at The Country Club.

There will be a strange feeling at the tournament with it being the first major since the controversial LIV Golf International Series began.

The USGA has confirmed that players involved in the Saudi-backed breakaway who qualified for the U.S. Open will still be allowed to compete, despite the PGA Tour taking a harder stance and suspending those who played in last week's inaugural LIV Golf event in London.

That means the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia will be present in Brookline.

Tiger Woods will not participate due to fitness concerns, but there are plenty of other potential candidates to go for victory at The Country Club, such as world number one Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Jon Rahm.

Stats Perform's experts have taken a look at who they believe could succeed.

RORY'S THE STORY AND HE'S PRIMED FOR MORE GLORY – Russell Greaves

Rory McIlroy has set the standards on and off the course in recent weeks, his win at the Canadian Open coming after he had pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour in the midst of the inaugural LIV Golf event. That was the Northern Irishman's 21st PGA Tour title, fittingly edging him ahead of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, a fact McIlroy himself was quick to point out. In Massachusetts, McIlroy can distinguish himself even further from the likes of two-time major winner Norman as he seeks a fifth such title and second at this event. With accuracy off the tee likely to yield a premium on this course, McIlroy has the game to match his momentum and will doubtless be well backed by punters and fans alike. Sunday also marks 11 years to the day since McIlroy won the U.S. Open, collecting his first major success in the process.

DJ READY TO PLAY THE VILLAIN – Ben Spratt

Sure, Rory's return to the winners' circle at a major would be great, but that story surely pales next to the possibility of one of the LIV Golf rebels swooping in and taking the title. Johnson likely remains the breakaway league's best bet. Of course, he would not be a popular winner in front of a presumably vociferous Boston crowd, and the form book is not in his favour either, but Johnson has the talent to spoil the party; a U.S. Open victory in 2016 was the third of three straight top-five finishes – and it was only 18 months ago he was dominating the Masters. The 37-year-old has not won any event this year, in what stands as a career first, but this would be some time to end that drought.

RAHM READY TO MAKE HISTORY AFTER PLEDGING PGA LOYALTY – Patric Ridge

"I've never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I've always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that." Those were the words of world number two Rahm, who is out to defend his title this week. Rahm finished T23 on his first appearance at the U.S. Open as a low amateur back in 2016, before he failed to make the cut in the next two years. However, he was tied for third in 2019 and T23 in 2020 prior to clinching his first major crown last year, finishing with two birdies on the final two holes to become the first Spanish golfer to win the major. The 27-year-old ranks first on the PGA Tour for shots gained off-the-tee, and although he struggled at the US PGA Championship, he has the opportunity to make history and create the legacy he dreams of in Massachusetts.

ROSE CAN BE A THORN IN RIVALS' SIDE – Peter Hanson

On the face of it, tipping a player ranked 48th in the world without a win to his name since January 2019 (Farmers Insurance Open) looks a little right field. At the time of that triumph, Justin Rose was world number one, but it has been a pretty mixed bag since then. Momentum is king in golf, though, and the Englishman scored a tie for fourth at the Canadian Open last weekend after shooting a sensational 10-under-par 60 in round four. Moreover, to win a U.S. Open you have to fight and scramble for a good score – qualities Rose, the 2013 champion, certainly possesses.

THOMAS HAS THE ENGINE NOT TO TANK – David Segar

Having won the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in May, Justin Thomas comes into this full of confidence and with good reason. He showed incredible fight to edge victory against Will Zalatoris in a play-off in Tulsa, having trailed by eight shots with 10 holes to play in the final round. Ranked fifth in the world, Thomas has always had the talent but, like many, it was always a question of putting it all together when the majors came around. With the experience of doing so fresh in his mind, and showing good form with third place at the Canadian Open, Thomas could pull off the rare feat of back-to-back major wins.

Rory McIlroy saved his best for last to defend his Canadian Open title on Sunday and could not resist a sly dig at LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman afterwards.

At the end of a chaotic week for the sport, with the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series commencing in competition with the PGA Tour, McIlroy posted his best round of the tournament at St. George's with an eight-under 62.

Playing in the final group with Tony Finau and Justin Thomas, the 33-year-old finished on 19-under for the tournament in front of a packed gallery and secured his 21st PGA Tour win, moving him ahead of Norman's 20.

Though evidently happy he secured the win heading into the U.S. Open, as one of the more vocal critics of LIV Golf, the world number eight made sure everyone knew he was aware he had overtaken Norman.

"Twenty-first PGA Tour win. One more than someone else," he told CBS. "That gave me a little bit of extra incentive today. Happy to get it done.

"It's incredible. Playing with Tony [Finau] and JT [Thomas], two of the top players in the world, and all of us playing the way we did, the worst score in the group was six-under par.

"This is a day I'll remember for a long, long time. I've sort of rededicated myself to the game a little bit, sort of realised what made me happy and this makes me happy."

McIlroy led the entire way on Sunday, starting the final round in a share of the lead with Finau.

He started fast, too, making five birdies on the front nine before commencing the back nine with another three on the bounce.

Bogeys on the 13th and 16th holes opened the door for Thomas and Finau but it was promptly shut, with the Northern Irishman closing out the round with another pair of birdies.

Finau and Thomas finished outright second and third on 17- and 15-under respectively, while Justin Rose tied Sam Burns on 14-under after bogeying the 18th to just miss out on a spectacular sub-60 score.

The sporting calendar provides many memorable days throughout the year but rarely do elite events overlap as often as at the Olympics.

At this year's delayed Tokyo Games, there is the prospect of seeing several of the world's top athletes all competing for gold at the same time.

August 1 looks a good bet for the standout day in 2021.

The final round of the men's golf event could see Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the mix, with Andy Murray hopeful he will meanwhile be defending consecutive singles gold medals in the tennis.

This comes on the same day that Simone Biles could potentially become the most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time.

As if that were not enough, the men's 100m final is another must-watch event.

Expectations will be high heading into that second Sunday of the Games, with examples from the past three competitions living up to their billing...

AUGUST 16, BEIJING 2008

Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt would be firmly in contention to appear on the Games' own Mount Rushmore and each enjoyed one of the finest moments of their respective careers on the same day.

Phelps had spent the opening week of the Beijing Olympics pursuing Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds and had six as he entered the pool again for the 100m butterfly final, almost 12 hours before Bolt's big moment.

Seventh at the turn, the United States superstar needed a remarkable recovery to triumph over a devastated Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds.

Phelps would pass Spitz with his eighth gold of the Games the following day, by which point he was sharing the headlines with Jamaica's own ultimate athlete.

Bolt's blistering 9.69-second final triumph in the 100m stood as a world record until the same man beat it exactly a year later. The new benchmark remains unmatched.

And that Saturday in China also saw the small matter of Roger Federer's only gold medal, claimed alongside Stan Wawrinka in the doubles final after falling to James Blake as the top seed in the singles.

AUGUST 4-5, LONDON 2012

It is actually tough to choose just one day from the 2012 Olympics, where this weekend delivered from start to finish.

On the Saturday evening, at the Aquatics Centre, swimming prepared to say goodbye to its greatest name. Phelps and the United States won the 4x100m medley, clinching his 18th gold medal in what appeared set to be his final race.

Indeed, Phelps confirmed his retirement following the Games, only to return in predictably dominant fashion in 2016.

Across the city that same night, Team GB athletes were capping a stunning run of medals that would see the day dubbed "Super Saturday". There were six home golds in all, including big wins for Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah in quick succession.

The drama only continued the next day, too, as Murray finally sealed a Wimbledon win over Roger Federer in the tennis event, while Bolt lit up London Stadium in the 100m.

AUGUST 14, RIO 2016

Although there will be no Bolt brilliance in Tokyo, Brazil was treated to another show as he became the first three-time winner of the 100m – later doing likewise in the 200m.

The first triumph was almost overshadowed on the track, however, coming shortly after Wayde van Niekerk had broken Michael Johnson's 17-year 400m world record by 0.15 seconds.

Again, the excitement was not reserved for athletics, with Murray in action that evening to claim another gold after coming through a four-hour epic against Juan Martin del Potro.

Murray is the only player – men's or women's – to win consecutive singles golds, while Rafael Nadal's presence added a little more stardust even though he lost the bronze final to Kei Nishikori.

A stunning Sunday also saw Biles add to the reputation she takes with her to Tokyo, a third gold on the vault making her the most decorated American gymnast.

And there was history, too, for Justin Rose, as he edged past Henrik Stenson at the 18th hole of the fourth round to become the first Olympic golf champion in 112 years.

Richard Bland upstaged a star-studded field to earn a share of the U.S. Open lead at the halfway stage as defending champion Bryson DeChambeau soared up the leaderboard.

Unheralded Englishman Bland, 48, powered to the top of the summit at Torrey Pines thanks to his four-under-par 67 in San Diego, where he continues to prove patience pays off.

Alongside Russell Henley (70) for the one-stroke lead after two rounds, Bland is benefitting from perseverance, having gone almost 20 years without a European Tour title.

At the 478th attempt on the European Tour last month, Bland claimed an emotional win at the British Masters, which earned him a place in his fourth major championship.

Bland – who missed the cut at his one previous U.S. Open appearance in 2009 – dazzled on day two of this year's tournament, storming into the clubhouse lead before being joined by American Henley.

After opening with a 70, Bland holed seven birdies and three bogeys to catapult himself to the top of the standings, before Henley teed off in his second round, amid his improbable dream of clinching a major.

"I feel good about my game," said three-time PGA Tour champion Henley, whose previous best performance at a major came via an 11th-place finish at the 2017 Masters.

"I've never been in this position before in a major. Just feel like I'm going to learn something no matter what happens."

Louis Oosthuizen (71), who was the overnight co-leader along with Henley, ended day two in a tie for third position alongside Matthew Wolff (68), while Bubba Watson (67) and Jon Rahm (70) are a shot further back at three under through 36 holes.

DeChambeau boosted his hopes of back-to-back U.S. Open titles, though the big-hitting American star remains five strokes off the pace heading into the weekend.

A two-under-par 69 saw DeChambeau move to even par as he rose 47 positions into a tie for 13th alongside rival and two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (73), Justin Thomas (69), Collin Morikawa (67), Harris English (70), Branden Grace (70), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (70) and Adam Hadwin (72).

Koepka – eyeing a fifth major crown – lost ground on the leaders after mixing five bogeys and just three birdies, while Rory McIlroy followed his opening-round 70 with a 73 to be one over the card as world number one Dustin Johnson (73) ended the day two over.

US PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson emerged from the jaws of elimination, qualifying for the weekend via a two-under-par 69 after his forgettable 75 on Thursday.

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (76), Adam Scott (75), Sergio Garcia (74), Patrick Reed (73) and Jordan Spieth (69) all avoided the cut, but Justin Rose (77) was not so fortunate at 13 over.