This One Really Is Wide Open

They left the door open Friday at the U.S. Open and who came in? Well, just about everybody with spikes, a shirt with a logo and a courtesy car.

Payne Stewart is your 36-hole leader by one shot, which could have been more if he hadn’t bounced a ball off a spectator on the 16th hole and off the side of the grandstand on the 18th.

Stewart’s 71 at Oakland Hills added up to a two-under-par total of 138, one shot better than Greg Norman, who has two major titles; Ernie Els, who has one; and Woody Austin, who looks good in glasses.

No other players are under par, but they can’t feel too blue because almost everyone else is still in the tournament.

A total of 108 players in the field of 156 made the cut, and if that sounds like a lot, it is, because it’s a U.S. Open record.

The previous record was 88 at Baltusrol in 1993. The record for a major championship is 113 in the 1991 British Open at Royal Birkdale.

Everyone within 10 shots of the lead gets to play on the weekend, so when Stewart bogeyed No. 16, he let in 11 players who finished at seven over par. Then when he bogeyed No. 18, he let in 11 more at eight-over 148.

All of a sudden, there are so many players still around, it looks like the line for the shuttle bus to the remote parking lot.

Stewart said he wasn’t thinking about all the guys who got back in with his bogey-par-bogey finish.

“Never entered my mind,” he said. “I mean, however many people make the cut . . . yes, obviously if I had finished at five under, not many people make the cut, but I didn’t.”

No, he didn’t, but Stewart probably did make a lot of friends. At the same time, Norman, Els and Austin needed no help from him.

Norman pounded a 66 out of Oakland Hills, including an eagle two at No. 16 when he air-mailed an eight-iron from 140 yards, landed the ball about eight feet above the pin and spun it back into the hole.

“Hit and that was it,” Norman said.

It hit all right. About the only trouble he encountered all day was when a photographer kept shooting his picture during Norman’s backswing.

Austin managed to hang tough with a 72, following up his no-bogey first round with a no-birdie second round. He didn’t feel too good about it.

“If I look back on the way I played, I am pretty disappointed,” he said.

Els scratched out a 67 to equal Norman and Austin at one-under 139. After he birdied No. 10 with a 10-footer, Els was four under par for the day, but he three-putted the 15th for bogey and missed a chance to catch Stewart.

His best hole might have been the par he made on No. 12 after his ball plugged under the lip of a bunker. Els knocked the ball loose in the sand, hit his fourth shot onto the green 10 feet from the hole and made the putt to save par.

“I got lucky,” he said.

And so did a lot of players, thanks to Stewart, said Els.

“He came back and he brought a lot of other guys back into the picture,” he said.

And what a crowded picture it is. In last year’s Open at Shinnecock Hills, Corey Pavin was six shots off the lead after 36 holes and he won. There are 54 players within six shots of Stewart right now.

Want to pick a winner? There are as many players with a chance as there are patches of mud at Oakland Hills.

Davis Love III leads a group of five at even-par 140 after a 69. He’s joined by Frank Nobilo, Ken Green, Sam Torrance and Steve Jones, who turned in a 66 late in the afternoon.

John Daly shot 33 on the back and finished with a 69, which put him at 141.

Of course, he’s not alone. Tom Watson, Scott Simpson, John Cook, Jim Furyk, Billy Andrade, Jumbo Ozaki, David Berganio and Neal Lancaster are also at one over.

Meanwhile, all alone at the top is Stewart, with the blue knickers, the white shoes and blue cap. He made a nice picture, except for his second shots on 16 and 18.

“Let’s just forget about those,” he said.

Besides, Stewart said, there’s one important fact to remember.

“I’m still right there with a chance to win with two rounds to play, and that’s the object,” he said.

But at only two under par? Surely he was surprised that would be leading?

“Yeah,” he said. “Especially when I was five under.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

OPEN LEADERS

Payne Stewart 67-71--138

Greg Norman 73-66--139

Ernie Els 72-67--139

Woody Austin 67-72--139

Sam Torrance 71-69--140

Davis Love III 71-69--140

Frank Nobilo 69-71--140

Ken Green 73-67--140

Steve Jones 74-66--140

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

36-HOLE SCORES

At Bloomfield Hills, Mich.--Par 70 36-Hole Scores

Payne Stewart 67-71--138 -2

Greg Norman 73-66--139 -1

Ernie Els 72-67--139 -1

Woody Austin 67-72--139 -1

Sam Torrance 71-69--140 E

Davis Love III 71-69--140 E

Frank Nobilo 69-71--140 E

Ken Green 73-67--140 E

Steve Jones 74-66--140 E

David Berganio 69-72--141 +1

Jim Furyk 72-69--141 +1

Billy Andrade 72-69--141 +1

John Daly 72-69--141 +1

Jumbo Ozaki 69-72--141 +1

Neal Lancaster 74-67--141 +1

Scott Simpson 70-71--141 +1

Tom Watson 70-71--141 +1

John Cook 70-71--141 +1

Steve Elkington 72-70--142 +2

Philip Walton 69-73--142 +2

Wayne Riley 73-69--142 +2

John Morse 68-74--142 +2

Steve Gotsche 72-70--142 +2

Colin Montgomerie 70-72--142 +2

Brad Faxon 70-72--142 +2

Stewart Cink 69-73--142 +2

Paul Azinger 69-74--143 +3

Billy Mayfair 72-71--143 +3

Jack O’Keefe 72-71--143 +3

Vijay Singh 71-72--143 +3

Corey Pavin 73-70--143 +3

Tom Lehman 71-72--143 +3

David Gilford 74-69--143 +3

Jim Gallagher Jr. 71-72--143 +3

Kirk Triplett 70-73--143 +3

Hale Irwin 72-71--143 +3

Lee Janzen 68-75--143 +3

Nick Faldo 72-71--143 +3

Michael Campbell 70-73--143 +3

Olin Browne 73-70--143 +3

Dan Forsman 72-71--143 +3

Jeff Maggert 75-69--144 +4

Ian Woosnam 72-72--144 +4

Jeff Sluman 70-74--144 +4

Brad Bryant 73-71--144 +4

Bill Murchison 76-68--144 +4

Mark Brooks 76-68--144 +4

Scott Hoch 73-71--144 +4

Kenny Perry 73-71--144 +4

a-Steve Scott 71-73--144 +4

Kelly Gibson 71-73--144 +4

Scott McCarron 72-72--144 +4

Alexander Cejka 74-70--144 +4

Gary Trivisonno 69-75--144 +4

Mike Swartz 72-72--144 +4

Brett Ogle 70-75--145 +5

Costantino Rocca 71-74--145 +5

a-Tiger Woods 76-69--145 +5

Jay Haas 73-72--145 +5

Tommy Tolles 77-68--145 +5

Anders Forsbrand 74-71--145 +5

Steve Stricker 74-71--145 +5

Loren Roberts 72-73--145 +5

Michael Bradley 71-74--145 +5

Bob Gilder 73-72--145 +5

Joey Gullion 73-72--145 +5

Peter Jordan 71-74--145 +5

Kent Jones 71-74--145 +5

John Huston 73-72--145 +5

Mark O’Meara 72-73--145 +5

Peter Jacobsen 71-74--145 +5

J.L. Lewis 76-69--145 +5

Craig Parry 70-76--146 +6

Jack Nicklaus 72-74--146 +6

Jim Thorpe 75-71--146 +6

Dennis Harrington 75-71--146 +6

Frank Lickliter II 75-71--146 +6

David Ogrin 72-74--146 +6

Wayne Grady 71-75--146 +6

Lucas Parsons 75-71--146 +6

Tom Pernice Jr. 74-72--146 +6

Sean Murphy 71-75--146 +6

Blaine McCallister 71-75--146 +6

Bob Ford 69-77--146 +6

Curt Byrum 70-76--146 +6

Rich Yokota 79-67--146 +6

David Duval 75-72--147 +7

Steve Lowery 73-74--147 +7

Wayne Westner 72-75--147 +7

Tom Purtzer 76-71--147 +7

Curtis Strange 74-73--147 +7

Justin Leonard 71-76--147 +7

Phil Mickelson 76-71--147 +7

Bob Tway 72-75--147 +7

Tom Kite 76-71--147 +7

Javier Sanchez 71-76--147 +7

Michael Christie 72-75--147 +7

a-Randy Leen 77-71--148 +8

Omar Uresti 76-72--148 +8

a-Trip Kuehne 79-69--148 +8

Skip Kendall 77-71--148 +8

Mike Burke Jr. 78-70--148 +8

Andrew Morse 76-72--148 +8

Bill Porter 73-75--148 +8

Peter O’Malley 75-73--148 +8

Mark Wiebe 74-74--148 +8

Anthony Rodriguez 71-77--148 +8

Shawn Kelly 73-75--148 +8

FAILED TO QUALIFY

Jeff Julian 74-75--149 +9

Scott Dunlap 78-71--149 +9

Darrell Kestner 77-72--149 +9

Mike Heinen 73-76--149 +9

Tim Herron 75-74--149 +9

Paul Goydos 71-78--149 +9

Ted Tryba 74-76--150 +10

Mark Calcavecchia 77-73--150 +10

a-Jay Hobby Jr. 74-76--150 +10

Todd Dempsey 77-73--150 +10

Ben Crenshaw 80-70--150 +10

Duffy Waldorf 73-77--150 +10

Larry Mize 74-76--150 +10

Kent Wiese 77-73--150 +10

Darren Clarke 77-73--150 +10

Ty Armstrong 80-70--150 +10

Steve Jurgensen 74-76--150 +10

Francis Quinn 73-77--150 +10

Emlyn Aubrey 78-73--151 +11

Barry Lane 75-76--151 +11

Phil Blackmar 78-73--151 +11

Tom Weiskopf 76-75--151 +11

David Edwards 72-79--151 +11

Fred Funk 74-77--151 +11

Brandt Jobe 75-76--151 +11

John Flannery 76-75--151 +11

Brian Gay 75-77--152 +12

Mark McCumber 76-76--152 +12

Scott Gump 75-77--152 +12

Kevin Sutherland 73-80--153 +13

Carl Paulson 78-75--153 +13

Bryan Hughett 76-77--153 +13

David Toms 76-77--153 +13

Mark James 75-79--154 +14

Steve Flesch 80-74--154 +14

a-Reid Edstrom 77-77--154 +14

Peter Teravainen 75-79--154 +14

Greg Lesher 81-73--154 +14

Brian Henninger 78-76--154 +14

Paul Eales 74-81--155 +15

Tad Holkiway 80-76--156 +16

David Frost 78-78--156 +16

Ronald Ewing 80-76--156 +16

Darrett Brinker 78-80--158 +18

Ian Baker-Finch 83-82--165 +25

Bernhard Langer 75-78--DQ

Charles Raulerson 83--WD

a--amateur; WD--withdrew; DQ--disqualified