Woodland surges to the lead with another record round on forgiving course.

A day after Justin Rose scorched the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Gary Woodland matched the record-tying feat, carding a bogey-free round of 65 to claim the lead going into the weekend rounds at the U.S. Open.

Woodland’s score put him at 9-under for the tournament, two strokes ahead of Rose on the leaderboard. After Thursday’s 65 that equaled Tiger Woods’ mark for a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (set in 2000), Rose fired a respectable 70 on Friday, 1-under for the day.

He remains in the hunt and was asked about the emotions of a possible second Open title.

“Here and St. Andrews would probably be the two most iconic places to lift a bit of silver,” Rose told reporters. “But if you don’t mind, I’m just going to wait a couple of days.”

Rose and the rest of the cut down field will have to contend with Woodland, who showed impressive confidence in round two. Although he has never won in 27 majors and never finished in the top 20 in his eight U.S. Open appearances, Woodland appeared to be in command of the course.

Known for his power, he applied it by finding 14 of 18 greens on the day, and then showing off a deft touch with the putter. Woodland dropped a 50-foot birdie putt on the 9th, following a par-saving 15-footer on the 8th, recovering from an errant approach.

“That was probably the biggest shot of the day,” Woodland said,”I played beautifully all day and I just didn't want to give a shot back.”

 On a grey day, the course continued to be forgiving. The field carded 44 rounds under par on Friday, which set the cut line at 2-over 144. Louis Oosthuizen finished the day at 6-under, with Aaron Wise and Rory McIlroy at 5-uner.

 Five golfers enter the third round at 4-under, including Brooks Koepka, who is looking for his third consecutive U.S. Open title. Graeme McDowell, winner of the 2010 event held at Pebble Beach, is in the group at 3-under.

 McDowell opened with four consecutive birdies.

 “You make four straight, you don't feel you should do that at a U.S. Open,” he observed in the post-round press conference. “I saw the stats yesterday. It looked like it was close to three shots easier on round one than it was in 2010.”

 Viktor Hovland, the reigning amateur champion, gave back the two stokes he gained in a strong opening round and finished even. He survived a three-bogey, one-birdie round, but ranked first in accuracy off the tee, hitting all 18 fairways.

Tiger Woods is also even. Phil Mickelson is 1-under. Seventy-nine golfers made the cut, four of them amateurs.

Woodland led at the halfway mark at the 2018 PGA Championship, but finished in a tie for sixth. He put in a top ten at this year’s PGA.

“I’ve been in this position before,” Woodland told reporters. “That’s been a big confidence boost for me, knowing I don’t have to be perfect, I can still contend and have a chance to win.”

Play resumes Saturday morning.