The Live Report: Saturday

PGATOUR.com Staff

DONE FOR THE DAY (7:08 p.m.): With the greens looking like oversaturated sponges, David B. Fay just made it official, announcing that play has been suspended for the remainder of the day. Players will return at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow to resume playing. -- Brian Wacker

PLAY SUSPENDED (6:52 p.m.): The skies above Bethpage Black have opened up and play has been suspended for the time being with the greens being overrun by water. Players are being kept in place while officials wait out the rain in a non-dangerous situation, said USGA czar David Fay. Currently, there's a 6 to 7-mile wide swath of rain sweeping through the area that should be through the region in about 20 minutes. That said, with all the cloud cover, darkness will also soon become an issue, too, as we wind toward sunset. Stay tuned. -- Brian Wacker 

INTERESTING STAT OF THE DAY (6:35 p.m.): The average Official World Golf Ranking for the group of Ricky Barnes, Azuma Yano, David Duval and Todd Hamilton -- all of whom have a chance to win with Barnes the leader at the halfway mark -- is 439. And that's just the average.

Duval tops them all, ranking 882nd in the world, with Barnes pulling in at 519th. Todd Hamilton is next at 237th, while Yano ranks 117th. -- Brian Wacker

COURSE SETUP (6:09 p.m.): The USGA had less than 90 minutes between the end of the second round and the start of the third round to make adjustments to Bethpage Black. The fairways and greens were mown and the green speeds are at mid-to-high 13s. Among the hole notes:

HOLE 3: Will play to 191 yards (listed at 232 on the scorecard), using the penultimate teeing ground to a front right hole location.

HOLE 5: Back teeing ground used.

HOLE 7:  -- Will play to 489 yards (listed at 525 on the scorecard), again using the penultimate teeing ground due to wet conditions and the forecasted north wind on Sunday (when the majority of the third round will be played).

HOLE 8: Will play to 142 yards (listed at 210 on scorecard), with the forward-most tee used to a front center hole location. The hole should play into the north wind Sunday.

HOLE 9: Back tee used.

HOLE 10: Will play to 501 yards (listed at 508 on scorecard), with the front of the back tee used. USGA officials expect the hole to play very long into the north wind Sunday.

HOLE 11: The tee markers have been moved down to the lower tee, which will make the hole 25 yards shorter but with a blind drive. Players must pick a tree in the distance for target.

HOLE 13: Back tee used. Should play downwind Sunday.

HOLE 14: Will play to 174 yards (listed at 158 on the scorecarcd). The hole location is set on the back right tier; tee markers are set on far left side.

HOLE 17: Will play to 196 yards (listed at 207 on the scorecard).

GROUPS TO WATCH (5:55 p.m.): The third round finally got under way about 20 minutes or so ago, but the long wait hasn't done anything to take the exuberance out of the crowd -- they're into it to say the least.

That was the case when one of the more popular groups, Anthony Kim and Rory McIlroy, teed off on the 10th hole. Both players are 2 over and well off the lead, but they got a pretty raucous New York roar when they hit their tee shots just after 5:45 p.m. ET.

Even Drew Weaver and John Mallinger drew incredible cheers as the first group off the first tee in Round 3. Others to keep an eye on: Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia will go off No. 1 at 6:16, while Steve Stricker and adopted son Phil Mickelson will tee off there 18 minutes later.

On the back nine, Tiger Woods will tee off with K.J. Choi at 6:42 p.m. Both men are 3 over. Meanwhile, leader Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover will tee off together at 7:22 p.m. on No. 1, provided the weather cooperates, which so far, it has. -- Brian Wacker

THIRD ROUND UNDER WAY (5:35 p.m.): It's raining out, but the third round is under way with the course still plenty playable. There's a possibility the last groups won't even get to tee off today, but given what most expected, we're well ahead of where many thought would be at this point. Click here for the complete listing of tee times and pairings. -- Brian Wacker

THIRD ROUND COMING UP (4:15 p.m.): Now that the second round is complete -- and the weather is cooperating -- players will be re-paired and sent off both tees sometime at 5:30 p.m. ET. If the weather continues to hold off, there could be a lot of golf played with only 60 players making the cut and players going off both tees in groups of in twosomes. That's good news for the USGA and the players and, fingers crossed, we may even be able to get this thing in by the end of Sunday. -- Brian Wacker

WHAT TIGER FACES (4 p.m.): Tiger Woods, at 3-over 143, will enter the final round 11 strokes behind tournament leader Ricky Barnes. The largest come-from-behind victory at the U.S. Open in the final 36 holes is exactly that number with Lou Graham rallying past 36-hole leader Tom Watson at the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah.

Below is a look at Woods' largest PGA TOUR comebacks after 36 holes. -- John Bush

CUT CHECK (3:40 p.m.): So much for those at 5 over. With the second round winding down, the cut is now at 4 over. That could eliminate a number of players who were hovering right around the number all day. Among them: David Toms, Rory Sabbatini and Luke Donald. -- Brian Wacker

BIG NAMES BOWING OUT (3:25 p.m.): Paul Casey, having recently moved to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings, was a trendy pick coming into Bethpage Black. Padraig Harrington, despite his struggles, was expected to raise his game. Both had high expectations ... but neither will make the 36-hole cut.

Casey, who is 10th in the FedExCup rankings, carded consecutive 75s to finish at 10 over, while Harrington was even less successful with consecutives 76s for 12 over.

For Harrington, who continues to battle through some swing adjustments he made in the offseason after winning the last two majors of 2008, Bethpage Black's front nine did him in. Harrington was a collective 12 over on the front side in his two rounds.

Of course, it didn't help that Harrington had trouble off the tee (hitting 11 of 28 fairways) and with his approach shots (16 of 36 greens in regulation). In all, Harrington carded 11 bogeys and three doubles to go with his five birdies.

Meanwhile, Casey failed to produce a birdie in either of his rounds -- surprising, considering he ranks fifth in birdie average on the PGA TOUR this year. He hit just 15 of 28 fairways and 20 of 36 greens in regulation and didn't help himself with his putting, needing 64 putts.

If Europe is to end its U.S. Open drought dating back to Tony Jacklin's win in 1970, it will have to be from someone other than Casey and Harrington this weekend. -- Mike McAllister

TIGER'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE (3:10 p.m.): Tiger Woods just finished his second round, shooting a 1-under 69 that didn't exactly move him any closer to the lead or leave him any less frustrated with his play this week.

"I'm gonna have to shoot some better rounds," Woods told NBC. "The course can be had. You can get after pretty much every flag."

Woods simply hasn't done that, though, and as a result he has seven birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey through 36 holes. Of just as much concern is that Woods has struggled to find the feel with some of his ballstriking -- he's hit 24 of 36 greens in regulation and 18 of 28 fairways -- and the fact that he's taken 61 putts.

Woods will have time to cool off, hit the range and get ready for Round 3, which, given the current weather, might be able to start as soon as 5:30 p.m. ET or so. "The big story will be the rain overnight," said Al Roker, who added there will be 1-2 inches of the wet stuff overnight and into the morning. -- Brian Wacker

SCHEDULING CONFLICT? (2:45 p.m.): Canadian National team member Nick Taylor is supposed to attend the Royal Canadian Golf Association media day in Toronto on Monday. 
 
But with a spot on the front page of the leaderboard after his first 36 holes at Bethpage Black, the amateur knows he might have another obligation if the U.S. Open has a Monday finish.
 
"If I miss that," Taylor of his RGCA date, "I won't be disappointed." -- Mike McAllister

WESTWOOD WORKING HIS WAY UP (2:35 p.m.): England's Lee Westwood is quietly making his way up the leaderboard in the second round at Bethpage Black.
 
After shooting a 2-over 72 in the first round, Westwood has managed to get some scoring done in Round 2.
 
Through 15 holes, the Englishman is 3 under, which moves him to 1 under for the tournament.
 
Westwood has contended in several major championships, racking up six top-10 finishes in his career, highlighted by a third-place finish in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines just last summer. -- T.J. Auclair

CUT CHECK (2:20 p.m.): The cut line has moved to 5 over as the second round winds on through the rain drops and there's a good chance it could get to 6 over if the course toughens and the conditions get worse.

That's good news for guys like Justin Leonard and Rory Sabbatini, but still won't help players like Paul Casey, who continues to struggle at 10 over.

Speaking of the cut, once it's made officials will work quickly to re-pair the players and get them on the course for Round 3, weather permitting, of course. Judging by the weather so far, and the lack of lightning, that seems like a good possibility. Whether they go off in threesomes, however, will depend on how many players make the cut, according to USGA czar David Fay. -- Brian Wacker

AMATEUR IN TOP 10 (1:55 p.m.): There are all sorts of storylines as the second round continues from Bethpage Black, but one of the more interesting ones is Nick Taylor, an amateur who is tied for seventh after completing a 65 earlier today that ties for the lowest U.S. Open score by an amteur (James McHale and James Simons were the other amateurs to shoot 65).

Taylor began Saturday morning with a bogey at No. 15, but but bounced back with a 25-footer for birdie at the 18th to get to 2 under for the tournament.Taylor, a 21-year-old Canadian amateur from the University of Washington earlier this week topped Scotland's R&A ranking of the world's top amateur golfers, though he didn't exactly see a 65 coming.

"I don't know if it's really pressure. For me, it's more like confidence. I just think it's kind of cool to be ranked No. 1," Taylor told the Vancouver Sun. "I think the course, as soft as it is, is probably playing as easy as it possibly could. So I think everyone that's scoring out there is making it look a lot easier than this course really is.

"It's just a good feeling to be able to make the cut, be a couple under par, and no one really expects me to be here, so I'll just kind of go into tomorrow with no expectations." -- Brian Wacker

WEATHER UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): The rain is coming down at Bethpage Black, but there's a slight gap in the system that should buy the players and the course more time. Behind that, however, the latest radar images show some electricity in the air in the skies above northern New Jersey, just outside New York City. While rain is certainly a concern -- Al Roker earlier this morning to expect "monsoon-like" conditions later today and tonight, thunder and lightning might be a more immediate concern. -- Brian Wacker

TIGER UPDATE (1:05 p.m.): Tiger Woods has hit 9 of 11 greens in his second round, but all he's been able to manage is a round of 2 under with three birdies and a bad bogey on the par-4 15th, where he caught a chip shot from just off the green heavy, leaving it short of the green.

Through his first 29 holes, Woods has now made six birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys. That adds up to 2 over, leaving Woods 10 shots off the lead. And after finding the rough off the tee with a fairway metal at the 205-yard, par-3 third, he's likely not going to get any closer on his current hole. With only one more par-5 the rest of his round, you wonder how many more birdies Woods can make, especially in the rain, which is now falling and continues to worsen. -- Brian Wacker

CUT CHECK (12:35 p.m.): With the weather holding off -- for now -- it's looking more and more like the second round will be able to completed before the heavy stuff starts coming down. That said, the projected cut line right now is at 4-over 144. That's one of the lower cuts in recent history (see chart below).

Still, some pretty notable names are in danger of not making it to the rest of the weekend. David Toms is in at 5 over, shooting a 76 after an opening-round 69. Rory Sabbatini and Luke Donald are also both in trouble as they sit at 5 over while their second round continues. Padraig Harrington's struggles are also continuing -- he's 6 over and needs to do something as he plays the front nine (his second nine of Round 2). Zach Johnson is in the same position as Harrington, while Paul Casey is pretty much already guaranteed to be heading home at 10 over. -- Brian Wacker

LOW 36 (12:15 p.m.): After Ricky Barnes set a new 36-hole scoring record for the U.S. Open, here's a look at some other 36-hole stretches in this tournament. -- John Bush

Lowest Score, Opening 36 Holes
2009 Ricky Barnes Bethpage Black 67-65—132       
2009 Lucas Glover     Bethpage Black 69-64—133
2003 Jim Furyk          Olympia Fields 67-66—133
2003     Vijay Singh       Olympia Fields      70-63—133

Lowest Score, Middle 36 Holes
2003 Jim Furyk Olympia Fields 66-67—133
1994 Loren Roberts Oakmont 69-64—133

Lowest Score, Final 36 Holes
1983    Larry Nelson Oakmont 65-67—132
1986 Chip Beck Shinnecock        68-65—133
1994 Loren Roberts Oakmont           64-70—134

FIRST WD (11:50 a.m.): Matthew Jones has withdrawn from the U.S. Open due to a back injury. Jones shot 78 in the first round and was 2 over through nine holes in the second. -- Helen Ross

AZUMA WHO? (11:40 a.m.): There's one name near the top of the leaderboard that you may not have ever heard of -- Azuma Yano of Japan.
 
Yano, 31, is playing in his first U.S. Open and earned an exemption to Bethpage Black by finishing second on the Japan Golf Tour money list in 2008.
 
Yano was one of the lucky players with the late/early draw and certainly took advantage. After opening with a 2-over 72 in Round 1, Yano fired a 65 in the second round, which he completed Saturday morning. At 3-under, he's now five shots off the pace.
 
Yano has three career wins on the Japan Golf Tour, including two in 2008. So far in 2009, his best finish in five starts was a tie for 29th. -- T.J. Auclair

WEATHER UPDATE (11:30 a.m.): As expected, the skies are darkening over Bethpage State Park. The rain is coming in from the west and should begin any minute.

The storm has brought between 1-2 inches of rain as it moved across the country. Meteorologists expect similar accumulations on the Black Course, which absorbed more than 1.25 inches on Thursday and became unplayable by late afternoon.

More rain is expected overnight and into Sunday, when there is a 70 percent probability of precipitation as the low stalls off the coast. The chance diminishes to 40 percent on Monday. -- Helen Ross 

PLAYING WITH BARNES, GLOVER (11:25 a.m.): You can call in coincidence if you want, but you would be wrong. Some might even consider it dumb luck, but they are simple-minded and unimaginative. I prefer to look at the fact that I played here in 2002 with Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover and they are the top two names on the leaderboard as a karmic anomaly. How else could you explain their success?
 
What I remember most about playing with these very young men was how physically talented they both were. I'd heard of Glover because we shared mutual friends and he was a southern boy. Barnes, who later that year won the U.S. Amateur, was powerful, loose and an entertaining player with personality. I told his mother that week that I wanted to be his agent and that I would turn him into an underwear model.
 
As very young players, neither were able to reign in their considerable talents to figure out the proper attack for a U.S. Open set up. Seven years later, they are mature men and mature players. And at the very least I can say that I was there at the beginning. -- John Maginnes

MOVING DAY (11:10 a.m.): Tiger Woods just made his first birdie in some 15-plus hours, rolling one in on the par-5 13th hole to get to 1 under on his second round. Having not played since early Friday morning, Woods will need to make a lot more of those today. Judging by history, that shouldn't be a huge problem for the world's No. 1 player -- second rounds are when Woods has played his best in majors with a 69.7 scoring average. He'll need something more like a 66 today, but you get the idea. Woods' other scoring averages in majors: 71 (first), 70.2 (second) and 70.6 (final round). -- Brian Wacker

WEIR LINGERING NEAR LEAD (10:50 a.m.): Mike Weir is one of many players already through his second round and, for the moment, he's just two back of Ricky Barnes' lead after a second-round 70. Yesterday, Weir talked about how this tournament reminds him a lot of the weather-plagued 2003 Masters, which of course he won. Given that experience, you have to think Weir's chances are pretty good through the weekend no matter what happens in the skies above the rest of the way.

Below are some snippets from his interview with the media this morning. -- Brian Wacker

Q. What about being in your position and having to now deal with the stop-start-stop-start thing?

WEIR: It's difficult. It's a different -- you love to just kind of be day-after-day kind of normal routine. This is odd able to go now I'll be able to practice a little bit work on a few things I need to iron out and go back to the hotel four or five hours, see how the course is playing, watch them a little bit and figure out, guestimate what my tee time is going to be to come out and warm up again. It's been a lot of starting and stopping this week. It's just been a test of patience and trying to be in the right state of mind each time you come out not to let things change too much. It's difficult for everybody.

Q. Contention for a major, though, does it make it particularly --

MIKE WEIR: It's harder for sure. But, again, I use 2003 Masters as an example. The mentality I use there I'm trying to use that same mentality of just some of these things are out of your control. So not to worry about it and just see what happens and hopefully this little front blows through even though I saw the radar doesn't look too good.

Q. Why did you predict that the U.S. Open could be one you would win; is it because of your consistency or something more specific?

WEIR: With my game out here? I would say -- if I was to look at all the majors as I started my career, I thought I'm not the longest hitter, but usually pretty consistent and I'm very determined, I would say. And I usually find a way to get it in the hole. Might not be the prettiest. But usually find a way to get it in the hole.

SCORING IDEAL AGAIN (10:30 a.m.): In addition to Ricky Barnes' record-setting start, we've already had our second 64 of the week with Lucas Glover finishing off his second round earlier this morning. That comes on the heels of Mike Weir's 64 in the first round with both players having had opportunities to shoot 63 -- or lower.

Much like Barnes, it's been a fairways-and-greens game for Glover with 31 of 36 greens in regulation and 20 of 28 fairways hit. Today, and yesterday, Glover made six birdies and no bogeys. That's what happens when you have the kind of accuracy that Glover and Barnes have displayed so far.

Whether those guys can stay well under par, however, could depend on, well, the weather. -- Brian Wacker

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (10:15 a.m.): Who would have ever thought a guy averaging 284 yards off the tee would be leading the U.S. Open right now? Well, that's what happens when rain turns Bethpage Black into golf's biggest sponge. The course is as dry as it's been all week right now, but there is very little run-out in the fairways and because the greens are soft, guys are able to pretty much fire at the flag at will.

Case in point with Barnes: He's hit 31 of 36 greens in regulation through two rounds and 19 of 28 fairways. Numbers like that are going to play well at any U.S. Open, especially this one, where, even if you're not long off the tee, it's possible to hold the green with a 4-iron. -- Brian Wacker

RECORD START (10 a.m.): The last time the U.S. Open was held at Bethpage Black, Ricky Barnes would go on to win the U.S. Amateur. That was in 2002. It's been a long and mostly unfulfilling journey for Barnes since -- until this week. After finishing off a 5-under 65 a few moments ago, Barnes is atop the leaderboard here at the U.S. Open, having set a 36-hole U.S. Open record in the process at 132.

Barnes has now made nine birdies and just one bogey through two rounds and perhaps more importantly did all that in what have been ideal scoring conditions the last 18 or so hours. Players just teeing off in their second round -- like Tiger Woods -- could be at a distinct disadvantage.

According to Al Roker, rain won't start falling until 1 or 2 p.m. local time with the heavy stuff coming down within a few hours after that. Translation: Make your birdies now. -- Brian Wacker