Jordan Spieth thought it would be great if he could follow up his opening 68 with a second 68 Friday at the U.S. Open.
The reigning Masters champ went one better. Spieth birdied his final hole of the day, the long sloping ninth when he used the contour of the green to hit his tee shot within five feet of the hole.
Spieth’s birdie putt had to wait. Playing partner Jason Day suddenly collapsed at the back of the green, suffering from what he later described as “vertigo.” The group was delayed for nearly 15 minutes as medical staff administered to Day. Day bravely staggered to a greenside bunker, played his second shot then two putted from 12 feet for bogey and an even par 70 that left him two-under. He was taken from the course for medical treatment and his status for Saturday was uncertain.
After the long wait, Spieth composed himself and rolled in his birdie for a second round 67 that got him to five-under to tie with first round leaders Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson, who were teeing off late in the afternoon.
“I heard it was dizziness,” Spieth said after the bizarre ending to his round. “He (Day) could barely walk. It came out of nowhere.”
Spieth said he won’t let the incident shake him. “I’ll regroup, get a good game plan for tomorrow. It’s gonna get harder and harder. I’ve got to find my driver a little bit,” Spieth said, hinting he was not satisfied with how he drove the ball on Friday.
Still, he’s right where he needs to be to contend over the weekend. “I’ll probably be a few behind,” Spieth predicted.
Spieth’s prediction was wrong, however. Patrick Reed shot a one-under par 69 to get to five-under and the two Ryder Cup teammates will play together in the final pairing Saturday.
Dustin Johnson’s second round 71 dropped him back to four-under and he’ll be in the next-to-last pairing with Brandon Grace of South Africa.
