PINEHURST, N.C. – Even though Martin Kaymer set a U.S. Open record with only 130 strokes in his first two rounds, even though he shot identical rounds of 65, even though he leads by, oh, about a million shots entering the weekend, there is reason for optimism amongst the rest of the field.
Slight reason, but reason nonetheless.
In each of his three previous PGA Tour starts, Kaymer opened with two rounds in the 60s, only to follow with two rounds in the 70s on each occasion. That includes his victory at the Players Championship, sandwiched by a T-18 at the Wells Fargo Championship and T-29 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
For the season, his scoring average before the cut is 70.90, which ranks 67th; his third-round scoring average is 70.50, which ranks 73rd; and his final-round scoring average is 72.00, which ranks an unenviable 140th.