George McNeill gained five strokes on the field over his final 14 holes in Friday’s second round of the U.S. Senior Open.
McNeill is a bit of a surprising 36-hole leader at Scioto Country Club, where he sits two shots ahead of defending champion Padraig Harrington.
Stewart Cink and Charlie Wi, who carried the co-lead into Friday, each carded 70s and sit T-3 behind McNeill and Harrington.
“I salvaged an OK round today when it was really pretty rough all around, not really much happening,” Cink said. “I kept shooting myself in the foot, just not executing very well.
“May be the heat a little bit. You know, it’s hard to focus, and you just lose your concentration just a little bit. It’s a tough track, so it punishes you if you’re a little bit off.”
Miguel Angel Jimenez is also T-3 after putting together a 2-under 68. Jimenez was bogey-free on his back nine.
Harrington defeated Cink in last year’s U.S. Senior Open in Colorado. Cink has won the first two majors of 2026, the Senior PGA Championship in April and the Regions Tradition in May.
69-67
— USGA (@USGA) July 3, 2026
Rock solid opening rounds for @padraig_h.
He's solo 2nd heading into the weekend. pic.twitter.com/6vko03CJDS
Chris Devlin, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Gainey and Alex Cejka are tied for sixth at 2 under.
Third-round coverage begins on Peacock at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday after the USGA moved up tee times due to inclement weather forecasted in the Columbus, Ohio, area late in the afternoon.
