SAN FRANCISCO – Jim McLean has coached child prodigies at his golf schools around the world for decades, so he thought he had seen just about every kind of young hopeful out there.

Then came Lucy Li.

The 11-year-old from the suburbs south of San Francisco became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open by winning the sectional at Half Moon Bay in California by seven strokes last month. Her journey to Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, where the tournament begins Thursday, is the quickest and most unique of anybody in the field.

A sixth grader with braces and a sharp short game, Li’s family came to California from Hong Kong and she has been training at McLean’s golf school in Miami since she was 7. As he has with many young golfers when they arrive, McLean gave her the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”

Li not only read the book. She memorized it.

“She’s incredibly smart,” McLean said. “And an incredibly fast learner.”

That much is clear. Little else about Li’s life is. Her family has declined interview requests, only issuing a statement through the USGA that she is honored to play in the prestigious tournament.

Those who have watched Li’s rapid rise tell a story of a girl who skips down fairways and brings candy bars to club members, a focused competitor with a powerful swing and polished putting, and a youngster whose family has dedicated time and money to grow her game.

McLean said Li is homeschooled through an online Stanford University program and spends the winter months training with him in Miami, where she is watched over by her aunt, Tao Zeng, an eye doctor. The rest of the time Li spends in Silicon Valley with her father, Warren Li, a computer consultant, and her mother, Amy Zeng, a former table tennis player who works in the technology industry, he said. Li’s brother, Luke, studies at Princeton.

McLean said Li’s mother tried pushing her toward other activities such as music, ballet and aerobics. But Li’s brother played golf competitively, and she wanted to be just like him.

“She started to like golf, and then all she wanted to do was golf,” McLean said. “It didn’t come that easy for her. She worked.”

Joby Ross is a golf instructor at Mariners Point in Foster City, just a few short miles from Li’s home in Redwood Shores. Ross remembers Li’s brother and cousin practicing at the course first, but the family later turned their attention to Li after she began whacking a few balls on the range while waiting for them to finish a tournament.

“They were very serious with her more than the other two,” Ross said. “Her mom and her aunt were always with her. They would use the practice and short-game area for hours on end. I’d see them in the morning and they’d bring a lunch with them, and they’d stop and have a little lunch break and continue practicing, chipping and pitching and they’d go onto our grass tee where they could hit shots. It was a pretty extensive practice session for a young kid.”

Ross had his concerns about whether Li’s family pushed her too hard at an early age. A few times, he saw her having a tantrum with her mom and aunt.

“She was crying and I asked, `What was the problem?'” Ross recalled. “She seemed pretty frustrated and I thought, `Well, maybe they were making her be out there too long.’ And they said, `Oh, she’s just upset because we have to leave, and she wants to stay.'”

Hollis Kelley, an instructor at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose, said Li plays the course often when she is in California. He said Li is a favorite in the pro shop, where she often hands out Quaker Chewy chocolate chip granola bars to the staff.

“For her size, she has extraordinary power,” Kelley said. “Because of her stature, at this point she couldn’t overpower a golf course. But pound for pound, she’s very powerful. She has a great short game. Her game is pretty boring. She doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She shoots a couple under par and it just seems like it’s an everyday thing for her.”

Li set a record last year in the U.S. Women’s Amateur as the youngest qualifier at age 10. She also was the youngest in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links to reach match play, losing in the first round to a college player.

Li captured the girls’ 10-11 division at the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt contest at Augusta that preceded the Masters this year. Then she beat second-place qualifier Kathleen Scavo by seven strokes at Half Moon Bay to surpass the mark set by Lexi Thompson, who was 12 when she made it to the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles.

McLean also coached Thompson – along with several other PGA and LPGA players over the years – but thought Li was too young to train when her mother first called him. He said he changed his mind after Li and her mother met with him in Miami, when he saw the family’s commitment and Li’s love for golf.

“I couldn’t turn them down,” he said.

McLean said he has put a heavy emphasis for Li to play the course instead of practice on the range. He said Li has made the biggest strides with her short game since she arrived, and her consistent ball-striking ability and concentration is rare for a golfer of any age.

Even still, he believes making the cut at the U.S. Open is asking “way too much” of Li – and not just because of her age.

“I don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation for anybody playing one LPGA event a year,” he said. “But it wouldn’t be the first time she’s surprised us.”

Every father plays a unique role in a child’s life. Fathers often hold a special place in our hearts because of the unique things tha t they did with and for us as kids. As adults we treasure that special time together even more. More often than not, a father will introduce his daughter or son to sport and sometimes, that sport happens to be golf. The chance t o spend four or five hours on the course with your dad is special enough, but ho w about growing up alongside one of the legends of the game, onl y to turn into a fine professional yourself? We honour all dads this Father’s Day with a look at some of the most famous father and child player combinations in golf history.

OLD TOM MORRIS/ YOUNG TOM MORRIS

Tom Morris Sr. (or Old Tom Morris) was one of golf’s founding fathers. A four-time British Open champion, Morris Sr. held the record for largest margin of victory at a major (14 strokes) until 2000 when Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open by 15. He was also a jack-of all- trades in the golf business, acting as a greenskeeper, club-maker, ball-maker, golf instructor and course designer. Young Tom Morris also won the British Open four times, and holds the record for being the youngest major champion in golf’s history (he was 17 in 1868). He unfortunately died at only 24 years of age.

WILLIE PARK/WILLIE PARK JR.

Another of golf’s founding fathers was Willie Park Sr. Also a four-time British Open winner, Park Sr. actually captured the very first British Open. His son, Willie Park Jr. captured the British Open twice. He’s credited as being one of golf’s first renaissance men; known as a golf writer, businessman and course architect, Park Jr.’s designs include a handful of notable layouts in Canada.

DAVID BLACK/KEN BLACK

The Blacks make up the lone father-son duo to be enshrined in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The elder Black emigrated to North America from Scotland with his brothers to become golf professionals in the early 1900s. He worked as a club pro in Ottawa and Montreal before going west to Vancouver. He won four PGA of Canada Championships and was runner-up in the 1911 Canadian Open. The younger Black captured three B.C. Amateurs and the 1939 Canadian Amateur Championship. In a story that legends are made of, he came from nine strokes behind to win the Vancouver Jubilee Open as a 24-year-old amateur, nipping Byron Nelson by three to become the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event.

JULIUS BOROS/GUY BOROS

Although a late bloomer, Julius Boros – who didn’t turn professional until he was 29 – sure made up for lost time. A threetime major champion, the elder Boros still holds the record for being the oldest major champion of all time. He captured the PGA Championship in 1968 at the age of 48. Julius Boros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982 and passed away in 1994. His son Guy Boros has a handful of Canadian connections. He captured his lone PGA Tour victory in 1996 at the Greater Vancouver Open, and played on the Canadian Tour for four years including 1991, when he was the Tour’s leading money winner

GAYLE HITCHENS BORTHWICK/ BOB HITCHENS/ DICK BORTHWICK

Saskatchewan native Gayle Hitchens Borthwick earned her way into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame thanks a competitive career which included three U.S. Senior titles, wins at both the Canadian Amateur and Canadian Senior, and numerous provincial championships. She learned the game under the watchful eye of her father, Capilano’s assistant professional Bob Hitchens. Her father-in-law likely played an influential role in her game as well; the legendary Dick Borthwick served the Hamilton Golf and Country Club as head pro for almost three decades and claimed the 1949 Canadian PGA Championship.

Jay Haas/Bill Haas

Jay Haas is a nine-time PGA Tour champion and holds the record for most cuts made on the PGA Tour with 562. He’s a Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup champion as well and continues to play well on the Champions Tour, with 16 wins on the senior circuit. Son Bill was the 2011 FedEx Cup champion (pocketing a cool $10 million in the process) and is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour. The Haas duo also has the unique distinction of being one of just two father-son pairs who have won the same PGA Tour event. Jay captured the 1988 Bob Hope Classic, while Bill won the 2010 edition of the tournament.

Dave Mills/Jon Mills

Dave and Jon Mills make up part of a legendary Canadian golf family. Dave worked with the Golf Association of Ontario for nearly 20 years, and retired in January of 2014 as its Executive Director. Dave’s son Jon won the Ontario Amateur Championship in 2001 after graduating from Kent State University in 2000. He captured the 2003 MTS Classic on the Canadian Tour and is a two-time winner on the former Nationwide Tour. He currently holds conditional status on the Web.com Tour. Now that Jon has a daughter, can golf games with her father and grandfather be far behind?

Craig Stadler/Kevin Stadler

Craig and Kevin Stadler made history as the first father-son duo to play together at the Masters. Craig is a 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, including his 1982 green jacket victory. The younger Stadler captured his first PGA Tour victory earlier this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. His nickname is “Smalrus,” a play on his father’s nickname “The Walrus

ROBERT TRENT JONES SR./ ROBERT TRENT JONES JR.

Robert Trent Jones Junior and Senior, along with Jr.’s brother Rees, make up the first family of golf course architecture. It is said that Robert Trent Jones Sr. worked on nearly 500 golf courses in his lifetime, including London Hunt Club, Capilano (which he worked on with famed Canadian architect Stanley Thompson) and The Marshes in Ottawa (a course that he worked on with his son and was completed after his death in 2000). Robert Trent Jones Jr., meanwhile, has become a well-known designer in his own right. He’s perhaps best known for his design at Poppy Hills in California, and Chambers Bay in Washington (the host course of the 2015 U.S. Open).

Rory McIlroy/Gerry McIlroy

Although golf’s newest wunderkind has already captured two majors and four other PGA Tour events, Rory McIlroy is only 24 years old and hopefully has a long career still ahead of him. However his successful golf career may never have started without the counsel of his father Gerry, a fine player in his own right. The elder McIlroy taught Rory everything he knew about golf while Rory was still a small child. Gerry played to a scratch handicap, and has won the club championship at the prestigious Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Ian Poulter/luke Poulter

One of the most outspoken members on the PGA Tour, Ian Poulter has established himself as a true contender on tour. Could his son Luke be following in his footsteps? Luke, 9, won a U.S. Kids Golf event in Orlando earlier this year by seven shots. Luke’s famous father was his caddie that day, and sent out a handful of excited tweets to his 1.6 million followers as the event went on.

Bubba Watson/Caleb Watson

Bubba Watson is a crier. Everyone’s seen him tear up on TV but nothing was as emotional as Watson’s 2012 Masters victory. He had just adopted his son Caleb – with Canadian wife Angie – that year after losing his own father to throat cancer. Caleb has already shown some significant golfing prowess in the YouTube videos that Bubba has posted and celebrated with his dad in the winner’s circle at Augusta again this year.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Not even Martin Kaymer was immune from a Pinehurst No. 2 course that restored the reputation of a U.S. Open.

He threw enough counterpunches Saturday to leave him on the cusp of his second major.

On a broiling day with some wicked pin positions that yielded only two rounds under par, Kaymer rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to salvage a 2-over 72 and take a five-shot lead into the final round.

Only one player in U.S. Open history has lost a five-shot lead in the final round, and that was 95 years go.

“I didn’t play as well as the first two days, but I kept it together,” Kaymer said.

That was all that was required on a day when the U.S. Open finally looked like the toughest test in golf. Kaymer hit a 7-iron from the sandy area left of the fairway on the par-5 fifth hole to set up a 5-foot eagle putt, and his birdie on the final hole put him at 8-under 202.

Only the names of challengers changed, but they were sure to stir up the crowd – and the emotions.

Erik Compton, a two-time heart transplant recipient and perhaps the most remarkable story on the PGA Tour, rolled in a 40-foot putt on the 11th hole for one of his six birdies in a round of 67. He was tied at 3-under 207 with Rickie Fowler, a fan favorite of young American golf fans, who also had a 67.

Fowler will play in the final group of a major for the first time.

Only six players remained under par, and considering no one has come from more than seven shots behind in the final round to win a U.S. Open, they might be the only ones left with a realistic chance to catch the 29-year-old German.

Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson each shot 70 and were at 2-under 208. Brandt Snedeker had a 72 and was another shot behind.

Asked how much that birdie mattered on the 18th hole, Kaymer said, “One shot.”

“If you’re four shots, five shots, six shots, if you play a golf course like this, it can be gone very quickly,” he said. “You could see it today. So the challenge tomorrow is to keep going and not try to defend anything. So we’ll see how it will react tomorrow, how the body feels and how I handle the situation.”

Kaymer had his way with a softer, more gentle Pinehurst No. 2 by becoming the first player to open with 65s to set the 36-hole record at 10-under 130. Some players wondered what tournament he was playing.

There was no doubt what it was on Saturday.

“They’ve set it up so that no one can go low,” Retief Goosen said after a 71. “Some of the pins look like they’re about to fall off the greens.”

Toru Taniguchi shot an 88. Brendon Todd, playing in the final group with Kaymer, had a 79.

Phil Mickelson had a 73 and was 13 shots out of the lead. He’ll have to wait until next year to pursue the only major keeping him from the career Grand Slam. Adam Scott, the world No. 1, made bogey on all but one of the par 3s and was 11 shots behind.

Kaymer nearly joined the parade of players going the wrong direction.

He ended an amazing streak of 29 holes without a bogey by failing to get up-and-down from short of the second green. Trouble really was brewing on the fourth hole, when he pulled his tee shot into the trees and couldn’t play his next shot.

The ball settled in a washed-out section of sand, next to a 6-inch pile of pine straw. He took a one-shot penalty only after learning he could move the pine straw as loose impediments before he took his drop.

“It’s all loose. How should I know what’s not loose,” he asked USGA President Tom O’Toole.

He punched out to the fairway and holed a 15-foot putt to escape with bogey. In the sandy area again on the next hole, Kaymer ripped a 7-iron from 202 yards that caught the front portion of the green and stopped pin-high for his eagle.

His long birdie putt on the par-3 sixth rolled off the back of the green for another bogey, and Kaymer dropped two more shots with three-putt bogeys, one of them from just off the green at No. 15. He also saved par with two putts from off the green, and the birdie was big.

Mike Brady is the only other player to lose a five-shot lead. That was in 1919 at Brae Burn Country Club in Massachusetts. He shot 80 in the last round, and Walter Hagen beat him the next day in a playoff.

Compton has never won on the PGA Tour, though just playing is a victory for a guy on his third heart. Compton had a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital before his most recent transplant seven years ago.

“I think that my attitude suits a U.S. Open-style course because I don’t ever give up,” Compton said.

Compton, Brendon de Jonge and Kevin Na were the only players to reach 4-under par in their pursuit of Kaymer. Only Compton managed to stay close. De Jonge bogeyed four of his last seven holes, while Na took two double bogeys in the last five holes.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Now that’s more like it.

After two days of lower-than-expected scores, the U.S. Open finally showed its bite at Pinehurst No. 2 on Saturday.

Japan’s Toru Taniguchi shot 88. Russell Henley soared to an 82. Boo Weekley struggled to an 80.

With no rain to soften the perilous turtleback greens and devious pin placements making it tough to get anywhere close to the flags, the storied course produced the sort of portly numbers that had been expected from the beginning of the tournament.

Martin Kaymer was set to tee off in the final group with a six-shot lead after posting consecutive 5-under 65s. That gave him the lowest 36-hole score in Open history and was tied for the lowest at any major championship

It was hard to envision him going that low again in these conditions, considering the greens were firming up even more on a warm, sunny afternoon. No one broke par among the first 18 players to finish.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, the only amateur to make the cut, settled for a 78 after shooting 71-73 over the first two rounds. He said the tee placements were also making things tough.

“A couple of tees are forward, but the ones that are forward on, they really don’t make too much difference,” the 19-year-old said. “But there’s a few that are back, and they make a big difference.”

The only player who seemed to be enjoying himself: Kenny Perry, who holed out an eagle from the waste area at No. 14.

Kaymer appeared to be playing an entirely different course over the first two days, making 11 birdies and only one bogey.

Brendon Todd was the closest challenger, Kevin Na and Brandt Snedeker faced a seven-shot deficit, and only nine other players went into the third round closer than 10 strokes behind.

The six-shot lead at the midway point tied the U.S. Open record first set by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000 and matched by Rory McIlroy at Congressional three years ago. Woods wound up winning by 15 shots. McIlroy won by eight.

“I played Congressional and I thought, `How can you shoot that low?’ And that’s probably what a lot of other people think about me right now,” Kaymer said.

Phil Mickelson steadied his putting stroke a bit, playing the first 13 holes Saturday at even-par – a solid round on this day, but likely not the sort of score he needed to get in contention for his first U.S. Open title.

Lefty has been the runner-up in this championship a record six times, denying him the only title he needs to complete a career Grand Slam.

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — In a back-and-forth affair, Taylor Pendrith defeated Team Canada teammates Garrett Rank and Adam Svensson to capture the 74th annual Monroe Invitational Championship (MIC).

 Pendrith, 23, traded birdies with Rank (26) all the way until the final 72nd hole. The Richmond Hill, Ont., native pulled ahead late in Saturday’s final round thanks in part to his eagle on the par-5 12^th. He finished at 11-under par, having finished each round in the 60s (67-67-66-69).

This could very well be the biggest win of Pendrith’s amateur career – he also won the prestigious Porter Cup in 2013. With the win, the recent Kent State graduate continues a very successful season that saw him earn Co-Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year honours in addition to shooting up the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), where he currently sits at No. 46.

Svensson, a Surrey B.C. native, made his move up the leaderboard with a 66 on Saturday to climb into second place, sneaking past Team Canada teammate Rank. Svensson continues to impress after winning this year’s Jack Nickalus award for the most outstanding golfer in NCAA Div II golf for his remarkable seven-win season at Barry University.

Hailing from Elmira, Ont., Rank carded rounds of 66-66-68-72 to finish at 8-under for the tournament, dropping slightly to a tie for third after Saturday’s final round. The University of Waterloo graduate is playing great golf as of late – he won the National Golf Club Invitational one week earlier.

Chris Hemmerich of Kitchener, Ont., also cracked the top 10. The Guelph University graduate demonstrated strong consistency with rounds of 70-68-66-69 to come in at 7-under in a tie for fifth. The 21-year-old showed great poise after experiencing the tough competition at PGA Tour Canada’s PC Financial Open two weeks ago – his first professional event.

Listowel, Ont. native Corey Conners rounded out the National Amateur team, finishing at a very respectable T17 in the strong field at the MIC, one of the more prestigious amateur golf events. The 22-year-old finished at 2-under – he also shares Co-Mid-American Golfer of the Year honours with Pendrith.

Canadians Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.) and Kevin Kwon (Maple Ridge, B.C.) also teed-it-up at the MIC, finishing T33 and 75, respectively.

For the full leaderboard, click here

—

Team Canada is officially on fire after coming out of last week’s training camps on home soil. The women’s squad mirrored the success of the men in New York at the Porter Cup, where Brooke Henderson took the field by storm to win with a final round 62. All members of the women’s squad landed inside the top 20 at the event, as well.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Masters champion Bubba Watson avoided major mistakes, putted well and seemed more comfortable in his second run through Pinehurst No. 2 at the U.S. Open.

Too bad it came a day late.

Watson shot an even-par 70 on Friday, not enough following an opening 76 that ultimately cost him a shot of playing on the weekend.

“It’s easy today,” Watson joked. “After you’re out of it, it’s kind of easy just to go around and play golf.”

Watson finished at 6-over 146 to miss the cut by a stroke.

Jason Dufner, Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel and Hunter Mahan – – done in by a two-shot penalty for playing the wrong ball on his ninth hole – also dropped out after finishing at 6 over. Dufner has missed the cut in two straight majors after winning the PGA Championship.

Watson won his second green jacket in three years in April – his second PGA Tour victory this year – then led late at the Memorial before faltering and finishing third. He arrived at Pinehurst hoping to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win the year’s first two majors.

But he never gave himself a chance, his stay cut short by Thursday’s miserable round of five bogeys and one double-bogey – a performance that had Watson lamenting that the course “is better than me right now.”

He got off to a better start Friday on a layout softened by overnight rain with birdies on two of his first three holes. He was more accurate hitting fairways and greens while also making more putts than a day earlier, but three bogeys in four holes just before the turn did him in.

Watson tied for fifth at the U.S. Open in 2007 at Oakmont, but has missed the cut three times since.

“The greens are very difficult,” Watson said about Pinehurst. “For me personally, I don’t like the look of it. The targets are really small to try to hit the greens. You’ve got to hit the ball really straight I believe to hit it in the 10-foot circles on each green. So for me, it’s just a very difficult course.”

Donald was worse off than Watson after a 7-over 77 in his first round. He was much better Friday with only one bogey and a 69, but missed the U.S. Open cut for the second time in three years.

Meanwhile, Schwartzel – paired with Watson and top-ranked Adam Scott – went the opposite direction. After an even-par 70 on Thursday, he had five bogeys and two double-bogeys en route to a 76 on Friday.

Dufner, who missed the cut by six shots at the Masters, had 11 bogeys over two rounds and shot 74 on Friday. He had tied for fourth in the past two U.S. Opens.

Then there was Mahan.

A year after playing in Sunday’s final group, Mahan was penalized when he and Jamie Donaldson each mistakenly played the other’s ball in the 18th fairway following their tee shots. That two-shot penalty dropped Mahan below the cut line.

John Wood, Mahan’s caddie, took the blame because he was the first one to reach the ball.

“You can’t imagine yourself doing something colossally as stupid as that, but I did it,” Wood said. “I won’t forgive myself very soon after this.”

Donaldson also missed the cut, shooting 81 on Friday after an even-par first round to finish at 11-over 151.

PINEHURST, N.C. – At least Phil Mickelson probably won’t face another close call at the U.S. Open.

The six-time runner-up and zero-time champion slipped well off the pace Friday with a 73 that left him at 3 over – 13 strokes behind record-setting leader Martin Kaymer.

It’s mostly because of his putter.

After ditching the claw grip in favor of a more traditional one, Mickelson missed a series of putts that would have put him at least a little closer to Kaymer.

“The hole looks like a thimble to me right now,” Mickelson said. “I’m having a hard time finding it.”

Now, at a tournament where everybody’s seemingly playing for second, he’s facing quite a climb to claw back within striking distance on a Pinehurst No. 2 course that 15 years ago was the site of the first of his many second-place finishes.

Teenage playing partner Matthew Fitzpatrick called Mickelson “the master” of “getting out of trouble” and that ability certainly will be put to the test this weekend.

“I feel like I’m playing well enough to win the U.S. Open,” Mickelson said. “Except for putting.”

Mickelson has been saying his putting could use some tweaking. He’s 100th among PGA Tour players in total putting this year after finishing 11th in that stat in 2013.

So in an attempt to get his stroke back, he switched to a claw grip for the Open.

Even after he shot even par during the first round, he said he wasn’t sure how long he’d stick with it.

All of 18 holes, it turned out.

“I felt like I identified what I was struggling with, and I thought it was my eye line had gotten well over the golf ball,” Mickelson said. “So as I moved the ball away and put my eyes over the ball instead of over the top, I felt like that’s how I putted last year, so I went back to my regular grip.”

Reverting back to the conventional grip for Round 2, Mickelson got off to an encouraging start with birdies on consecutive early holes.

Then came the pesky par-3 sixth that “shook me a little bit.”

Mickelson plopped his tee shot onto the green, but three-putted for a four after his short par attempt hugged the lip of the cup before spinning out.

Two holes later, he pushed his short putt wide left and settled for bogey – the second straight day he bogeyed both holes.

“After that,” he said, “I was really fighting it.”

He added bogeys on two holes he birdied a day earlier – on the par-5 10th, and on the 14th after spinning another short par putt around the lip of the cup.

He ended his round by missing an 11-foot par putt on the 18th and tapping in for his fifth bogey.

“Whenever you putt well and you make short ones and you make those 5-, 6-footers and you’re running a couple of 20-footers in, the game feels easy,” Mickelson said. “You don’t put pressure on yourself to hit it close. You can hit more of the middle of the greens. Your ball striking then becomes a lot easier. Your targets are a lot bigger.”

Because that hasn’t happened here yet, it sure looks like when Mickelson turns 44 on Monday, he’ll still be one victory shy of the career Grand Slam.

The three-time Masters champ, 2005 PGA Championship winner and 2013 British Open champion began his run of runner-ups at this course 15 years ago when it staged its first Open.

He was preparing for a playoff with the late Payne Stewart when Stewart sank a memorable 15-foot putt for par and the win – and a statue of Stewart in that moment stands just beyond the green on 18.

Mickelson led by a stroke heading into the last hole at Winged Foot in 2006 but finished with a double bogey. Last year, at Merion he led during the final round but finished two strokes behind Justin Rose.

But after the way his putter struggled in Round 2, second place doesn’t sound too bad.

Besides, he’s only seven strokes behind Brendon Todd for second.

“I’m not overly optimistic. Obviously I’m not in good position, but more than that … you can’t fire at a lot of the pins,” he said. “You’ve got to make 25-, 30-footers, I’m just not doing it. I’m not going to give up. You just never know. I’ve had rounds that kind of clicked. … Tomorrow, I need to shoot 6- or 7-under par to have a realistic chance.”

Brooke Henderson rallied back from a nine-stroke deficit firing a 9-under 62 on Friday afternoon to win the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. carded two eagles and five birdies during her final round to win by three strokes over Calgary’s Jennifer Ha. The Team Canada member finished at 205 for the championship after rounds of 75-68-62 and was the only player to post a sub-70 round on the final day.

Brooke Henderson – 2014 Porter Cup Champion

The 16-year-old has been on an impressive run in 2014 having already won the Spirit Invitational and the South Atlantic Amateur. She also finished tied for 26^th at the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship and T45 at the LPGA Manulife Financial Classic. She will play in the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina after making it through qualifying in May. Henderson finished tied for 59^th at the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open.

Team Canada’s Jennifer Ha of Calgary finished in a tie for second with Princess Superal of the Philippines after a final round 74, while Augusta James of Bath, Ont. and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. ended the tournament in fourth place with a 211 total.

For final results click here.

PINEHURST, N.C. – Wearing a target at the U.S. Open is nothing new for Adam Scott.

He had a green jacket-shaped bull’s-eye on his back as last year’s Masters champion at Merion.

As the world’s top-ranked player at Pinehurst No. 2 this week, it comes with much more stress.

“Last year, I felt the weight of the world off my shoulders – I had just won my first major, so I thought everything was bonus from there,” Scott said Friday. “Certainly a little bit of expectation on myself and maybe from everyone else as being the No. 1 player at the moment, to perform like that. That’s something I’ve tried to adjust to after the last few weeks since being No. 1.”

During a round dominated by Martin Kaymer’s record-breaking second straight 65, Scott had an under-the-radar 67 that marked his best score at a U.S. Open, and just the third time in 13 years that he’s been under par there.

That helped him move to even par – 10 strokes behind Kaymer.

“I needed a good one today,” Scott said. “I think I probably got the better end of the draw on the first two days, coming out early after a bit of soaking rain overnight and that front nine certainly we could fire a little more aggressively at the pins. Hit some good shots and made some putts today and it still felt like hard work, but I’m very happy with the score.”

It’s been 42 years since someone other than Tiger Woods (2002) won the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year. Jack Nicklaus was the last to do it in 1972.

Scott couldn’t do it last year, finishing in a tie for 45th at Merion, and current Masters champion Bubba Watson wrapped up his second round at 6 over.

“They are both such demanding tests of your game, and to be in that kind of form those two weeks in the one year is asking a lot,” Scott said. “The competition is getting stronger and stronger and only a guy with Tiger’s record has been able to do that, and it shows you how hard that is.”

—

IN IT TO QUINN IT: Fran Quinn will get to spend some quality time with his son on Father’s Day.

The 49-year-old Web.com Tour journeyman followed his opening-round 68 with a 74 that left him 2 over and assured of making the cut.

That means he’ll get to play Sunday with his 15-year-old son Owen as his caddie.

“It’s the U.S. Open. You go out there … all the stands are packed, people are cheering for you,” Quinn said. “People are rooting for you. People love the story. And, you know, it’s pretty neat to see a father playing with his son caddying on the bag on Father’s Day weekend.”

Simply making the cut is a huge deal for Quinn, a Massachusetts player who failed to make it to the weekend of his only Web.com Tour event this year and is in his first U.S. Open since 1996.

He had to play his way to Pinehurst this year at a sectional qualifier in Purchase, New York.

—

BATTLE OF THE BLUES: Leave it to the USGA to stoke one of the nation’s most intense rivalries in college sports.

This is a region where school ties run deep. And perhaps with that in mind, one of the Friday morning groupings included former University of North Carolina player Mark Wilson and Duke graduate Joe Ogilvie.

The USGA resorted to a bit of wordplay with the final member of the threesome – Ken Duke.

That led Ogilvie to quip that playing with Ken Duke “is much better than playing with Ken Carolina.”

—

USGA FAREWELL: Joe Ogilvie has played his final round at a USGA event.

The former Duke player tweeted after his round Friday that this U.S. Open would be his final USGA event as a player.

Ogilvie shot a 76 and was at 9 over through two rounds.

PINEHURST, N.C. –

Martin Kaymer is playing a brand of golf rarely seen in the U.S. Open. It might even be enough for soccer-mad Germany to pay attention.

The other 155 players at Pinehurst No. 2 certainly are.

Kaymer set the 36-hole scoring record at the U.S. Open on Friday with another 5-under 65 – this one without a single bogey – to build an early eight-shot lead and leave the rest of the field wondering if the 29-year-old German was playing a different course, or even a different tournament.

“If he does it for two more days, then we’re all playing for second spot,” Adam Scott said.

Kaymer was at 10-under 130, breaking by one shot the record set by Rory McIlroy at rain-softened Congressional in 2011.

“I played Congressional and I thought, `How can you shoot that low?’ And that’s probably what a lot of other people think about me right now,” Kaymer said.

A fast-moving thunderstorm dumped rain on Pinehurst overnight, though it didn’t make the course that much easier. The pins were in tougher locations. Trouble is waiting around any corner at Pinehurst No. 2. Kaymer rarely found it.

He opened with a short birdie on the par-5 10th hole, added birdie putts from 20 and 25 feet, and then hit a gorgeous drive on the par-4 third hole, where the tee was moved up to make it play 315 yards. His shot landed perfectly between two bunkers and bounced onto the green to set up a two-putt birdie.

And the lead kept growing.

“I look at the scoreboards. It’s enjoyable,” Kaymer said. “To see what’s going on, to watch yourself, how you react if you’re leading by five, by six. … I don’t know, but it’s quite nice to play golf that way.”

It looks like a typical U.S. Open – except for Kaymer.

Dustin Johnson opened with a pair of 69s, a score he would have gladly taken at the start of the week and perhaps thought it would be good enough to lead.

“I wouldn’t have thought it would be eight shots behind,” Johnson said.

Brooks Koepka, the American who is carving his way through the European Tour, birdied his last hole for a 68 and joined the group at 2-under 138 with Johnson, Brendon de Jonge (70) and former PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who played in the same group with Kaymer and rallied for a 69.

“He’s as dialed it as I’ve seen,” Bradley said.

The U.S. Open record for largest 36-hole lead is six shots by McIlroy at Congressional and by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000, when he won by 15 shots.

A group of players was trying to at least keep in close in the afternoon.

Kevin Na reached 4 under and was on the back nine, with Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar and Brendon Todd close behind. Phil Mickelson was tied for second – that should sound familiar – early in the second round until he fell back with a pair of bogeys.

Mickelson is trying to win the U.S. Open after a record six runner-up finishes. Kaymer put a damper on those hopes.

“Martin seems to be playing a different golf course,” Koepka said. “Ten under is incredible.”

Kaymer already won the PGA Championship in 2010 at Whistling Straits, and he added the next best thing to a major last month at The Players Championship. It’s tough for any golfer to make headlines in Germany, especially in a World Cup year.

At least Germany doesn’t start in Brazil until Monday.

“That’s the first game, so maybe I got a little bit of some … things in the newspapers about me,” Kaymer said. “Football is our biggest sport, and I can’t wait to watch the first game. I think golf, it’s not that important, but not much I can do. I can just try my best and hopefully I can put myself out there.”

And if were to win?

“It will probably last until Monday, 12 o’clock, and then that’s it,” he said with a smile.

This is the “Germanator” everyone expected when he won the PGA Championship, and then a year later rose to No. 1 in the world. Kaymer felt his game was not complete enough, so he set out to develop a draw – his natural shot is a fade – and it took two years of lonely hours on the range to get it right.

At the moment, he can do no wrong.

Each time he looked to be in trouble, Kaymer escaped. He drove toward the lip of a bunker on the 14th and did well just to reach the front of the green, some 70 feet away. The long putt on the turtleback greens Donald Ross created was so difficult that his first putt nearly ran off the putting surface. He made a 12-footer for par.

Kaymer felt tired toward the end of the round, and it showed. He hit into bunkers on the sixth and seventh holes, and both times blasted out to short range. He also converted a difficult two-putt from the front of the eighth green.

He spent the whole day going forward. Now, everyone else is going to need him to come back to have any chance.

Kaymer doesn’t want to change his strategy.

“Because if you think of defending anything, then you’re pulling back, and that’s never really a good thing,” he said. “You just want to keep going. You want to keep playing. You want to challenge yourself. If you can stay aggressive and hit the right shots. And that’s quite nice that it’s a battle against yourself.”

That’s what this U.S. Open is right now. A one-man show.

Graham DeLaet, the only Canadian on the course this week, carded a pair of 75’s in the opening rounds to end the day at 10 over par.