Largest Lead After Two Rounds in U.S. Open

Two rounds, 36 holes of golf, is the midway point of the U.S. Open golf championship. Which golfer holds the record for largest lead after the second round? Three golfers share that record — Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer.

The U.S. Open, run by the United States Golf Association, dates to 1895. And in that long history, the biggest lead after the first two rounds is six strokes. Woods was the first golfer to take a 6-shot lead after the opening 36 holes, doing so in 2000. McIlroy in 2011 and Kaymer in 2014 then matched the record.

List: Largest 36-Hole Leads in U.S. Open

• 6 strokes — Tiger Woods (134), 2000 U.S. Open, won by 15
• 6 strokes — Rory McIlroy (131), 2011 U.S. Open, won by 8
• 6 strokes — Martin Kaymer (130), 2014 U.S. Open, won by 8
• 5 strokes — Willie Anderson (149), 1903 U.S. Open, won in playoff
• 4 strokes — Tom McNamara (142), 1909 U.S. Open, finished second
• 4 strokes — Jim Barnes (144), 1921 U.S. Open, won by 9
• 4 strokes — Dustin Johnson (136), 2018 U.S. Open, finished third
• 4 strokes — Wyndham Clark (133), 2026 U.S. Open, tbd

In 2000, when Woods became the first golfer to lead a U.S. Open by six strokes after the second round, he went on set another record: largest U.S. Open margin of victory, 15 strokes. McIlroy, Kaymer and Jim Barnes also make the list of the U.S. Open's largest winning margins.

Not everyone with at least a 4-shot, 36-hole, U.S. Open lead went on to win, but none finished lower than third, either. In 1909, Tom McNamara took his 4-shot lead on the strength of a second-round 69, just the second sub-70 round in U.S. Open history. But he scored 75-77 in the last 36 holes and finished four behind George Sargent. In 2018, Dustin Johnson had a 77 in the third round to give away his 36-hole lead and wound up third. And Willie Anderson in 1903 did go on to victory, but only after giving up all of his 36-hole lead: He defeated David Brown in an 18-hole playoff.

Related articles:

• Largest 54-hole leads lost in U.S. Open
• Lowest score, last two rounds of U.S. Open
• Most strokes under par (72 holes) in U.S. Open

Sources:
United States Golf Association. U.S. Open Records, Scoring, Largest 36-Hole Lead, https://victory.usopen.com/history-landing/scoring-and-stats/records.html.