when youre trying to get something going.The Musketee

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Phil Mickelson made his first birdie on his last putt. Billy Horschel never missed a green. It was all they could do to barely break par against Merion, which is turning out to be the real star of this U.S. Open. Nearly half the field did not finish the second round when it was suspended by darkness. Moments after the horn sounded to stop play, Mickelson opted to finish his round and drilled a 20-foot birdie putt for a 2-over 72. That gave him a share of the clubhouse lead with Horschel, who made it as easy as possible by hitting every green in regulation for a 67. They were at 1-under 139. With play resuming Saturday morning, it was becoming clear that this U.S. Open might be up for grabs until the very end. Tiger Woods, who grimaced with every shot out of the rough because of pain in his left elbow, was at 3-over 143 and still very much in the game. "I dont know how anyone is going to separate too far from the field," Mickelson said. "There might be a hot round tomorrow, and they might get a hot round on Sunday, but unlikely to be the same player." No one was hotter than Horschel, playing in his first U.S. Open since he was a 19-year-old in college. Nothing is tougher than Merion, the little course in the tony suburbs of Philadelphia that even in rain-softened conditions is showing plenty of might. And to think there was chatter at the start of the week about the potential for the first 62 in major championship history. "Perhaps next time you guys will believe when we say its really not that easy, that its really not that easy," Geoff Ogilvy said after a 70. That put him at 4-over 144, which gave him and dozens of others a legitimate shot going into the weekend. Luke Donald (72), Justin Rose (69) and Steve Stricker (69) were at even-par 140. The surprise were a pair of amateurs -- Michael Kim of Cal and Cheng-Tsung Pan of Taiwan. They were 2 under for their round and among those who didnt finish. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., is 5 over through 10 holes. His second round included a birdie, two bogeys, and a double-bogey before play was halted. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., are over the projected cut line of 7 over as it stands. Both sit at 9 over but have time to recover -- Hughes has played nine holes in his second round, while Hearn is through 10. Calgarys Ryan Yip is 11 over for the tournament through 16 holes, while Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., finished his second round at 16-over 157. The long day, brought on by storm delays on Thursday, began with cool conditions and patches of light rain that eventually gave way to sunshine. That led players to wonder how much tougher Merion will be once it starts to dry out. "Its not as easy as people think," defending champion Webb Simpson said after a 75 put him six shots behind the clubhouse lead. "I heard 15, 16 under floating around. And its going to be a normal U.S. Open winning score, I think." Horschel hit all 18 greens in regulation, a stellar achievement at a regular tour event, let alone the U.S. Open. It sent USGA officials searching for hours to find the last time anyone failed to miss a green in the toughest test in golf. Records of that detail only go back as far as 1989. That last documentation of someone doing that was Johnny Miller when he closed with a 63 at Oakmont to win in 1973. David Graham used his putter on every hole -- three from the fringe -- when he shot 67 to win the 1981 U.S. Open at Merion. "I didnt know I hit every green until I walked off 18," Horschel said. "Its a cool thing. But like I said, its not the first time Ive hit all 18 greens. Ive done it plenty of times in my career. Obviously, its at a U.S. Open, but I think the softness of the greens helped that." Pan played nine holes and was even par, along with Ian Poulter, who was plodding along in plaid at 1 under for his round through 14 holes. John Senden of Australia had a 71 and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium shot 72 to finish at 1-over 141. Mickelson, equipped with a full night of rest after his cross-country trip Wednesday from his daughters eighth-grade graduation in San Diego, began with a three-putt bogey and appeared ready to pull away with a shot that nearly spun back into the hole at No. 8. He missed the birdie putt from 4 feet. Then he hit a beautiful tee shot over the water to a dangerous front pin on the par-3 ninth to about 7 feet. He missed that one, too. Lefty three-putted from 20 feet on No. 12, and then flew a wedge over the green into a plugged lie for bogey on the par-3 13th. He kept battling until ending on a sweet note. With that birdie putt on his final hole, Mickelson was under par through 36 holes for the seventh time in the U.S. Open. The previous six times, he was a threat to win on Sunday. Mickelson has five silver medals as a runner-up, and all he wants is another chance. "I just like being in the mix," he said. "I think its fun having a chance heading into the weekend. The way I have control off the tee and as good as the putter is -- even though it didnt show today -- Im very excited about the opportunity this weekend." Horschel doesnt lack for confidence, even though the 26-year-old from Florida won for the first time on the PGA Tour just two months ago in New Orleans. He is an explosive player, capable of running off birdies without notice. For this championship that meant keeping the ball in play. His only bogey was on the 13th hole, the short par 3 and the easiest at Merion. "I was not in the zone, trust me," Horschel said. "This golf course, even though its soft, is still a tough golf course. I know what in the zone is for me. I dont get nervous, I just see the shot and go. And I saw the shot and I went with it, but I was still nervous with a lot of them. Your misses here can be bad if you miss in the wrong spot." Grahams great round won him the U.S. Open. Horschel still has a long way to go. Considering this packed leaderboard, it feels as though the tournament hasnt even started. For all his travails, Woods was only four shots behind. So was Rory McIlroy, who also had a 70. "It tests every aspect of your game," McIlroy said. "There were people talking about 62s and 63s at the start of the week and, I mean, I never saw that at all. I still think that something very little under par is going to win this week. If or if not that, around even par." Indeed, the real winner so far has been Merion. For such a short course -- it measured 6,901 yards from tee to wicker basket -- this century-old track had everyones attention. "You were convinced it was going to be scoring records and 62s and obnoxious scoring," Ogilvy said. "Did one player say that? Not many, anyway. The players said it was pretty hard, didnt they? Today was hard." Everything looked like a grind for Woods, who said he first hurt his left arm at The Players Championship -- he didnt say where or how -- when he won at the TPC Sawgrass a month ago. He dangled the arm and occasionally grimaced with shots out of the rough on No. 12, No. 4 and No. 8. He was more interested in his game, and that didnt cause him much pain at all. And even though he was halfway through his quest to end five years without a major, Woods was keeping his head down. "Just keep grinding," he said. "You just dont ever know what the winning score is going to be. You dont know if the guys are going to come back. We have a long way to go, and these conditions arent going to get any easier." TSN.ca will deliver live streaming of the 11th and 18th holes, along with a daily marquee group for all four rounds. TSN Digital platforms will also feature up-to-the-minute news, daily highlights, as well as Bob Weeks popular golf blog. Weeks will also answer fan questions on Twitter through @bobatscoregolf, while TSN.ca will feature tweets from Weeks, Jim Nelford, the USGA, and the official Twitter feed of the U.S. Open. All rounds are also available on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto and TEAM 1410 in Vancouver, and the third and final rounds can be heard on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal and TEAM 1200 in Ottawa. Upcoming U.S. Open coverage on TSN Saturday, June 15• 11am et - Third Round Preview Show • Noon et - Third Round • Midnight et - Third Round Highlight Show Sunday, June 16• 11am et - Final Round Preview Show • Noon et - Final Round • Midnight et - Final Round Highlight Show Salomon Shoes Outlet Canada . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. http://www.salomonsalecanada.com/ . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Salomon Shoes Canada Online . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Salomon Shoes Clearance Canada . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. CINCINNATI -- Earlier this week, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak called 13th-ranked Xavier a a well-oiled machine that could easily be a Final Four team.By March, Krystkowiak might be right. But, the Musketeers that the Utes will face on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET) at Cintas Center remain a work in progress.After dropping a 68-66 decision at Colorado on Wednesday, Xavier (7-2) has lost two straight games for the first time since February 2015. Turnovers, poor free-throw shooting and bad decisions late in losses to the Buffaloes and at fourth-ranked Baylor have brought the Musketeers back to Earth.Its early in the season so we arent going to pack our tent and quit playing, said head coach Chris Mack. We got a reality check the last couple times. We are willing to go on the road and play in games like this but you can get penalized too. Our team has to grow up from these types of experiences because they arent fun.The good news for Xavier is that it can unpack the suitcases for a while. Saturdays game against Utah (6-1) begins a stretch of four straight home games.It will be the first meeting between Utah and Xavier and is one of 15 games -- including seven non-conference -- for the Musketeers against teams that reached last seasons NCAA Tournament.The Utes have five players averaging in double figures, led by junior forward Kyle Kuzma, whos averaging 16.4 points and 11 rebounds.Utah is outrebounding its opponents by more than 14 per game. The Utes shoot just 31 percent from 3-point range while allowing their opponents to shoot 33 percent.Xavier presents a formidable test for the Utes, who have faced just one ranked opponent this season, losing 68-59 to 16th-ranked Butler at home.ddddddddddddI think most seasons for everybody are about learning lessons and growing, Krystkowiak told the Salt Lake Tribune. To be able to learn some pretty valuable lessons without a loss is always a positive thing, especially when youre trying to get something going.The Musketeers are riding the hot hand of junior guard Trevon Bluiett whos scored at least 23 points in each of his past three games. At Colorado, Bluiett scored 27 points, going 6 of 13 from 3-point range with three assists, and two steals. Hes averaging 19.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.6 steals.Mack is trying different combinations at the five. Senior Rashid Gaston got the nod at Colorado and responded with 14 points and 11 rebounds.But, for the Musketeers to get going, they badly need junior guard J.P. Macura to get on track.In losses to Colorado and Baylor, Macura was a combined 1-for-11 from 3-point range and 5-for-25 shooting overall.He tends to at times play out of our system, Mack said. You know it is tough because you want to give some freedom because he plays so hard. But at times that freedom bites him in the tail.The Musketeers hope that returning to Cintas Center, where they are 220-31 all-time, will help get things back on the winning track. Xavier has not lost a regular-season non-conference game at home since falling to Wofford on Dec. 22, 2012. ' ' '