US Open: Langley fires 69, paces Ams

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (June 18, 2010) -- He's played here more than most people will play in a lifetime, having twice qualified as a junior for the Wal-Mart First Tee Open. But Scott Langley says the only thing that experience did for him is make him want to qualify even more for the 2010 U.S. Open, and to be less awe-struck once he got here. "It's setup completely different," said the smooth swinging left hander who is a self- described range rat. I followed Langley for the better part of a round that was just about flawless. After finishing the front nine at 2-over, Langley was 5-over for the tournament. But birdies at No's 10, 11, 13, and 14 -- where he approached the treacherous left tier pin placement with a lofted shot from the left rough, and made a 20 foot birdie putt -- moved him right back into position and past dozens of players quickly. Langley's lone bogey on the back nine came at the sixteenth, where he rushed his uphill birdie putt by the hole by 3 feet, and slid the par putt by the steep slope where the senior-to-be at Illinois stared down a 10 foot bogey putt and knocked it straight in. "That putt was definitely important," Langley said. On No. 17, he bounced back with the shot of the day, perhaps in the entire field when his high lofting 5-iron hit the front edge, trickled along the right fringe before passing the lip of the hole and leaving a kick-in birdie. Three solid shots on No. 18 left Langley a 5 foot putt for birdie, which he said he "didn't want back" when asked after the round. You don't argue with a 69 in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, especially when you shoot 37-32. Russell Henley of the University of Georgia, playing in front of his teammate Hudson Swafford, posted 5-over and looks solid to make the cut. Today's round of 74 was paced by his driving, which kept him in position all day. Swafford doubled the last hole to get to 8-over and likely will miss the cut, while Morgan Hoffman, who had a heartbreaking 9 on the 18th yesterday, finished bogey-double on the diffficult 8th and 9th holes to also post 8-over, which likely will be just shy of the cut line. To view complete results, please use the results link below and the clickbox for "amateur scores" to see just "our" guys.