The China Mail - Lawrence shares sixth as second round ends at rainy US Open

The 28-year-old South African, halted just shy of the clubhouse by heavy rain Friday night, finished on the ninth hole to complete a four-over par 74 round and stand on one-over 141 through 36 holes.

That left him level with Frenchman Victor Perez, four strokes adrift of US leader Sam Burns, who finished a round of 65 on Friday to stand on three-under 137.

"Just about when I was going to take my putt, the siren sounded," Lawrence said Friday. "A bit frustrating in that sense, but those are the rules... It's an important putt. Each shot means a lot in a championship like this."

American J.J. Spaun, on 138, and Norway's Viktor Hovland on 139 were the only other players below par on the formidable layout, which figures to be far more receptive in round three after an overnight drenching with rain expected to continue all day Saturday.

The only other morning drama came as American Philip Barbaree sank a five-foot par putt on the ninth to shoot 71 and become the last player to make the cut, doing so on the number at seven-over 147.

That earned him the chance to play alone in the first spot off the first tee at 9:12 a.m. (1312 GMT) to start the third round.

Among the leaders, Burns and Spaun were set for a 3:35 p.m. tee time, 11 minutes after Hovland and Australia's Adam Scott begin in the penultimate pairing.

World number two Rory McIlroy, nine strokes off the lead at 146, tees off at 10:34 a.m. with third-ranked American Xander Schauffele, the reigning British Open champion.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April for his fifth major title.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, seeking back-to-back major titles after taking last month's PGA Championship, starts at 1:02 p.m. with fellow American Cameron Young. They were seven off the lead on 144.

In all, 67 golfers made the cut to play the final 36 holes.

Those missing the cut included defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, past winners Wyndham Clark and Lucas Glover, six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland and Dustin Johnson, England's Justin Rose and Ireland's Shane Lowry.

Spectators were kept off the course until after the second round was complete, with the US Golf Association announcing that access to some spectator viewing areas will be limited due to heavy rain.

W.Cheng--ThChM