#Justin Thomas struggles but stays in hunt at US Open

Justin Thomas spent Thursday at the U.S. Open plunging into the red to take the 18-hole lead at 5-under.

Friday he nearly gave it all back before rebounding to remain in striking position.

Thomas bogeyed four of his first eight holes and then double bogeyed another to drop to even par for the tournament, but was able to save his round and finished the day with a 3-over 73, tied for third at 2-under through two rounds and just two shots behind leader Patrick Reed.

“Every single person in this tournament is going to go through a stretch where they get a bad run, especially here,” Thomas said. “Mine just happened to be — I mean, I played probably a seven-hole stretch maybe 5-over or something like that. So it is what it is. I wasn’t driving it well, and then had a couple putts that easily could have gone in that kind of just stayed out, but I just stayed positive and kept fighting because I know that a 3-over is better than a 4-over, and today easily could have been a 6 or 7. I’m proud of myself for how I hung in.”

Scores were up across the board at Winged Foot on Friday and Thomas was no exception. But he didn’t let his tough start get out of control, recording birdies on the 18th, third and seventh holes to enter Saturday just two shots off the lead.

Thomas, who hit just one bogey on Thursday, pointed to his birdie on the par-3 third hole as the shot that helped turn his momentum back in the right direction. Because of it, the world No. 3 golfer will be back Saturday in a solid spot to continue chasing his first U.S. Open title.

“It’s a better position than I’ve been in a U.S. Open before,” he said. “This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6- or 7-under to catch up. Just have to stay patient and play my own game. I’m not going to worry about what everyone else is doing because you could shoot 80 just as easily as you could shoot 68. I just need to stay focused, and most importantly, go home and get some rest because I’m pretty tired.”